Net Worth Ranker
What Is Whitney Houston’s Net Worth?
At the time of her death on February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston, the iconic singer, model, and actress, had a reported net worth of negative $20 million. This figure reflects significant financial difficulties Houston faced in the later years of her life, despite her enormous success and earnings earlier in her career.
Whitney Houston’s Early Career and Rise to Stardom
Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey. She began her musical journey singing in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her family later moved to East Orange, New Jersey, following the 1967 Newark riots. She graduated from Mount Saint Dominic Academy in 1981.
Houston started her career singing background vocals for her mother, Cissy Houston, at cabaret clubs in New York City. She also contributed background vocals to her mother’s album “Think it Over.” At a performance at Carnegie Hall for the United Negro College Fund, Houston was spotted by a photographer and introduced to the world of fashion modeling. She modeled for publications like Cosmopolitan and Glamour and graced the cover of Seventeen, becoming one of the first women of color to appear on the cover of a fashion magazine.
In 1983, while performing with her mother in New York, Houston caught the eye of Arista Records representative Gerry Griffith. He urged Clive Davis, the head of Arista, to see her perform. Davis was impressed and offered Houston a global record deal, which she signed. This marked the beginning of her ascent to superstardom.
Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album, released in 1985, catapulted her to international fame. The album reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart for 14 weeks in 1986 and featured the number-one hit singles “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know,” and “Greatest Love of All.” The album also topped the charts in several other countries, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Her second studio album, “Whitney,” released in 1987, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Houston the first woman ever to have an album debut at the top of that chart. “Whitney” stayed in that position for 25 weeks and included four number-one singles: “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional,” “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” won Houston a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and reached number one in countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
In late 1990, Houston released her third studio album, “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” which included the number-one hits “All the Man That I Need” and the title track. She spent most of the decade doing movies and soundtracks, then returned in late 1998 with her fourth studio album, “My Love is Your Love.” Hit singles from the album included “Heartbreak Hotel,” “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay,” “My Love is Your Love,” and “I Learned from the Best.” The album also featured “When You Believe,” a duet with Mariah Carey written for the animated film “The Prince of Egypt,” which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Houston’s fifth studio album, “Just Whitney,” was released in late 2002. Her first Christmas album, “One Wish: The Holiday Album,” was released the following year. She returned to the top of the Billboard 200 in 2009 with “I Look to You,” her first number-one studio album since 1987. It was also Houston’s final studio album released during her lifetime.
In 1992, Houston starred in her first feature film, “The Bodyguard,” a romantic thriller. She also recorded six songs for the original soundtrack album. The film was a box office hit, and the soundtrack album became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time. The lead single, Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” became the best-selling single of all time by a solo female artist and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The soundtrack itself won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Houston’s second film, “Waiting to Exhale,” was released in 1995. She both starred in the film and appeared on the soundtrack. Her single “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy “The Preacher’s Wife.” The soundtrack album was another success for the artist, spawning the hit singles “I Believe in You and Me” and “Step by Step.” Houston’s final film was the 2012 remake of the musical “Sparkle.” Whitney Houston performed the US national anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. In 1994, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa. Houston also had a charity concert special, “Classic Whitney: Live from Washington, D.C.,” which was broadcast on HBO in 1997.
Financial Problems and Net Worth Details
Despite earning up to $30 million a year from touring alone at the peak of her career, Whitney Houston spent her money rapidly. In 2001, she was reportedly broke before signing a $100 million recording contract with Sony/Arista. However, it’s important to note that artists do not receive the full amount of such contracts upfront; rather, payments are made in stages based on the success of future albums. Houston only earned $40 million of her $100 million contract because her records did not sell well, and she ended up owing the record label nearly $20 million. Sony/Arista owns the rights to Whitney’s back catalog.
When Whitney Houston divorced Bobby Brown in 2007, she filed paperwork in Orange County, California, stating that she had $4 million in debts/obligations, a life insurance policy worth $300,000, $225,000 in a stock portfolio, and $40,000 cash. Houston stated that she owned two properties: a $6.5 million house in New Jersey with a $3.3 million mortgage and a $1.2 million townhouse in Atlanta with a $1.05 million mortgage. Houston also owned nearly $2 million worth of art and jewelry. In sum, Whitney stated that she had roughly $10 million in assets and just over $4 million in debts, giving her a net worth in 2007 of $6 million.
By the time of her death, Whitney Houston’s financial situation had deteriorated significantly. She was reported to be broke and was allegedly asking her mentor, Clive Davis, for handouts. Her New Jersey home was close to foreclosure, and the townhouse in Atlanta had already been repossessed. Clive Davis had reportedly loaned Houston $1.2 million to pay off debts and get clean from drugs after her divorce from Bobby Brown. Unfortunately, she was never able to make the comeback everyone had hoped for.
Estate and Posthumous Earnings
In the nine months following Whitney Houston’s death, her estate earned an estimated $40 million. This was largely due to an increase in Whitney’s record and single sales. Her estate also benefited from the release of the movie “Sparkle,” in which Whitney acted and executive produced. Whitney’s executors were able to settle most of her debts and set aside $20 million for her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
Personal Life and Final Years
In the 80s, Whitney Houston had relationships with Jermaine Jackson, Eddie Murphy, and Randall Cunningham. At the end of the decade, she met singer Bobby Brown, and they married in 1992. Houston and Brown had a daughter named Bobbi Kristina Brown in 1993.
By the late 90s, Houston’s behavior had become erratic, and she was becoming visibly gaunt. Rumors that she was abusing drugs with her husband were rampant. In early 2000, she was found with marijuana at an airport in Hawaii. Houston confirmed her use of marijuana and cocaine in an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2002. She did some stints in rehab over the next decade.
On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found unconscious in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A coroner’s report determined she had accidentally drowned with cocaine and a number of other drugs in her system.
