What Was Bobbi Kristina Brown's Net Worth?
Bobbi Kristina Brown was an American heiress and reality star who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of her death. That money was held mostly in trust when she died. Bobbi Kristina Brown was the only child of Whitney Houston and the fourth child of Bobby Brown.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, like many celebrity children, did not have the most conventional life. The daughter of superstar singer Whitney Houston and successful R&B artist Bobby Brown, she grew up in the spotlight. She appeared on her father's reality series while in elementary school and was there as both her mother and father began to experience career downturns, largely due to their abuse of drugs and alcohol and the erratic behavior that came with their habits. After her parents divorced, she spent most of her time with her mother when Whitney's schedule allowed. After her mother's death in February 2012, Bobbi Kristina became the subject of almost continual media scrutiny. She appeared in her own reality series and was involved in a rather nasty battle with her family for the right to her mother's sizable fortune. Tragically, Bobbi Kristina herself died on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22 after an accident in a bathtub, which was eerily similar to her mother's death.
Trust Fund
When Bobbi Kristina turned 21, she received around $2 million from a trust fund that was established after her mother's tragic death. That represented around 10% of what was believed to be a $20 million trust. Another 15%, roughly $2.7 million, was to be distributed when she turned 25 in 2018. The remainder was supposed to be distributed on her 30th birthday. However, neither happened, as Bobbi Kristina passed away on July 26, 2015.
Upon Bobbi's death, according to the terms of Whitney's will, the remaining funds will be evenly split among Whitney's mother, Cissy, and two brothers. Ex-husband Bobby Brown was an original beneficiary of Whitney's will, but he was removed when they divorced in 2007.
Assuming Bobbi did not have a will, her father would theoretically have had a legitimate claim to whatever money had already been distributed, approximately $2 million. The one wrinkle in that plan was Bobbi's boyfriend/alleged husband, Nick Gordon. Nick claimed that he and Bobbi were married, which would make him the closest direct beneficiary of the distributed money. A family lawyer denied Nick's claim that they were actually married. In 2016, Nick Gordon was ultimately found "legally responsible" for Bobbi's death and ordered to pay $36 million in restitution to Bobbi's estate. Nick died of a drug overdose on January 1, 2020.
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Early Life
Bobby Kristina Brown was born on March 4, 1993, in Livingston, New Jersey. She was the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. She grew up in the shadow of her parents' successful music careers and controversial personal lives. Her mother was highly famous for both her powerhouse vocals and her string of successful films. Her mother's highest-grossing films, "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale," were released the year before Bobbi's birth and after her birth, respectively. Through her mother, Brown was related to many singers and entertainers, including Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick.
In 1998, Bobbi was featured on her mother's song "My Love Is Your Love" on the album of the same title. When her mother brought her to the recording studio and held her up to the microphone, she said, "Sing, mommy," which can be heard during the first verse of the song; she says, "Clap your hands!" at the end of the track. Whitney brought her into the spotlight at age one when, in 1994, she accepted an American Music Award while holding Bobbi on stage. Her parents were the subject of a docu-drama on Bravo during her elementary school years, and she often followed one or the other on tour.
After her parents divorced in 2007, Bobbi spent the majority of the time in her mother's home in Atlanta, though she was often there alone. Her parents were known to have used drugs, and many believe that this contributed to her mother's untimely death in 2012. Throughout her teenage years, Brown was the focus of many tabloids and gossip columns, constantly being bullied in the media about her purported drug use, weight, and relationships with different family members. Author Mark Bego characterized Bobbi's teenage years as "no picnic" because of the attention that the media paid to her and her "extreme growing pains" due to the focus on her.
(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
Adult Life and Career
Brown's mother died at age 48 from an accidental drowning in February 2012 in a hotel bathtub. Later, heart disease and cocaine were listed as contributing factors. Bobbi was described as inconsolable and completely overwhelmed after her mother's death, and a few days later, she was admitted to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. In March 2012, Bobbi Kristina said she felt her mother's spirit and expressed her intention to carry on her mother's legacy by doing the "singing thing," along with starting a career as an actor and dancer.
Brown was the beneficiary of Houston's entire estate, including her cars, jewelry, clothing, persona effects, and furniture, an estate that was worth $115 million. When Bobbi Kristina turned 21, she received around $2 million from a trust fund that was established after her mother's tragic death. That represented around 10% of what was believed to be a $20 million trust. Another 15%, roughly $2.7 million, was to be distributed when she turned 25 in 2018. The remainder was supposed to be distributed on her 30th birthday.
In 2012, Brown was cast in a recurring role as Tina the receptionist in Tyler Perry's "For Better or Worse," with Perry praising her performance and stating that she had a bright future in show business. After rumors began that Bobbi Kristina had "tearfully exited the set" of the show, Perry came to her defense, stating that had never happened. The role of Tina, who on the show is the daughter of a hair stylist, was Brown's acting debut.
In July 2013, Brown announced her engagement to a close family friend named Nick Gordon, who had come to live with the Houston family when he was 12 years old but was never actually adopted. The announcement caused a ripple within the family; before they made their romantic involvement known, Bobbi had always referred to him as her big brother.
Coma and Death
Gordon and a friend found Brown face down in a bathtub in her home in Alpharetta, Georgia, on January 31, 2015. They began performing CPR until 911 arrived. According to police, Bobbi was alive and breathing after being transported to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia. At first, they found no evidence to indicate the incident was related to drugs or alcohol, but this was later disputed. Doctors placed Brown in a medically induced coma after determining her brain function was significantly diminished. She remained in a coma and on a ventilator when she was moved to Emory University Hospital on February 2nd.
In March 2015, she was moved to an Atlanta rehab facility, still in a coma, with doctors saying she had global and irreversible brain damage. Bobby Brown arranged in June 2015 to have his daughter flown to Chicago to be seen by specialists, only to be told there was nothing they could do. She was flown back to Atlanta on June 24 and put into hospice. She tragically died in hospice care on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22. Funeral services were held on August 1, 2015, in Alpharetta, Georgia. Bobbi was buried two days later between her mother and maternal grandfather in Westfield, New Jersey.
