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Mariah Carey is reportedly scrambling to control a financial crisis as her lavish lifestyle and Manhattan penthouse land her in deep trouble. The singing sensation is grappling with $18.6 million worth of mortgage debt.
Her Tribeca unit’s purchase stands tall on the multi-million mortgages, with $10.6 million in cash advances. The 55-year-old legendary musician’s “obscenely expensive” spending habits have had her shelling out a million a month, per Radar Online. Carey’s shopping sprees have deepened the hole in her pocket despite her net worth estimated at $350 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Sources recently told Daily Mail that the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” hitmaker is a certified shopaholic who readily coughs up money to expand her designer clothing, gifts and champagne collection.
How much money has Mariah Carey borrowed for her Manhattan penthouse?
The “We Belong Together” crooner bought her Tribeca apartment, which has stacked up multiple mortgages, for $9 million cash in June 1999 through Franklin Views LLC. After snapping up the penthouse and the apartment below it, she transformed them into a single unit.
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Carey tapped JP Morgan Chase Bank for a $8 million home loan in February 2009. Six years later, she borrowed an additional $2.6 million from City National Bank. Returning to JP Morgan Chase in August 2016, she reworked the old $8 million mortgage to a whopping $17.6 million, owing to the property’s increased value. She simultaneously received an advance of $9,622,798.
Cut to April 2018, when the $17.6 million mortgage shot up to $18.6 million with a $1,022,478 advance. Both times, Carey signed the contract. The total mortgage now amounts to $18.6 million from JP Morgan Chase and $2.6 million from City National Bank. Although the latter smaller amount was paid off in October 2016, the larger precedent remains unsettled.
Elsewhere on her real estate portfolio, Carey sold her nine-bedroom mansion in Atlanta, but at a $1.73 million loss. She offloaded her other abode for $3.92 million in May 2023 despite purchasing it for $5.65 million in November 2021.
Mariah Carey’s past romances weren’t fans of her extravagant shopping sprees
Making matters worse, insiders also blamed her split from Australian billionaire tycoon James Packer in 2016 on her ‘Endless Love’ for these extravagant habits. Her alleged whimsical expenses also include spending $45k on dog spa treatments, $100k per month on exotic flowers, and $10k for each hair and make-up appointment.
Years after their divorce was finalised, Carey’s ex-husband Nick Cannon also commented on her spending habits in 2022, suggesting, “It cost her $150,000, $200,000 just to walk out of the house.”
Back in 2022, she teamed up with Booking.com, offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by opening her penthouse apartment to two lucky guests for an unforgettable holiday experience.
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Legendary singer’s income predominantly relies on Christmas royalties
Doug Perry, strategic financing advisor at realestatebees.com, claims that Mariah Carey presumably needed the listed advances on her Manhattan property because her income follows a cyclical trend and is largely reliant on Christmas royalties.
“That seems to be the time of year she takes on a larger-than-life presence. If I was underwriting her as a borrower, I would be averaging her income over a multi-year period to account for that,” he continued. “As long as her holiday music continues to play, I am not sure she needs new content to be relevant.”
Speaking of her New York home, Perry said, “’Mariah’s Tribeca apartment, which she created by buying the penthouse and the unit below it, is the definition of a trophy piece of real estate and it has appreciated considerably during the 25 years she has owned it.”
“Mariah has cashed in on the equity created by that appreciation by taking out a series of larger and larger loans.” He also explained that Carey’s house would now be worth $30 to $35 million, leaving enough room for her to keep borrowing.
Although the music icon hasn’t released a new album since 2018, the singer will kick off the 20-city Mariah Carey Christmas tour in High, California, on November 6.
