The world mourns one of the most famous and iconic music legends ever this week as news spreads that David Bowie has died aged 69. Bowie passed away on the night of January 10 after battling cancer for the last 18 months. It is predicted at the time of Bowie's death he had a net worth of about $230 million. The singer leaves behind wife Iman, as well as son Duncan Jones and daughter Alexandria Zahra.

The music icon was diagnosed with cancer in late 2014, and on Sunday night his representatives posted a message onto his Facebook and Instagram pages that read:

"David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."

His son Duncan Jones posted on Twitter: "Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all."

Bowie had one of the most successful music careers in the modern era, generating hits spanning nearly five decades. At the time of his death his career, which included dozens of hit records and albums, as well as some appearances in acting (he featured in movie "Labyrinth", as well as "The Elephant Man" on Broadway), Bowie's net worth was estimated to be about $230 million.

At the age of 15, in 1962, Bowie formed the group Konrads, and he went on to bring the world hit songs such as "Space Oddity", "Changes", "Rebel Rebel", "Fame", "Ashes to Ashes", and "Let's Dance" to name but a few.

Bowie has won 14 awards since 1969 including American Music Awards, BRIT Awards and even BAFTA's.

Bowie had only just released his new album "Blackstar" three days ago on January 8, 2016, which was also the singer's 69th birthday.

Blackstar immediately went to No. 1 in the UK's iTunes chart, and No. 2 in the U.S. chart.