Who Has a Higher Net Worth: Madonna or Michael Jackson?
It’s undeniable that Michael Jackson was the King of Pop and Madonna is the Queen of Pop — but only one of them had the higher net worth. While the two stars ruled the 1980s, they had very different careers. Shockingly, one of them was worth over a billion dollars more than the other.
Madonna’s net worth is huge
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Madonna was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. She debuted with the now-forgotten single “Everybody,” but her self-titled debut album produced three subsequent hits: “Holiday,” “Borderline,” and “Lucky Star.” She became a megastar with her second album, Like a Virgin. Between the album’s title track and the song “Material Girl,” Madonna established herself as a provocative performer who was not afraid to flaunt her sexuality.
With her album Like a Prayer, the Queen of Pop started exploring spiritual topics through pop music. She reinvented herself repeatedly, albums in multiple genres, including R&B (Bedtime Stories), techno (Ray of Light), and folk (American Life). Through her impressive catalog of hits and her business acumen, she now has a net worth of $850 million.
Michael Jackson’s net worth was incredibly low
Celebrity Net Worth reports Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He became famous through as a member of the bubblegum pop group The Jackson 5 before embarking on a solo career. His most famous records as a solo artist were Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. He was a music video vanguard, furthering the form through clips for songs like “Thriller,” “Billie Jean,” and “Beat It.”
Despite his fame and talent, Jackson’s finances left a lot to be desired. Due to his incredibly lavish lifestyle, the King of Pop died $500 million in debt in 2009. He is known to have spent between $50 and $100 million on unfinished musical projects and movies. He purchased his famous Neverland Ranch for $19.5 million and the property cost $10 million to maintain. Adding an amusement park to the property cost another $35 million. He was the King of Pop, but he wasn’t the King of Frugality.
Madonna said she doesn’t care about money
While Madonna has a higher net worth than the “Thriller” singer did, she said she doesn’t care too much about wealth. During a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna discussed her attitude towards that song and “Like a Virgin.” “I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me,” he said. “I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn’t a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They’re so geeky, they’re cool.”
The Queen of Pop still enjoyed her wealth, though. “I feel lucky to be able to afford a Frida Kahlo [painting] or live in a nice house, but I know that I can live without it,” she explained. “I’m resourceful, and if I ended up in a log cabin in the middle of the forest, that would work too. These things are not mandatory for my happiness. That’s what I meant by ‘I’m not a materialistic person.'”
The King of Pop and the Queen of Pop were similarly important, but they didn’t deal with money the same way.
