It’s the best time of the year, particularly if you’re Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey is the uncontested Queen of Christmas, who spectacularly “defrosts” every Christmas. Her song All I Want For Christmas Is You rises the charts each year, as do her earnings.
While the Christmas holidays are undoubtedly her season, Carey’s career spans decades, with several prizes and accolades along the way.
Carey is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with five Grammy Awards, 10 American Music Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and 12 Guinness World Records.
In addition, Mariah Carey has many high-paying endorsement agreements and a luxury real estate property. So, keeping all of this in mind, how much is the star worth?
Factors Making Mariah Carey’s Net Worth:
Mariah Carey Music Career
Mariah Carey has gained millions from her successful singing career, which has garnered her five Grammy Awards.
Over 200 million records and 19 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles have made Mariah Carey one of the most successful female vocalists. The artist now ranks 10th on Spotify, with about 73.4 million monthly listeners.
In 2019, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” set three Guinness World Records. She being the most-streamed music by a female artist on Spotify in 24 hours. It was seen over 10.8 million times in one day in December 2018. She broke the record again in 2022, with 21.3 million streaming listens.7
Carey received $30 million for a two-year residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, which ran from 2015 to 2017. According to Us Weekly, she received $18 million in 2012 as a judge on one season of “American Idol,” making her the highest-paid judge on a music competition program at the time.
Royalties
While artists no longer receive as much from royalties as they used to, they still account for a significant portion of Carey’s yearly revenue. According to the Wall Street Journal, she earns around 20% of all royalties produced by her entire repertoire, as well as multimillion-dollar advances for her releases.
According to USA Today, Spotify pays artists roughly US$0.0033 (NZ$0.0054) each stream, so if all 46.5 monthly users listen to the same song, the celebrity would earn approximately US$153,450 every month. Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other sites also pay artists per stream, although it’s unknown how much Carey will earn from them.
However, it’s all play money when contrasted to the royalties Mariah Carey receives from her best-selling and maybe most well-known track. After the popularity of her 1994 album Merry Christmas, Carey reissued it in 2010 with a few tweaks, including a new version of her best-selling song, All I Want For Christmas Is You.
The new version of the song includes a duet with Justin Bieber, although sources say Carey still receives the bulk of her income from the original song.
The Economist claimed last year that the singer earned US$2.5 million in yearly recording royalties, collecting money every time the song was played or sold. Still, The New York Post claims the amount is closer to US$3 million per year, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
According to The Economist, the song has earned more than $60 million in royalties since its debut in 2017.
Touring
While it’s unclear how much Carey made in her early years of popularity, she did finish three tours between 1996 and 2000, which presumably generated millions of dollars in income.
After a health vacation, Carey returned to the charts in 2005 with her tenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Its popularity was evident, as she sold almost 8 million copies globally, received ten Grammy Award nominations, and spawned the star’s first headlining tour in three years, grossing $27.9 million.
In terms of recent tours, the actress has made the most of the silly season, profiting on her Christmas icon status, and has been performing throughout the holidays since 2014. According to Billboard, these tours have made more than $16.5 million, with last year’s revenues exceeding $26.4 million.
She added a US$30 million two-year residency at Caesar’s Palace in 2015 and a five-show Hallmark Channel holiday tour engagement in 2019.
Mariah Carey Property
In addition to her Beverly Hills rental home and a triplex apartment in Tribeca. She owns a Bahamas home and sold her remarkable 4.2-acre Atlanta property for US$4.3 million.
Book Deals, Endorsements, And TV
Carey’s most significant source of income is probably her royalties. Still, the mother of two has her fingers in many Christmas mince pies and earns a lot of money from her extracurricular activities.
Mariah’s children’s book, All I Want for Christmas Is You, was published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers at Penguin Random House in 2015. She then wrote a book with Michaela Angela in 2020, which rapidly became a nonfiction bestseller.
Carey’s first children’s book, The Christmas Princess, was published in November 2022, further cementing her literary position. And that is not all. The actress has many endorsement partnerships with Intel Centrino (computers), Angel Champagne (which costs US$290,000 per bottle), Pepsi, McDonald’s, and her perfume line.
In terms of television revenue, she is a multi-talented queen who used her singing abilities to great use in 2013. When she was hired as a judge on American Idol. According to People magazine, she made a stunning $18 million in one season.
Divorces
In 1998, Mariah Carey divorced Tommy Mottala, but they kept their settlement confidential. So it’s unknown how much she was required to pay him and vice versa.
She married Nick Cannon in 2006, but the couple split in 2014 and formally divorced in 2016. People magazine said at the time that her annual salary was $6.3 million, while Cannon’s was $2.7 million. The previous couple split up very easily, and neither paid the other out.
Mariah Carey Total Net Worth:
According to several sources, the artist has a net worth of over US$340 million. Heart said that she is one of the 15 best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold over 200 million CDs globally. She has five Grammys, ten AMAs, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards.
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