When Whitney Houston died in 2012, she was broke with a net worth of negative $US20 million ($A30.6 million).
Nicknamed “the Voice”, the singer passed away at age 48 when she was found unconscious in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The music icon’s cause of death was deemed “accidental drowning, heart disease and cocaine use.”
Six years before her passing, the Grammy winner faced eviction from her $8.2 million home after running up almost $1.02 million in mortgage arrears and unpaid taxes, according to The Sun.
In the months before her death, it appeared Houston was being financially supported by record company Arista, which had given her an advance payment on her next album.
A music industry source said just a few days before her death: “Whitney should have Mariah Carey money, and she’s flat broke.”
Since her death, the “How Will I Know” hitmaker’s estate is estimated to be worth over $US100 million ($A153 million).
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Whitney Houston had a net worth of negative $US20 million at the time of her death. Picture: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Here’s a closer look at how Houston’s empire financially turned around and what became of her properties.
Financial Troubles
At her peak in the 1980s and ’90s, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry — and one of the world’s best-selling artists. She sold over 200 million albums and singles.
The entertainer was able to earn up to $US30 million ($A45 million) a year from touring alone.
In 1992, Houston made her acting debut as Rachel Marron in the blockbuster hit film, “The Bodyguard”.
While her salary as an actress for “The Bodyguard” hasn’t been confirmed, the artist made an impressive $US33 million ($A50.5 million) from the movie’s soundtrack, “The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album”, Business Insider reports.
The lead single, Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” generated millions in royalties for Parton who wrote the song.
However, the pop superstar — who was once a bigger seller than Madonna — blew her money just as fast than she earned it.
Houston admitted she spent lavishly on drugs and partying. The National Enquirer reported that she forked out $US6,300 ($A9,600) a week on drugs.
“My business is sex, drugs and rock and roll. My friends … we have a good time,” she told US TV program “Primetime.”
Houston made her acting debut as Rachel Marron in the 1992 film, “The Bodyguard”.
Houston hired her father John as her manager, earning $A650,000 a year. John stole money from her.
“She found out about it, all the money he stole. She cut him off,” Houston’s brother, Gary said.
In retaliation John’s entertainment company sued her for $A100 million in a breach of contract dispute.
John claimed he was owed money from a business deal he had helped negotiate. The case was later thrown out.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the diva was flat broke in 2001 before she signed what was then the biggest record deal in music history — a $US100 million ($A153 million) six-album contract with Sony/Arista.
The publication states “When an artist signs a $100 million record contract, he/she does not receive the money all at once.
“An artist is paid in stages, and each payment is essentially a loan based on the success of future albums.”
Houston with her father, John.
The “Greatest Love of All” singer only earned $US40 million ($A61 million) of her $US100 million ($A153 million) contract because her records did not sell well.
Houston ended up owing the record label nearly $US20 million ($A30.6 million). Sony/Arista owns the rights to her back catalogue.
When the “I Have Nothing” singer divorced Bobby Brown in 2007, she filed paperwork, stating that she had $US4 million ($A6.1 million) in debts/obligations, a life insurance policy worth $US300,000 ($A460,000), $US225,000 ($A345,000) in a stock portfolio, and just $US40,000 ($A61,000).
At the time, Houston stated that she owned two properties: a $US6.5 million ($A9.9 million) house in New Jersey, which had a $US3.3 million ($A5 million) mortgage, and a $US1.2 million ($A1.8 million) townhouse in Atlanta, which had a $US1.05 million ($A1.6 million) mortgage.
The “I Have Nothing” singer divorced Bobby Brown in 2007.
Houston also owned nearly $US2 million ($A3.06 million) worth of art and jewellery. She stated that she had roughly $US10 million ($A15.3 million) in assets and just over $USUS4 million ($A6.1 million) in debts, giving her a net worth in 2007 of $6 million ($A9.1 million).
At the time of her death, the “Step by Step” singer was completely broke and was rumoured to be asking her mentor, Clive Davis, for financial help.
Her New Jersey home was close to foreclosure, and the townhouse in Atlanta has already been repossessed.
Davis reportedly loaned Houston $1.2 million ($A1.8 million) to pay off debts and get clean from drugs after her divorce from Brown. Sadly, she never made the comeback everyone hoped for.
the “Step by Step” singer was completely broke and was rumoured to be asking her mentor, Clive Davis, for financial help. Picture: Sony Music
Who inherited Whitney Houston’s estate?
Since her death, Houston’s estate earned millions of dollars through increased album sales, streaming royalties, and other licensing deals.
Nine months after her passing, the musician’s estate generated an estimated $US40 million ($A61 million).
The windfall was due to the huge spike in the singer’s music sales and the release of the movie “Sparkle,” in which she acted and executive produced.
Houston’s executers were able to settle most of her debts and set aside $US20 million ($A30.6 million) for her then 19-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, who inherited the music icon’s estate.
Three years later, Bobbi Kristina died at the age of 22 after being found unconscious in a bathtub in her Atlanta home. Her death was eerily similar to her mother’s demise.
After Bobbi’s shock death, Houston’s estate was transferred to her mother, Cissy, and her two brothers, Michael and Gary.
However, Cissy later stepped down from her role, and Whitney’s sister-in-law, Marion ‘Pat’ Houston, is the estate executor.
Cissy died in 2024 at 91 years old while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2019, the estate partnered with management company Primary Wave Music, which received a 50 per cent stake in Houston’s estate, including her publishing rights, master recording revenue, name, likeness and brand.
Houston (left) and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Houston with her mother Cissy. Picture: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
What happened to Whitney Houston’s properties?
New Jersey
Houston purchased the New Jersey in 1993 for only $US537,000 ($A822,000) — a year after marrying Bobby Brown and giving birth to Bobbi.
The late soul singer used this home as her guesthouse for 17 years, until 2010, when she sold it for $US940,000 ($A1.4 million), the New York Post reports.
The five bedroom property also has a personalised built-in recording studio that Houston often used.
“The former recording studio is currently a media room, gym area, office and kitchenette but could have a multitude of uses as the soundproof glass walls provide unique possibilities,” a listing said at the time.
Houston purchased the New Jersey in 1993 for only $US537,000 ($A822,000). Picture: Realtor
The Queen of Pop purchased the five-bedroom property in 2003 for $US1.38 million. Picture: Realtor
Atlanta
The Queen of Pop purchased the five-bedroom property in 2003 for $US1.38 million.
She sold it five years later for $US1.2 million, just days after her divorce from Bobby Brown was finalised on April 24, 2007.
Built in 2001, the luxurious home features a library, billiard and media rooms, a terrace and a mahogany bar. Outside, there’s a resort-style swimming pool and spa.
The sprawling mansion was where Brown filmed his 2005 reality show “Being Bobby Brown.
Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun and the New York Post and were republished with permission.
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