scorecardTina Turner sold her entire music catalog for an estimated $50 million before she died. Here's how the late singer made and spent her fortune.
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Tina Turner sold her entire music catalog for an estimated $50 million before she died. Here's how the late singer made and spent her fortune.

Eve Crosbie   

Tina Turner sold her entire music catalog for an estimated $50 million before she died. Here's how the late singer made and spent her fortune.
Tina Turner.DENIZE alain/Sygma via Getty Images
  • Tina Turner was one of the most successful recording artists of all time.
  • She retired in 2009 but brought in millions in her final years, thanks to her eponymous musical.

Tina Turner amassed a huge multi-million dollar fortune before her death.

Tina Turner amassed a huge multi-million dollar fortune before her death.
Tina Turner performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 12, 1987.      Paul Natkin/Getty Images

The singer, born Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee, began performing in the 1950s when she was still in high school.

After meeting her first husband Ike Turner and his ensemble band, the Kings of Rhythm, she was catapulted into stardom as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

By the 1980s when she had filed for divorce and embarked on a solo career, Turner was an unparalleled music icon and had been given the moniker The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.

Her many accolades include two spots in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (she was inducted with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021), a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, and eight Grammys.

She was also a trailblazer and became the first Black artist and the first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Turner's wealth was estimated at 225 million Swiss francs — which equates to around $225 million — in 2022 by the Swiss business magazine Bilanz.

Streams of the music icon's recordings earned her around $3.7 million annually in the years before her death.

Streams of the music icon
The cover of the original CD edition of "Private Dancer" (1984).      Capitol Records

According to Billboard, Turner reportedly sold over 100 million records worldwide during her lifetime.

Her 1984 solo album "Private Dancer" sold 10 million copies and featured her only No. 1 hit, "What's Love Got to Do With It."

She had five other top-10 singles, including "I Don't Wanna Fight," "Better Be Good To Me," "We Don't Need Another Hero," "Private Dancer," and "Typical Male."

Per Billboard, $2 million of the revenue from streaming services came from outside the US, which shouldn't be surprising as Turner once said in an interview with Larry King that she was a bigger star in Europe than she had ever been in America.

In comparison, the outlet reported that $920,000 came from domestic streams. Her catalog also brought in around $700,000 annually from synchs.

Turner got no money from her divorce settlement from Ike Turner.

Turner got no money from her divorce settlement from Ike Turner.
Ike and Tina Turner pose for a portrait with their son and step-sons circa 1972.      Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Turner's first marriage ended abruptly in 1976 after she and Ike got into a fight on the way to their hotel one evening. After putting up with years of physical abuse from her spouse, she decided to flee with only 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket.

The couple had four children together, one biological son named Ronnie, as well as Ike's sons from a previous relationship, Ike Jr. and Michael, and her own she shared with one of Ike's Kings of Rhythm bandmates, Craig.

Turner was given custody of all four after the divorce was finalized in 1978.

Turner said that she never received any money in the settlement, just two cars and the rights to her stage name.

"The divorce, I got nothing. No money, no house. So I said: I'll just take my name," she said in an interview featured in the HBO documentary "Tina".

To make ends meet she put on cabaret shows and cleaned houses.

She also used food stamps and made appearances on TV shows like "Hollywood Squares" to make money.

Her final tour, which she embarked on in 2008, brought in over $132 million, while her 2000 tour earned her over $120 million.

Her final tour, which she embarked on in 2008, brought in over $132 million, while her 2000 tour earned her over $120 million.
Tina Turner performed during her 50th Anniversary tour at Madison Square Garden on December 1, 2008, in New York City.      Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Just before she retired, Turner hit the road for one final farewell with the Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour.

It kicked off in Kansas City, Missouri, in October 2008 and concluded with its 90th show in Sheffield, England on May 2009.

The North American leg of the tour saw her earn over $47.7 million, making it one of the highest-grossing domestic tours that year, according to Reuters.

The European leg, meanwhile brought in over $84.8 million, per Billboard.

The Twenty Four Seven Tour, which Turner completed in 2000 was also a huge success, raking in over $120 million.

"Tina - The Tina Turner Musical" which the singer oversaw as an executive producer has made millions since it opened in London's West End in 2018.

"Tina - The Tina Turner Musical" which the singer oversaw as an executive producer has made millions since it opened in London
Tina Turner attended the photocall for the musical "Tina," held at the Hospital Club, London.      Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

The jukebox musical, which dramatizes Turner's humble beginnings in Tennessee and her path to superstar status, has also been performed in New York, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Australia, and has even toured North America.

While it's not known exactly how much of a cut of the profits Turner received, Turner and her husband (and manager) Erwin Bach are credited as executive producers on the production.

Turner herself was also heavily involved from the beginning, attending workshops for the musical as early as 2016.

According to Broadway World, the Broadway productions of the show grossed $72,450,970 across 479 performances between 2019 and 2022.

Details on how much the international and West End shows made are not available.

In 2021, Turner sold her entire catalog to music company BMG for an estimated $50 million.

In 2021, Turner sold her entire catalog to music company BMG for an estimated $50 million.
Tina Turner during the premiere of the musical "Tina" at Stage Operettenhaus on March 3, 2019, in Hamburg, Germany.      Franziska Krug/Getty Images

The deal, which Turner struck with the German music company, included all of her recordings and writings as well as her name and likeness, according to Rolling Stone.

At the time, Turner was still signed to the label Warner Music.

While BMG — which also owns rights to the work of Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and John Lennon, among others — declined to disclose financial details, Forbes reported the following year that the estimated value of the sale was $50 million.

Turner said at the time: "Like any artist, the protection of my life's work, my musical inheritance, is something personal. I am confident that with BMG and Warner Music, my work is in professional and reliable hands."

Turner and her second husband owned homes in both Switzerland and France.

Turner and her second husband owned homes in both Switzerland and France.
This aerial photograph taken on May 25, 2023, shows the estate of late singer Tina Turner in Kusnacht.      Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The Grammy winner and Bach, who she married in 2013 after 27 years together, purchased a country estate on Lake Zurich for 70 million Swiss francs which equates to around $76.6 million, according to Swiss newspaper Daily Handelszeitung.

The home, which the newspaper noted is nearby to Roger Federer's own lakeside mansion, covers 24,000 square meters and comprises 10 buildings, plus a swimming pool and a jetty.

While the property was only purchased in the fall of 2021, Turner had been living in Switzerland since 1995.

Prior to that, she and Bach rented a château known as the Villa Algonquin which is just a stone's throw away (due to Swiss ownership rules, Turner wasn't able to purchase a property until after she became a Swizz citizen in 2013).

The couple also shared a villa designed by architect Bruno Guistini on the French Riviera, per a 2000 interview with Architectural Digest.

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