What is Madonna's Net Worth?
Madonna is an American best-selling recording musical artist and entertainer who has a net worth of $850 million. Known as the "Queen of Pop," Madonna's journey began in the early 1980s with the release of her debut single "Everybody," followed by her self-titled album. Her early work combined dance-pop with an edgy, street-smart image, which quickly resonated with audiences. With the release of her second album, "Like a Virgin" (1984), Madonna achieved global stardom. The title track and hits like "Material Girl" showcased her ability to combine catchy pop melodies with provocative imagery, a theme that would become a hallmark of her career. Her music videos, often controversial, became a staple of MTV, solidifying her position as a pop icon. Madonna continued to push boundaries with her third album, "True Blue" (1986), and the critically acclaimed "Like a Prayer" (1989), which featured themes of religion and sexuality. Her exploration of such themes continued with the release of her book "Sex" in 1992 and albums like "Erotica" and "Bedtime Stories."
The late 1990s and 2000s saw Madonna reinventing herself with albums like "Ray of Light" (1998) and "Music" (2000), which incorporated electronic music and reflected her personal evolution. These albums earned her critical praise and demonstrated her ability to stay relevant in the changing music landscape. Madonna's impact extends beyond music into film and fashion. She has starred in movies like "Desperately Seeking Susan" (1985), "Evita" (1996), for which she won a Golden Globe, and directed films like "W.E." (2011). Her fashion has influenced generations, known for its constant reinvention and bold statement-making.
Madonna's live performances are another aspect of her storied career. Her tours, such as "Blond Ambition" (1990) and "Confessions" (2006), are known for their theatricality and spectacle, setting a new standard for live pop music performances. With $411 million in revenue, her 2008-2009 "Sticky & Sweet Tour" was the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist in history for many years. Today, it is roughly the 15th highest-grossing tour of all time. She has won seven Grammy Awards, among hundreds of other significant music honors. She also won a Golden Globe for her performance in "Evita." She is an entertainment force, a businesswoman to be reckoned with, and one of music's greatest success stories.
Is Madonna a Billionaire?
Contrary to a popular rumor, Madonna is not a billionaire. Back in 2013, a little-known Madonna fan blog misinterpreted the fact that her MDNA tour grossed $300 million to mean that Madonna herself was $300 million richer and, therefore, a billionaire. At the time, her net worth was $650 million. First off, even if Madonna did somehow make $300 million, after taxes, she would only be worth $950 million which is not quite a billionaire. But more importantly, the claim that $300 million in gross concert revenue equates to a net $300 million increase in her personal wealth is grossly misinformed. That $300 million number is gross revenue, which means before costs are taken out. Madonna is lucky to take home 10-20% of her tour's profits after all expenses are removed. That would still be a very nice income, but nowhere near $300 million. Unfortunately, many reputable media outlets helped spread this false rumor by snowballing the story as fact across hundreds of websites, magazines, and newspapers. The rumor has since been debunked by virtually every reputable wealth-tracking media outlet, including Forbes, CelebrityNetWorth, Bloomberg, and more.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. She eventually moved with her family to Rochester Hills, Michigan, where she took up the study of dance, even earning a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. She dropped out of college in 1978 and moved to New York City to pursue her dance career. Eventually, after forming and playing with various bands such as "The Breakfast Club" and "Emmy," Madonna began promoting herself as a solo act and signed a deal with Sire Records.
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Breakthrough and Musical Career
Her first two singles with Sire, "Everybody" (1982) and "Burning Up" (1983) became club hits in the US. Her fame continued to grow with the release of her eponymous debut album in July 1983, as it peaked six months later at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart. Her second album, "Like a Virgin" (November 1984), was her first number-one album and the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the US. She has gone on to release over ten studio albums, including "Like a Prayer" (1989), "Bedtime Stories" (1994), "American Life" (2003), "Hard Candy" (2008), "Rebel Heart" (2015) and "Madame X" (2019), to name a few. Having sold more than 300 million records worldwide, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, in her first year of eligibility.
Madonna is still going strong today, having embarked on "The Celebration Tour" in January 2023, which ran through April 2024. In June 2023, she collaborated with The Weeknd and Playboi Carti on the song "Popular" from the soundtrack to the drama series "The Idol."
Other Pursuits
In addition to her musical career, Madonna has also enjoyed a successful career as an actress, even earning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1996 film "Evita." Other films she has appeared in include "Desperately Seeking Susan" (1985), "Dick Tracy" (1990), and "A League of Their Own" (1992). She produced and wrote the documentary "I Am Because We Are" (2008) and directed the film "Filth and Wisdom" (2008).
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Film Salaries
Madonna earned $80,000 for 1985's "Desperately Seeking Susan." The following year she earned $1 million to star opposite her husband at the time, Sean Penn. Earning $1 million in 1986 is the same as earning around $2.3 million in today's dollars. She earned a modest $35,000 for 1990's "Dick Tracy". In 1993, she earned her film career-high salary of $2.5 million PLUS a percentage of gross for "Body of Evidence." She also negotiated to keep her entire wardrobe. In 1996, she earned $1 million for her critically acclaimed work in "Evita."
Madonna also is an astute businesswoman. She founded the entertainment company Maverick in 1992 in a joint venture with Time Warner that paid her an advance of $60 million and 20% of the royalties from the music publishing division. One of the first projects released from her Maverick venture was her coffee table book "Sex" (1992), which sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in its first few days, despite controversy and a strong negative public reaction over the sexual nature of the book's contents. Other book ventures of hers include a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to author five children's books. The first book, "The English Roses," was published in September 2003. In 2004, Warner purchased Madonna's shares of Maverick, and it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music.
Madonna has also produced four fashion brands. Her first fashion collaboration was with the brand H&M in 2007, and a collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana. Additionally, she established the enterprise MG Icon LLC—a joint venture with her manager Guy Oseary and Iconix Brand Group—which produces her lifestyle and fashion brands "Material Girl" and "Truth or Dare by Madonna." In 2014, she also launched a range of skincare products, MDNA Skin, in Japan, subsequently expanding into Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States in 2017. During her long career, she has also had numerous brand partnerships and endorsement deals, including one of her earliest ones with Pepsi in January 1989.
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Personal Life
In October 1996, Madonna gave birth to her daughter with fitness trainer Carlos Leon, although their relationship ended in May 1997. She met director Guy Ritchie in 1998 and gave birth to their son in August 2000. In 2006 Madonna had also adopted her son David from Malawi in 2006. Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000, eventually divorcing in 2008. Their divorce settlement granted Ritchie between £50-60 million ($66.67-80 million), which included the couple's London pub and residence and Wiltshire estate in England. In February 2017, Madonna adopted twin sisters from Malawi. She has six children in total: Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, Stella, and Estere.
As of March 2023, Madonna is dating 29-year-old NYC boxing coach Josh Popper.
Art Collection
Madonna owns a collection of various artworks that are worth a minimum of $100 million and could be worth several times that amount in the right art market. She owns one of only five paintings created by Frida Kahlo in addition to work from artists such as Picasso, Diego Rivera, Damien Hirst and Marilyn Minter.
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Real Estate
Perhaps not surprisingly, Madonna owns an impressive real estate portfolio that includes homes around the world. She, at one point, owned SIX properties in London alone. It's not clear how many of those she still owns; some were likely traded to Guy Richie during their divorce.
For several decades Madonna has owned a townhouse located in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The four-story, 57-foot width Georgian townhouse spans more than 12,000 square feet, with 26 rooms, including 13 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, nine fireplaces, 11-foot ceilings, a 38′ by 22′ drawing room featuring south windows overlooking the garden, a library, a Georgian staircase, an elevator, a double-car garage, a 3000 square foot garden with trees, roses, and rhododendrons, and plans in the future for a new rooftop garden.
In September 2017, Madonna paid a little under $9 million for an 18th-century mansion on 5.5 acres in Sintra, Portugal. For many years, she owned 6,000 square-foot New York City apartment, which she sold in 2013 for $16 million. She still owns a smaller unit in that same building, which she bought in 2008 for $7 million. But that's not her only New York City abode! In 2009, she paid $32 million for a 12,000-square-foot townhouse that has a two-car garage, NINE fireplaces, a wine cellar, and an elevator. She also owns a 50-acre equestrian property in Bridgehampton, New York, which was purchased in 2010 for $7 million over two transactions.
In 2003, when she was married to Guy Richie, Madonna paid $12 million for an incredible Beverly Hills mansion. The seller was actress Sela Ward and her venture capitalist husband Howard Sherman. Sitting on 1.25 gated acres, the property featured a 17,000 square-foot home with nine bedrooms, a full-size home theater, a gym, a pool, and a tennis court. She listed the home for sale in 2012 for $28 million. She then listed it again in 2013 for $22.5 million ultimately hitting a sale later that year for $19.5 million. The buyer was Rockstar energy drink founder Russell Weiner. Amazingly, Russ listed the house in 2018 for a cool $35 million.
In April 2021, Madonna paid $20 million for The Weeknd's mansion in Hidden Hills, California. In April 2022, Madonna listed the home for $26 million. In March 2023, she lowered the asking price of this mansion to $23.5 million. She got a buyer in June 2023 for $23 million. Here's a video tour:
