Mariah Carey’s lavish lifestyle sparks financial strain, including staggering $18.6M in mortgage debt
Mariah Carey’s penthouse might be sitting pretty in Manhattan, but her financials? Not so much.
The diva has stacked up mortgages totaling $18.6 million on her posh Tribeca pad — most of which was cashed out in loans. Seems like the “We Belong Together” singer’s lifestyle requires a little more than the holiday royalties from “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
The 55-year-old music legend reportedly has a taste for the finer things, blowing a shocking $1 million a month on designer clothes, gifts and extravagant expenses.
Insiders tell the Daily Mail her split from billionaire James Packer back in 2016 wasn’t just because of their personal differences, but had a lot to do with her obsession with “money, money, money.”
Think $45,000 spa treatments for her dogs, $100,000 a month on exotic flowers, and $10,000 per session for hair and makeup.
Mariah scooped up her Tribeca penthouse for $9 million cash in 1999, merging it with the apartment below.
Since then, it’s been a financial roller coaster. In 2009, she borrowed $8 million from JPMorgan Chase Bank, followed by a $2.6 million loan from City National Bank — known as the “Bank to the Stars” — in 2015.
In 2016, just before her divorce from Nick Cannon was finalized, Carey refinanced her JPMorgan mortgage to a whopping $17.6 million, pocketing a cool $9.6 million in the process, the outlet reports. Then, in 2018, the loan was bumped up again to $18.6 million with an extra $1 million thrown her way.
Despite her reported $350 million net worth, Mariah has been shedding property too. She recently offloaded her nine-bedroom Atlanta mansion for $3.92 million — a loss of $1.73 million in just 18 months after buying it for $5.65 million.
Why all the cash grabs? Well, experts have some theories. “Mariah don’t step out of the house, it cost her $150,000, $200,000 just to walk out of the house,” said ex-husband Nick Cannon in 2022, highlighting just how much it takes to keep up with her high-maintenance lifestyle.
Doug Perry, a financing advisor, thinks her earnings may be more seasonal than year-round.
“She generates more of her music royalties, endorsements and appearance fees during the holidays,” Perry told the Daily Mail. “If I was underwriting her as a borrower, I would average her income over a multi-year period.”
But with her Tribeca penthouse now worth between $30 and $35 million, according to Perry, Mariah still has some serious equity left in her property empire to borrow against. “Mariah has cashed in on the equity created by that appreciation by taking out a series of larger and larger loans,” he added.
Carey, who hasn’t dropped a new album since 2018, is gearing up for her upcoming Christmas tour, starting Nov. 6 in California and wrapping up in Brooklyn on Dec. 17. After, she’ll kick off her Las Vegas residency in January. And with tickets going for up to $2,700 a pop, the singer could be padding her bank account just in time.
And despite reports that she’s back in action, Mariah has faced some personal struggles recently. She lost her mother and estranged sister on the same day last month. “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother,” Carey shared on August 27. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.”
The singer took to Instagram to thank fans for their support, posting a rehearsal clip for her upcoming shows in China and Brazil. “It’s been a couple of rough weeks, but I appreciate everyone’s love and support so much,” she wrote.
