Mariah Carey’s Net Worth is $140 Million
With her phenomenal vocal chops and killer business savvy, Mariah Carey is straight-up entertainment royalty. Don’t believe me? Check out her net worth of $350 million. Check out her numerous Grammys, her huge album sales, and some clever side gigs. Check out how she owns the stage AND the boardroom.
Mariah’s not just a chart-breaking singer, she’s a songwriter, actress, and even business mogul. She has done it all—sold millions of records, started her own label and businesses—and is about as far from being a one-trick pony as an entertainer can be. She took her natural talent, turned it into a world-famous brand, figured out how to make cash from every imaginable angle, and ended up as one of the industry’s richest self-made queens.
| Name | Mariah Angela Carey |
| Profession | Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Entrepreneur |
| Net Worth | $350 Million |
| Birthplace | Huntington, New York, USA |
| Birthday | March 27, 1969 or 1970 (Depending on the source) |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5’9″ |
| Relationship status | Single (Previously Married to Tommy Mottola and Nick Cannon) |
From Young Talent to Worldwide Fame: Mariah’s early career and breakthrough
Mariah Carey was born into a musical family: her mom was a vocal coach and even used to sing opera. So, it’s no surprise that Mariah was already belting out tunes when she was just three years old. Growing up, Mariah and her family faced adversity being a racially mixed family. But Mariah found her escape in music and dreamed of making her life better.
After high school, Mariah, having earned the nickname “Mirage” on account of her preference for writing songs over appearing in class, moved to New York to chase her dream. She probably didn’t realize just how close she was to having that dream realized.
In 1988, she caught a major break when her demo landed in the laps of Tommy Mottola over at Columbia Records. The guy was smitten, and he signed Mariah up straight away. Just two years later, she lit up the charts with her debut album Mariah Carey. Four of her songs went straight to #1, including “Vision of Love” and “Love Takes Time”. She was on fire, and her belter of a voice and superb songwriting skills shot her straight to stardom.
The girl was making waves. Her 1995 track “Fantasy” turned the industry on its head, putting her in the record books as the first female artist to debut at #1 in the U.S. Mariah had gone from talented kid to global superstar in no time at all.
The Billion-Dollar Voice: Mariah’s earnings from music
Talk about hitting the high notes! Mariah Carey has banked some serious cash, in addition to Grammy Awards and millions of fans worldwide. She’s been making music and money since the ’90s, and it turns out, her tunes are as good for our ears as they are for her wallet.
Her 1990 debut album, called, appropriately enough, Mariah Carey, set the music scene on fire. Soon, she had cash to burn. By 1995, she’d sold a mind-boggling 86 million copies of her first five albums.
Earning millions every holiday season from her timeless banger “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, Carey gives “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” a run for its money. By the end of 2016, that one track had made around $60 million, and it still earns her about $3 million every winter. Now, that’s what we call a Christmas bonus!
Mariah parted ways with Sony in 1997, having earned $250 million during her time with the label. Mariah is also a huge draw while on the road. Her latest, the “Caution” tour in 2019, was a total hit, churning out an impressive $12.6 million in revenue. Did I mention her Spotify success? About $918,512 a year, with Ms. Carey’s Christmas tune having been streamed over 1.5 billion times—on Spotify alone!
Thinking Outside the Music Box: Mariah’s alternative revenue streams
Mariah Carey is a musical queen, but did you know she’s also a business boss lady, stashing her cash in all sorts of interesting spots. Besides belting out those high notes, she’s been smart about spreading that wealth around. She’s danced in the reality TV scene, started her own perfume line, and made other business moves that have stacked her bank account.
She was a judge on “American Idol”‘s 12th season in 2013—a gig that raked in a cool $18 million and made her one of the top-earning reality TV judges at the time. It also got her face out there even more, becoming a regular, weekly fixture in so many households.
On top of her singing money, Mariah’s also been scoring with various endorsements. Heavy hitters like Pepsi, Motorola, Jenny Craig, McDonald’s, Milk Bar, and HSN have boosted her bank balance. Plus, she scored $11 million for a 2019 ad for Walkers Crisps (a U.K. potato chip company).
She’s tried her hand at a bunch of different projects, like concocting perfumes with Elizabeth Arden and Bazooka Candy Brands. With the 2010 launch of her candy-scented fragrance line “Lollipop Bling”, she didn’t just fatten her wallet but also proved she’s got plenty of diverse interests.
Mariah’s always got her eyes on the next opportunity. She’s tried her hand as a record label boss a few times: Crave Records in ’97, MonarC Entertainment in ’02, and Butterfly MC Records in ’17. Though the first two are no more, Butterfly MC Records (an imprint of Sony) still seems afloat.
In 2021, she switched gears and brought us Black Irish, her very own brand of creamy Irish liqueur. And almost as decadent are the yummy cookies from Mariah’s Cookies, a delivery-only sweet shop.
She didn’t stop there. Mariah jumped on the crypto wave last year when she partnered with Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform, with hopes of helping women learn more about investing.
High Notes and the High Life: Mariah’s riches and charity work
Thanks to Mariah Carey’s mega-sized bank account, she’s been living it up, big time. Her passion for property is something to behold. She’s got a house for every mood, from city-slicker pads to beachy getaways.
In 1993, Mariah and her then-beau Tommy Mottola dropped $2 million on a 22,000 sq ft mansion on 51 acres in Westchester County. Then, craving some concrete jungle vibes, she snagged a $5.5-million penthouse in Tribeca and the apartment downstairs for an extra $3.5 million to craft a neat triplex of her own.
Next, in 2007, she added a sweet seaside spot in the Bahamas for $5 million to her property portfolio in 2007. And in 2009, along with then-partner Nick Cannon, she threw down $6.9 million for a wow-worthy mansion in Bel-Air they cutely called ‘Fleur de Lys’. If you thought she would stop there, you would be wrong. She snapped up a pretty pad in Beverly Hills for an unknown amount in 2018 and a mansion in Atlanta for $5.65 million in 2021.
She’s not all about the cash, despite having lots of it. Mariah puts her money where her heart is. In 1996, she co-created Camp Mariah, a cool summer camp that gives city kids a chance to try out the arts and learn about future career paths. Her work with the camp shows that she really believes in making a difference through the arts and inspiring the next generation.
Through the Glitter: Mariah’s personal life
Mariah Carey is the daughter of an Irish-American opera-loving mama and an African-American/Venezuelan papa. Their interracial marriage meant young Mariah had to deal with her fair share of haters—an opposition that only made her stronger.
Mariah’s love life didn’t veer far off from her music career in those early years. First hubby: music bigshot Tommy Mottola, who turned Mariah from small-town girl to pop sensation. They split in ’98 and a decade later, Mariah said “I do” to funny guy Nick Cannon. Along came the adorable Monroe and Moroccan in 2011. The relationship ended in 2014, though each is still an important figure in the other’s life, for the sake of their children.
Little Monroe and Moroccan are never far from their mom’s side, often crashing her stage appearances; they even joined her for a heart-melting performance at the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Weathering the Storms: Major events in Mariah’s journey
Think Mariah Carey’s always had it made? Far from it. Even the queen of high notes and holiday hits has had to deal trademark troubles and copyright claims.
A crew from Dublin took umbrage with her use of “Black Irish” as a name for her lush line of Irish cream liqueur, claiming they used it first for their own whiskey. The case was sorted in early 2023 when Mariah bought the rights to the name from the Irish company to claim it as her own.
In 2022, a songwriter piped up and sued Mariah, his co-songwriter, and Sony over her Christmas cracker, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. Apparently, he was convinced she nicked the title from a song that was released in 1993, a year before Mariah’s Christmas album, which featured the track in question, came out. So, the famous festive tune came with a bit more drama than we expected.