Celia Cruz Net Worth

What was Celia Cruz's Net Worth?

Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer/performer who had a net worth of $4 million at the time of her death in 2003. That's the same as around $7 million in today's dollars, after adjusting for inflation. Dubbed "La Guarechera de Cuba" and the "Queen of Salsa," Celia Cruz was among the most popular Latin musical artists of the 20th century, recording such hit songs as "Bemba colorá," "Quimbara," and "La vida es un carnaval." In addition to her music career, Cruz acted in some telenovelas and films.

Early Life and Education

Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on October 21, 1925, in Havana, Cuba, to Catalina, a housewife, and Simón, a railway stoker. She grew up in a house with three siblings, Dolores, Gladys, and Bárbaro, as well as several cousins. Cruz began singing when she was very young and was inspired by such artists as Abelardo Barroso, Antonio Arcaño, and Arsenio Rodríguez. Encouraged by her father to become a teacher, Cruz attended college at the Normal School for Teachers in Havana. However, she ultimately followed her passion and went to study at Havana's National Conservatory of Music.

Career Beginnings

In the early years of her career, Cruz sang in various music groups, including Conjunto Siboney, Las Mulatas de Fuego, and Coro Yoruba y Tambores Batá. She also performed at Havana's most popular cabarets and sang on the radio. Cruz had her breakthrough with the band La Sonora Matancera, which she joined in 1950 as its new lead singer. She went on to spend 15 years with the group, during which time she recorded such hit songs as "Cao cao maní picao," "Mata siguaraya," and "Burundanga." Cruz also toured extensively with La Sonora Matancera and appeared with the band in some Mexican films.

Exile from Cuba

While Cruz was touring Mexico in the late 1950s, Fidel Castro came to power at the end of the Cuban Revolution. With Havana in shambles and Cruz potentially endangered due to her public criticism of Castro, she accepted a contract to perform at a nightclub in Mexico City. In the early 1960s, Cruz began performing in the United States. She tried to return to Cuba in 1962 to see her terminally ill mother, but was denied entry by the government. Cruz eventually became a US citizen.

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Tito Records and Fania Records

In 1966, Cruz began a successful solo partnership with Tito Puente and his orchestra. Their first collaborative album, "Son con guaguancó," included Cruz's hit recording of the guaracha song "Bemba colorá." Cruz and Puente collaborated on four more albums for Tito Records after that. Additionally, Cruz collaborated on albums with such artists as Juan Bruno Tarraza, Lino Frías, and Memo Salamanca. In 1974, leading salsa record label Fania Records acquired Tico; Cruz was subsequently signed to the imprint Vaya Records. During this time, she became heavily associated with salsa music and performed with the Fania All Stars supergroup.

Among Cruz's biggest hit songs of her Fania period was "Quimbara," which she recorded with Fania founder and musical director Johnny Pacheco for the album "Celia & Johnny." Cruz also had a successful partnership with musician Willie Colón, with whom she toured and recorded albums. In 1982, Cruz reunited with La Sonora Matancera to record the album "Feliz Encuentro." Later in the decade, she performed a massive free-entry outdoor concert in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and released the album "Ritmo en el corazón," which went on to win Cruz her first Grammy Award, for Best Tropical Latin Performance.

Later Music Career

In 1990, Cruz was able to return to Cuba to make a presentation at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Signed to RMM Records, she continued releasing music throughout the decade, with her albums including "Reina del ritmo Cubano," "Verdadera historia," "Azucar negra," "Irrepetible," "Double Dynamite," and "Mi vida es cantar." The lattermost album spawned one of her biggest hit songs, "La vida es un carnaval." At the dawn of the 21st century, Cruz released the live album "Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa," which earned her her first Latin Grammy Award. She earned another Latin Grammy the very next year for her album "Siempre viveré," and another the year after that for "La negra tiene tumbao." For her final studio album, "Regalo del Alma," Cruz won both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards.

(Photo by Frans Schellekens/Redferns)

Acting Career

As an actress, Cruz appeared in the 1992 musical drama film "The Mambo Kings." The next year, she starred in the Mexican telenovela "Valentina." In 1995, Cruz was in Mira Nair's comedy film "The Perez Family." She returned to telenovelas in 1997 to star in "El alma no tiene color," based on the 1948 film "Angelitos negros."

Personal Life and Death

During her first rehearsal with La Sonora Matancera, Cruz met trumpeter Pedro Knight. The couple eventually married in 1962.

In 2002, Cruz had surgery to treat breast cancer. Later in the year, she was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent surgery. Cruz made her final public appearance at the special tribute concert "¡Celia Cruz: Azúcar!" in March of 2003. That summer, on July 16, she passed away at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Cruz's body is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Estate Battle

Cruz's will named her husband, Pedro Knight, as sole beneficiary of her estate. After her passing, however, legal troubles arose over the handling of her estate's finances. Pedro Knight was elderly and in poor health, and a family friend-turned-executor, Luis Falcón, was accused of mismanaging and draining significant funds. In a 2007 lawsuit, co-executor Omer Pardillo alleged that Falcón spent money intended for Knight's care and failed to account for over $1 million of Celia's estate funds. The estate battle was eventually resolved in 2007. A New Jersey judge removed Falcón as executor and appointed Omer Pardillo as the sole administrator. Falcón was found to have committed fraud against the family and was ordered to repay about $2.5 million to Celia's relatives. After Pedro Knight's death in 2007, Celia's remaining estate was distributed among six heirs, including some of her relatives (such as her sister and Knight's daughter) and a couple of non-family heirs designated by Pardillo. In addition, many of Celia's personal artifacts (gold records, costumes, etc.) were donated to institutions like the Smithsonian as part of preserving her legacy.

Real Estate

In 1994, Celia and Pedro paid $400,000 for a condo in Edgewater, New Jersey. They sold this property a few months after her death, in December 2003, for $830,000.

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