With various music journalists, critics, and executives regarding Madonna as outrightly the most influential female recording artist of all time, it is no surprise to further find out that she was a major influence to a bunch of a younger generation of musicians; from Britney Spears, to Christina Aguilera, to the Spice Girls, Jennifer Lopez, Pink, Shakira and Lady Gaga. All these singers, who have gone ahead to have outstanding careers, are said to have grown up to listening to the music of the material girl, admiring and wanting to be exactly like her.
In addition to being worthy of emulation in regards to her music, Madonna’s influence stretches into the business side of the music industry as she was arguably the first woman in the entertainment industry to have almost 100% financial control of her career, a feat that other women at the time longed to accomplish. Her levels of power and control were unprecedented for a woman in the entertainment industry as she was able to generate over $1.2 billion in sales within the first decade of her career, putting her net worth at an all-time high for a woman. This prompted many scholars to study her career as they described her as America’s smartest businesswoman and a dynamic entrepreneur.
In more recent times, Madonna’s net worth, as well as the exact details of what she earned over the years, has been the topic of many discussions. Here’s a detailed look at how she was able to achieve such unprecedented success.
What is Madonna’s Net Worth
Despite the recent success of female artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift, Madonna, is a star in her own right having sold more than 300 million records worldwide. She is acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist of all time and has the honor of being the wealthiest woman in the music business. She has been able to retain that coveted position thanks to the fact that she remains the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time and holds the record for being the artist with the most number-ones on all combined Billboard charts.
But while her status seems to be undisputed, there are conflicting reports as to how much exactly the legendary singer is worth in 2019. The very reputable Forbes magazine announced in mid-2019 that Madonna’s net worth is $570 million while the highly referenced celebrity net worth website put the figure way higher at $850 million.
Here’s How She Amassed Her Wealth Over The Years
Like almost every other musician that is topping the charts in recent history, Madonna’s net worth started off small. After dropping out of school and moving to New York, she found work as a backup dancer while she honed her craft. By 1982, she was able to gain the attention of music executives at Warner Bros. who paid her a $15,000 advance per single and a $2,500 publishing advance as she launched her career.
By the late 1980s, Madonna, who had now gained a huge following, was reported to be earning about $39 million a year, pre-tax. The business-savvy singer was not satisfied with what she had achieved and so went on to achieve even more as she was able to negotiate a $60 million deal with Time Warner to form her own entertainment company, Maverick, which consisted of a record company, a film production company, and associated music publishing, book publishing and merchandising division.
In 2001, after an eight-year absence from touring, Madonna’s net worth got a huge boost as she embarked on the Drowned World Tour in June of that year, raking in $75 million from 47 sold-out shows to be the highest-grossing concert tour of the year by a solo artist. In 2004, she again went on the road for the Re-Invention World Tour which was the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning around $120 million. Her 2006 Confessions Tour stuck to the script as it was the highest-grossing tour for a female artist at the time, grossing over $193.7 million.
Thanks to all these earnings, by the end of 2007, Forbes reported that she took home $72 million in 2007. In 2008, she earned $40 million, less than what she took home in the previous year. 2009 was, however, different as she received $110 million. These earnings contributed to her ending the 2000s as the best-selling single artist of the decade in the U.S.
In the 2010s, Madonna’s net worth kept up its trajectory as she continued to tour heavily, notably headlining the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, produce more music, and run her very successful businesses, all of which have culminated in her heading towards a net worth of almost $1 billion.
