Pete Wentz

Pete Wentz
Wentz in October 2014
Background information
Birth name	Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III
Born	(1979-06-05) June 5, 1979 (age 37)
Origin	Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Pop punk pop rock alternative rock emo post-hardcore metalcore techno
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter record executive A&R
Instruments	Bass vocals keyboards
Years active	1993–present
Labels	DCD2, Fueled by Ramen, Island
Associated acts	Fall Out Boy Black Cards Arma Angelus Racetraitor Birthright Cobra Starship Cinematic Sunrise The Ready Set A Day to Remember
Website	petewentz.com
Notable instruments
Squier Pete Wentz Precision Bass

Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician. He is best known for being the bassist, lyricist, and backing vocalist for the American rock band Fall Out Boy. Before Fall Out Boy's inception in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was notably the lead vocalist and lyricist for Arma Angelus. During Fall Out Boy's hiatus in 2009–12, Wentz formed the experimental, electropop and dubstep group Black Cards. He owns a record label, DCD2 Records, which has signed bands including Panic! at the Disco and Gym Class Heroes. Fall Out Boy returned in February 2013.

Wentz has also ventured into other non-musical projects, including writing, acting, and fashion; in 2005 he founded a clothing company called Clandestine Industries. He also hosts the TV show Best Ink and runs a film production company called Bartskull Films, as well as a bar called Angels & Kings. His philanthropic activities include collaborations with Invisible Children, Inc. and UNICEF's Tap Project, a fundraising project that helps bring clean drinking water to people worldwide.People magazine states that "no bassist has upstaged a frontman as well as Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy."

Wentz was born Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III, in Wilmette, Illinois, an affluent suburb of Chicago. He is the son of Dale (née Lewis), a high school admissions counselor, and Pete Wentz II, an attorney. He is of English and German descent on his father's side and Afro-Jamaican on his mother's side. He has a younger sister, Hillary, and a younger brother, Andrew. His black maternal grandfather, Arthur Winston Lewis, served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone; Arthur Winston Lewis' cousin is General Colin Powell.