Whitney was in Real Financial Trouble


Singer, former model, and actress Whitney Houston had a net worth of $5 million. Born and raised in New Jersey, Houston hails from a family of prominent singers including her mother, gospel Cissy Houston, her cousin Dionne Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin. Houston began singing at an early age in a junior gospel choir, and back-up vocals for various artists including her own mother, Michael Zager Band, and award winning Chaka Khan. Houston’s career as a fashion model picked up and she appeared on such magazines as Seventeen, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. Her self-titled debut album peaked at number one on the US Billboard chart and has been certified diamond by the RIAA. Her impressive discography continues with five subsequent studio albums, all of which have been certified at least platinum by the RIAA, with three of those albums reaching the top five on the US Billboard (Whitney, I’m Your Baby Tonight and I Look To You). From these albums and the two soundtracks Houston contributed extensively to, she has produced eleven number one singles in the USA alone, including You Give Good Love (Whitney Houston, 1985), I Will Always Love You (The Bodyguard soundtrack) and So Emotional (Whitney, 1987). Among her awards are six Grammys and twenty-two American Music Awards. Her acting credits include the films The Bodyguard (grossed $410.9 million worldwide) and Waiting to Exhale, and The Preacher’s Wife and guest spots on television shows such as Gimme a Break!, Silver Spoons and Boston Public.
Whitney Houston’s Death and Financial Problems
On February 11th, 2012, Whitney Houston passed away in a hotel room in Beverly Hills California. During her career, Whitney sold over 170 million albums and won two Emmy awards, 6 Grammies, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 AMA’s. Her net worth had declined dramatically in the last years of her life. In 2001 she signed a $100 million recording contract with Arista and at the peak of her career she was able to earn up to $30 million a year touring. Unfortunately at the end of her life Whitney was close to broke and was rumored to be asking her mentor Clive Davis for handouts. Rumors are also swirling that her New Jersey home is dangerously close to foreclosure and a second house in Atlanta had already been repossessed. Clive Davis had already reportedly loaned Houston $1.2 million to pay off debts and get clean from drugs. Unfortunately she was never able to make the comeback everyone had hoped for and when at the time of her death Whitney was allegedly flat broke and being supported by a generous advance from Arista for her next album.