Singers/Musicians

Mariah Carey Net Worth: How Rich is the Singer in 2022?

Published

3 years ago

December 17, 2021

Mariah Carey is an American recording artist who is best known for selling hundreds of millions of records worldwide dating back to the 1990s. Carey has produced hits across a plethora of genres such as R&B, hip hop, pop, and soul.

Mariah Carey Nickelodeons Kids' Choice Awards — Mariah Carey at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards held at The Forum in Inglewood, the USA on March 24, 2018.

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Mariah Carey Net Worth

Carey made her first public appearance at the 1990 NBA Finals where she sang “America the Beautiful”. Exactly one week later with the help of Columbia Records, Carey released her debut studio album entitled Mariah Carey. The album topped the Billboard charts for 11 straight weeks, eventually selling roughly 15 million copies worldwide.

Her second studio album called Emotions was released 15 months later, but the record went on to sell 8 million copies, failing to reach the heights of its predecessor. Undeterred by disappointing sales, Carey plunged forward to create her best-selling project of all time, Music Box.

The record eventually surpassed 28 million sales worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in music history. It can be argued that aside from her obvious vocal talents, Carey’s best attributes are her longevity, consistency, and diversity.

In over two decades of work, Carey has released a total of 15 studio albums. Over that span, she has sold over 200 million copies of her music worldwide. Not only that, but in 1999 Carey began acting in films to diversify her work portfolio.

Full Name	Mariah Carey
Birth Date	March 27, 1969
Birth Place	Huntington, New York
Profession	Singer / Songwriter
Husband	Single
Net Worth	$550 Million

How much is Mariah Carey worth?

As it stands in 2021, it’s estimated that Carey is worth over $520 million. In 2001, she parted ways with Columbia Records and signed a $100 contract with Virgin Records. Then, Forbes reported she was worth roughly $225 million in 2008.

Since that time, Carey has boosted her net worth by way of four more studio albums, 10 more acting roles, along with endorsements from the likes of HSN, Jenny Craig, McDonald’s, and several other companies.

Early Life

Mariah Carey meet and greet with fans in 1999. — Mariah Carey arrived at a music store to sign her new album Rainbow and have a meet and greet with her fans.

Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1969, in Huntington, New York to parents Alfred Roy and Patricia. Her mother is actually a former opera singer and vocal coach. She has two siblings, a sister by the name of Alison and a brother named Morgan, who are both older than the singer.

What race is Mariah Carey?

Carey’s mother is of Irish descent while her father is of African-American and Afro-Venezuelan lineage, making her biracial. In recent interviews, Carey has asserted her pride in being both black and Irish.

Carey excelled as a youth in music and literature. She attended Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York where she frequently worked as a demo singer. After graduating in 1987, Carey moved to New York City and began singing backup to Brenda K. Star.

It didn’t take long for her to be noticed by high-profile music executives. At a CBS record executives’ gala in 1988, head of Columbia Records Tommy Mottola received a copy of her demo tape and immediately sought after her.

Music Career

Mariah Carey began her music career as the central female artist on Columbia’s roster. The record company spent upwards of $1 million promoting her debut album in 1990. At the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, Carey took home the award for Best New Artist. Her debut was the best-selling album in the U.S. in 1991.

How many octaves does Mariah Carey have?

One of the things Carey is most known for is her ability to reach five octaves with her vocal range. She also has the capability of reaching notes beyond the seventh octave.

Carey is said to have influenced a generation of pop singers, setting a precedent with her wide-ranging vocals.

Carey would release two more albums, Emotions and Music Box before dipping her toes into the Christmas music genre.

Mariah Carey Christmas

In November of 1999, Carey released her fourth studio album entitled Merry Christmas, which would go on to being the best-selling Christmas album ever. Not only that, but the lead single All I Want for Christmas is You would become one of the most popular songs in music history.

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She’d follow that album 26 years later in 2010 with Merry Christmas II You, which sold a respectable 55,000 copies its first week. Contributors to the project included Jermaine Dupri and Randy Jackson.

At the turn of the century, Carey signed with Virgin Records, a decision she’d later regret. Less than a year later, Carey was bought out of her contract for $28 million after signing a deal for $100 million.

Albums Glitter and Charmbracelet are often said to be the low points in her musical career. However, the artist bounced back strong in 2005 with The Emancipation of Mimi, a project that would sell over seven million copies in under a year’s time.

She continued to ride her momentum with the release of E=MC² in 2008, which sold more copies in its opening week than any of her previous work. Three additional non-Christmas albums would come out following E=MC² as the pop icon began focusing more on film and television.

Personal Life

Carey and her discoverer if you will Tommy Mottola actually dated and eventually married for nearly five years before separating in 1997. She then dated singer Luis Miguel for roughly four years.

Nick Cannon / Mariah Carey

The two got married in 2008 and had fraternal twins named Moroccan and Monroe. Carey and Cannon were together up until 2014, citing the divorce as a result of “no longer growing together as people”.

Mariah Carey Boyfriend

In 2016, Carey began dating American choreographer Bryan Tanaka. Despite not being married, the couple is still said to be together to this day. The couple has been together for nearly five years.