It seems like money and Mariah Carey just ~belong together.~ In the three decades the iconic singer has been in the spotlight, she has amassed an impressive net worth and earned a diva reputation — and not for nothing!
Whether she’s dripping in diamonds or being carried by a team of backup dancers, Mariah takes luxury to a whole new level thanks to her estimated net worth of $320 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. So, how did she earn all of that dough? She’s a woman of many talents!
Mariah’s Booming Music Career
Mariah’s self-titled premiere album was released in 1990 and eventually went nine-times platinum in the United States alone. In April 2001, the “Fantasy” singer left Columbia Records and signed a $100 million, five-album contract with Virgin Music. At the time, it was the biggest contract in music history.
Virgin eventually paid Mariah $28 million to end the contract early after the album Glitter, and she eventually moved on to Island Records, where she released The Emancipation of Mimi. The “Vision of Love” singer then made one album under Def Jam Records before getting signed by Epic Records in 2015, where she remains today.
In total, the “Without You” artist has recorded 15 studio albums, but the New York native is particularly well-known for her Christmas music.
Perhaps the most successful of Mariah’s holiday tunes is “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which reportedly only took 15 minutes to write. The massive hit is one of the most-profitable singles of all time and reportedly grosses an estimated $600,000 per year for the “Always Be My Baby” singer and producer Walter Afanasieff.
Her career is seriously impressive. Mariah is the second-best-selling female artist of all time, behind only Madonna, and has more No. 1 songs than any other female artist.
A-List Appearances
In 2012, Mariah, who shares twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex Nick Cannon, was reportedly paid $18 million to appear as a judge on one season of American Idol.
The “Obsessed” singer then made a large chunk of money in 2015 when she signed a $30 million contract for a two-year Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace.
While Mariah is not an actress, she has appeared in a variety of films, including Glitter, Girls Trip, The Lego Batman Movie, Precious and more.
She’s a Legend
Over the years, the “Oh Santa” artist has become known as somewhat of a diva — and she has no shame over that moniker.
“You know what? I don’t give a s–t. I f–king am high-maintenance because I deserve to be at this point. That may sound arrogant, but I hope you frame it within the context of coming from nothing,” Mariah explained to The Guardian in 2020. “If I can’t be high-maintenance after working my ass off my entire life … I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we all had to be low-maintenance. Hell, no! I was always high-maintenance, it’s just I didn’t have anyone to do the maintenance when I was growing up!”