Whitney Houston blew her fortune, now her family’s cashing in: she died in debt, but her estate has signed a multimillion-dollar deal including biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, merch and make-up

Dec 7 , 2022

Whitney Houston’s estate is set to make a posthumous fortune thanks to a multimillion-dollar deal that includes merchandise, make-up and even a movie. Photos: AP

A six-time Grammy award winner, the late superstar’s legacy will go on for some time and her family definitely knows this, striking a deal with music publishing company and talent agency Primary Wave

The Houston estate will be raking in cash from merch like fragrance, apparel, Funko Pop dolls as well as a collaboration with Mac cosmetics on a line of branded make-up

It’s been over a decade since the world mourned the tragic and untimely passing of Whitney Houston. Throughout her career, which spanned the entire gamut of the entertainment industry, the legendary singer was praised as having one of, if not the greatest voices of all time, with six Grammys to her name.

However, at the time of her heartbreaking death at the age of 48, in a hotel bathtub in Los Angeles, much of Houston’s stardom had already lost its sheen.

Actress and singer Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brown pose for photographers in 1997. Photo: Reuters

The I Wanna Dance with Somebody singer’s turbulent relationship with long-time partner Bobby Brown as well as her highly publicised issues with substance abuse were some of the contributing factors to the superstar’s troubled final years.

A fan holds a picture of Whitney Houston near her funeral at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, US, in 2012. Photo: Xinhua

Now over a decade later, per Billboard, Houston’s estate is planning major moves to cash in on the talented singer’s legacy. So what’s planned exactly?

The estate and Primary Wave partnership

Whitney Houston died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease. Photo: Reuters

Though Houston had signed a US$100 million deal with record label Arista in 2001, which was then the largest record deal in history, by the time she had passed, the internationally renowned superstar’s finances were reportedly in a shockingly dire state, per Billboard.

Despite this massive deal, according to Celebrity Net Worth, in 2012 the year of her passing, Houston owed some US$20 million in debt. Considering that at the height of her stardom, The Greatest Love of All vocalist is said to have boasted an estimated net worth of US$150 million, the nature of the financial decline is particularly calamitous.

Whitney Houston is said to have had an estimated net worth of US$150 million at the height of her stardom. Photo: AP

Fast forward to 2019, and Pat Houston – Whitney’s sister-in-law, manager and also the executor of the Houston estate – struck a deal with music publishing company and talent management agency Primary Wave.