The long-serving guitarist of Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, has been fired from the group's current tour in what appears to be a dispute over money. As confirmed by Rumor Fix earlier this week (21 August), the guitarist and frontman of Bon Jovi, Jon Bon Jovi, came to blows over Sambora's earnings over the course of the tour, with Sambora being replace by the much more affordable Phillip 'Phil X' Xenidis.

Richie Sambora
Sambora was apparently fired for earning too much

According to RF, Sambora had been earning as much as $2,000,000 a month from touring with the band; an amount that had caused rifts in the backstage area between the rest of the group. There may be more to it, but as far as we know, it was the money that was right at the root of the dispute and ultimately led to Sambora's dismissal. In addition to the $2 mil he was making a month, the 30+ years-serving guitarist for Bon Jovi was also making 20% of earning from each live show, whilst Phil X will only receive $10,000 a month (which really can't be complained about considering he now gets to perform with one of rock's most enduring acts for a living).

Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi hasn't commented on the sacking yet

Even in the face of his sacking from the group though, Sambora still stands to earn a decent amount from Bon Jovi anyway, having written a number of their songs and appearing on merchandise. He will continue to earn royalties from his time with the band, although the source speaking with RF has since revealed that all he really want to do is play on stage and the dismissal has really "upset" him. Still, after earning $2 mill a month for who knows how long, he can buy his own stage and perform on it as much as he likes.

Neither Jon Bon Jovi or Sambora's representative have made any comment on the situation, however Phil X has addressed the rumour via his own Twitter account. He wrote on Friday (23 August), “you know how I know http://RUMORFIX.com is full of sh*t? I wouldn’t even leave my house for that salary.” - Rumor Fix say that they stand by their story regardless of what 'X' has written.


Richie Sambora Biker Bash
At least Sambora is still earning, despite being sacked