Though Whitney Houston sold more than 200 million albums – including The Bodyguard soundtrack which she earned $33million from – and singles during her career and commanded $10million per movie, the legendary singer was said to have been on the verge of bankruptcy when she died.
A messy divorce with Bobby Brown, addictions to alcohol and drugs are all said to have whittled away Whitney Houston’s multimillion dollar fortune over the years.
Forbes writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg told E! News: “There were certainly rumors that Whitney Houston died broke and she didn’t have any significant financial impact in the last couple years of her life.
“It’s been a while since she has put out an album and been on tour, so one could see why towards the end of her life she would be running a bit low on cash.”
A music insider claimed that Whitney Houston was flat broke and had been living off advances from her record label for “quite some time”.
Property records show Whitney Houston had approximately $2.85 million worth of real estate in her name in the form of two homes in New Jersey. Daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown has listed her address as an Atlanta townhouse that was purchased in 2007 for $509,875.
Whitney Houston sold a house in Florida for $1.35 million back in 2005.
Sony Music are now expected to release some of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits but her estate may not receive a large payout from this, as her biggest hit I Will Always Love You was written by Dolly Parton – who is poised to cash in all over again.
