What was Prince’s net worth at the time of his death? Revisiting his wealth 10 years later

It’s been exactly 10 years since the world lost one of its most revolutionary and boundary-pushing artists in Prince.

The musician, real name Prince Rogers Nelson, died of an accidental overdose on counterfeit hydrocodone pills on April 21, 2016, just a few short months after releasing his last two studio albums while alive, HITnRUN Phase One and Two.

And a decade later, his musical legacy is still thriving, with the release of the song “With This Tear” from his extensive vault to mark the poignant anniversary. The song was originally released by Celine Dion in 1992 from her self-titled album.

Prince’s musical and on-screen work continues to be preserved and released by his estate, which also holds control over his record label Paisley Park.

At the time of his death, Prince was one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, thanks in large part to his entrepreneurial skills as a producer and pioneer of the internet. 

Prince’s net worth

At the time of his death, the “Purple Rain” hitmaker’s net worth was valued between a whopping $200 to $300 million, per celebritynetworth.com and other sources.

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It estimates that the sky-high value of his wealth comes primarily for the rights to his likeness, the valuation of his record company and the Paisley Park brand, plus his 100 million records sold (at the time).

The value of Prince’s estate

When it comes to the legendary singer’s estate, though, it’s a different story. And it all began with the singer’s death and the lack of a will.

Due to the lack of a will, the court made the decision to divide up the estate between his six living heirs, those being his siblings (including five half-siblings and one full sibling).

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However, for the next few years, frequent court appearances resulted in the heirs unable to agree on a suitable distribution system, as well as four of them passing away between 2016 and 2024 alone.

In July of 2021, half brothers Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson, and later his full sibling Tyka Nelson, would sell their shares of the Prince estate to Primary Wave Music, complicating matters further (Tyka would sell 90% of his shares before his death in 2024).

Comerica Bank & Trust, the administrator of the estate, initially valued it at $82.3 million, per Forbes. However, later it was revealed by the court that it was likely dramatically undervalued, especially once the IRS claimed nearly $32.4 million in federal taxes dating to the 2016 tax year.

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The lawyers representing the “Cream” singer’s heirs later agreed on a mutual valuation of the estate at $156.4 million with a Minnesota judge, just a bit shorter than the IRS’s own valuation of it at $163.2 million.

That is the latest figure available on the Prince estate, barring another 2024 lawsuit when the managers of the holding company for his estate disputed wrongful termination by his heirs.