Whitney Houston Net Worth

What was Whitney Houston's net worth?

Whitney Houston was a singer, model, and actress who had a net worth of negative $20 million at the time of her death. In the sections below, under the headers "Financial Problems" and "Net Worth at Death," we provide much more detail on Whitney Houston's financial difficulties later in life.

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) was one of the most successful and influential singers in pop music history. During her career, Whitney sold over 200 million albums and won two Emmy awards, six Grammys, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 AMA's. Beginning as a gospel singer and model, she signed with Arista Records in 1983. Her self-titled debut album (1985) launched multiple #1 hits, including "Saving All My Love for You" and "How Will I Know."

Her second album, "Whitney" (1987), made history by debuting at #1, featuring hits like "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." The 1990s marked her peak with "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (1992), which became her signature song and one of the best-selling singles ever. The film, in which she also starred with Kevin Costner, also demonstrated her acting abilities.

Houston's powerful voice, spanning three octaves, earned her six Grammy Awards and over 200 million records sold worldwide. She set industry records with seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits and became the first artist to sell over a million copies of an album in a single week.

Whitney led a notoriously troubled personal life. Issues with drugs and alcohol began to derail her career in the late '90s. Though she still had the gorgeous voice and the megawatt stage presence, she seemed unable to focus on moving her career forward or capitalizing on her past success. A reality series about her then-husband, musician Bobby Brown, was meant to keep both artists in the spotlight. Unfortunately, it also illuminated many of the things that were going wrong in her life.

Houston died on February 11, 2012, at age 48, in Beverly Hills, California. She drowned in a hotel bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. Her legacy lives on through her music, influence on other artists, and numerous accolades, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Tragically, Whitney's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, died three years after her in similar circumstances.

Financial Problems

Despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars during her career, Houston's finances deteriorated rapidly due to excessive spending, addiction, and poor management. In 2001, she was reportedly broke before signing a $100 million recording contract with Sony/Arista—the largest in music history at the time. However, she only earned about $40 million of that total before her records stopped selling, ultimately owing her label nearly $20 million in advances.

Houston's personal expenses were staggering. She owned multiple homes, employed large staffs, and had ongoing legal battles and rehab costs. By the mid-2000s, she relied heavily on Clive Davis for financial assistance. Davis reportedly loaned her $1.2 million to pay debts and fund her rehabilitation following her 2007 divorce from Bobby Brown.

In addition, Houston was forced to auction off much of her personal memorabilia and wardrobe to settle outstanding debts. Lawsuits and unpaid taxes compounded her financial decline, and she eventually lost her Atlanta townhouse to foreclosure.

Unlike many modern pop stars, Houston did not write most of her own material, meaning she earned limited publishing royalties from her biggest hits. The bulk of her income came from advances, touring, and recording sales — revenue streams that decline quickly once an artist stops releasing chart-topping albums. As her commercial momentum faded in the 2000s, so did her residual income.

In 2004, Houston sued her late father's company, John Houston Entertainment, accusing it of mismanaging her finances and taking unauthorized loans in her name. Three years later, a major auction of her stage costumes and personal memorabilia was held to help pay off mounting debts and legal fees.

Net Worth At Death

When Whitney divorced Bobby Brown in 2007, she filed paperwork in Orange County, California (where the couple was legally married) stating that she had $4 million in debts/obligations, a life insurance policy worth $300,000, $225,000 in a stock portfolio, and just $40,000 cash. At the time, Whitney stated that she owned two properties: a $6.5 million house in New Jersey, which had a $3.3 million mortgage, and a $1.2 million townhouse in Atlanta, which had 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.

Unfortunately, at the time of her death, Whitney was deep in debt and was rumored to be asking her mentor, Clive Davis, for handouts. Her New Jersey home is now dangerously close to foreclosure, and the townhouse in Atlanta has 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 was final. Unfortunately, she was never able to make the comeback everyone had hoped for.

In the years that followed her passing, Whitney's estate generated tens of millions of dollars through increased album sales, streaming royalties, and other licensing deals.

Whitney Houston's Estate Today

In the nine months following Whitney Houston's death, her estate earned an estimated $40 million. The vast majority of this windfall came from the enormous spike in Whitney's record and single sales. The release of her final film, "Sparkle," also generated posthumous income. Over time, the estate paid off her debts and established a $20 million inheritance for her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.

In 2019, entertainment company Primary Wave Music acquired a 50% stake in Whitney's estate for an estimated $14–20 million, partnering with her family to revitalize her legacy. This partnership led to a series of projects, including a biopic titled "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (2022), a Las Vegas hologram residency, and several brand and merchandise collaborations. These ventures helped turn Whitney's once-bankrupt estate into a thriving business empire.

Bobbi Kristina's $20 Million Fortune /Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Early Life and Education

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, to gospel singer Cissy Houston and city administrator John Houston. She had an older brother, Michael, and two older half-brothers, Gary and John III. She began singing in the choir of New Hope Baptist Church, where she also learned piano. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to East Orange, New Jersey. By age 11, Whitney was performing as a soloist for her church's junior gospel choir. She attended Franklin Elementary and later Mount Saint Dominic Academy, graduating in 1981.

Career Beginnings

As a teenager, Houston sang backup for her mother in New York cabarets and contributed vocals to Cissy Houston's album "Think It Over." She soon began modeling, appearing in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour, and became one of the first Black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen.

While performing with her mother at a Manhattan club in 1983, she was discovered by Arista Records executive Gerry Griffith, who brought her to Clive Davis. Davis immediately signed her to the label, impressed by her rare combination of vocal control, tone, and charisma. Houston made her national television debut on "The Merv Griffin Show" and recorded her first single, "Hold Me," with Teddy Pendergrass.

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Rise to Superstardom

Houston was launched to international fame after the release of her self-titled debut album in 1985. Although slow to reach its commercial peak, the album eventually topped the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks in 1986, sold 25 million copies, and launched 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, eventually becoming one of the bestselling albums of all time.

Houston's star only continued to rise in 1987 when she released her second studio album, "Whitney." Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, it made Houston the first woman ever to have an album debut atop that chart. "Whitney" stayed in that position for a total of 25 weeks, spawning 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)." The lattermost song, which won Houston a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, also reached number one in such countries as Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Houston went on to perform in her smash Moment of Truth World Tour.

Further Studio Albums

In late 1990, Houston released her third studio album, "I'm Your Baby Tonight," which launched several successful singles, including the number-one hits "All the Man That I Need" and the title track. After spending most of the decade doing movies and soundtracks, Houston 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 included the Academy Award-winning song "When You Believe," a duet with Mariah Carey written for the animated film "The Prince of Egypt."

Houston's fifth studio album, "Just Whitney," came out in late 2002. It earned mixed reviews upon release and failed to match the commercial heights of her previous albums. The next year, Houston released her first Christmas album, "One Wish: The Holiday Album." 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 would also be Houston's final studio album released during her lifetime.

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Movies and Soundtracks

In 1992, Houston struck gold with her first feature film, the romantic thriller "The Bodyguard." On top of starring in the film, she also recorded six songs for the original soundtrack album. Despite being poorly reviewed, "The Bodyguard" was a hit at the box office; moreover, the soundtrack album became the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. The lead single, Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," became the bestselling single of all time by a solo female artist and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Meanwhile, the soundtrack itself won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Her version also generated untold millions in royalties for the song's writer, Dolly Parton.

Houston's second film, the literary adaptation "Waiting to Exhale," came out in 1995. Once again, 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. Next, 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."

Notable Performances

One of Houston's most famous performances occurred at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when she sang the US national anthem before the game. Despite the fact that her vocals were prerecorded, the rendition earned praise and became a charting single. Later, in 1994, Houston performed three concerts in the newly unified South Africa. Among her other notable performances was the charity concert special "Classic Whitney: Live from Washington, D.C.," broadcast on HBO in 1997.

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Personal Life and Death

In 1992, Whitney married singer Bobby Brown after a tumultuous courtship. Their relationship was often marked by public conflict, drug use, and legal troubles. They welcomed one child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, in 1993. By the late 1990s, Houston's career was suffering amid erratic behavior and drug rumors. She admitted in interviews to using cocaine, marijuana, and other substances. Multiple rehab attempts followed, and though she made brief comebacks, her struggles persisted.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel suite. The coroner ruled that she accidentally drowned, with cocaine and heart disease as contributing factors. She was 48 years old.

Tragically, her daughter Bobbi Kristina died three years later in eerily similar circumstances, found unconscious in a bathtub at her Atlanta home. She was 22. Bobbi Kristina's death closed a painful chapter in one of music's most celebrated yet sorrowful family stories.

Real Estate

Throughout her career, Whitney Houston owned several properties, most notably her longtime mansion in Mendham, New Jersey, and a townhouse outside Atlanta, Georgia. Both became symbols of her financial highs and lows.

Houston purchased the 12,500-square-foot Mendham estate in 1987, shortly after her second album made her an international star. The home sat on five wooded acres and featured five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an indoor pool, recording studio, and tennis court. It was also the site of her 1992 wedding to Bobby Brown. During her peak earning years, the property was worth an estimated $6.5 million and served as her primary residence for two decades. However, by the mid-2000s, she had fallen behind on mortgage payments, and the house lingered on the market for years after her death. Initially listed for $2.5 million, it eventually sold in 2014 for just $999,000—less than one-sixth of its peak value.

In the late 1990s, Houston also purchased a three-story townhouse in Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta, for approximately $1.2 million. The property later became heavily mortgaged as her finances deteriorated. In 2007, the townhouse was repossessed by the bank following foreclosure proceedings.

After her passing, Houston's estate sold off remaining real estate holdings to settle outstanding debts. The proceeds helped fund her daughter Bobbi Kristina's inheritance and stabilize the estate's finances.

Legacy and Influence

Whitney Houston's influence on popular music is immeasurable. Her vocal style—defined by precision, power, and emotional depth—inspired generations of singers, including Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, and Ariana Grande. She remains one of the best-selling female artists of all time and was named by Guinness World Records as the most awarded female artist in history.

Houston was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 and continues to appear on "greatest singers" lists compiled by Rolling Stone and other outlets. Decades after her passing, her music continues to stream by the millions each week, reaffirming her place as one of the defining voices of the 20th century.

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