<p id=”par-1_54″>It’s undeniable that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/michael-jackson/”>Michael Jackson</a> was the King of Pop and Madonna is the Queen of Pop — but only one of them had the higher net worth. While the two stars ruled the 1980s, they had very different careers. Shockingly, one of them was worth over a billion dollars more than the other.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-madonna-s-net-worth-is-huge”>Madonna’s net worth is huge</h2>
<p id=”par-2_73″>According to <a href=”https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/madonna-net-worth/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Celebrity Net Worth</a>, Madonna was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. She debuted with the now-forgotten single “Everybody,” but her self-titled debut album produced three subsequent hits: “Holiday,” “Borderline,” and “Lucky Star.” She became a megastar with her second album, <em>Like a Virgin</em>. Between the album’s title track <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/classic-rock-song-stopped-madonnas-material-girl-hitting-no-1.html/”>and the song “Material Girl,”</a> Madonna established herself as a provocative performer who was not afraid to flaunt her sexuality.</p>
<p id=”par-3_56″>With her album <em>Like a Prayer</em>, the Queen of Pop started exploring spiritual topics through pop music. She reinvented herself repeatedly, albums in multiple genres, including R&B (<em>Bedtime Stories</em>), techno (<em>Ray of Light</em>), and folk (<em>American Life</em>). Through her impressive catalog of hits and her business acumen, she now has a net worth of $850 million.</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-michael-jackson-s-net-worth-was-incredibly-low”>Michael Jackson’s net worth was incredibly low</h2>
<p id=”par-4_70″><a href=”https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/michael-jackson-net-worth/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Celebrity Net Worth</a> reports Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He became famous through as a member of the bubblegum pop group <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-jackson-5-knocked-the-beatles-let-it-be-off-top-chart.html/”>The Jackson 5</a> before embarking on a solo career. His most famous records as a solo artist were <em>Off the Wall</em>, <em>Thriller</em>, and <em>Bad</em>. He was a music video vanguard, furthering the form through clips for songs like “Thriller,” “Billie Jean,” <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/hot-take-beat-it-isnt-michael-jacksons-best-rock-song.html/”>and “Beat It.”</a></p>
<p id=”par-5_88″>Despite his fame and talent, Jackson’s finances left a lot to be desired. Due to his incredibly lavish lifestyle, the King of Pop died $500 million in debt in 2009. He is known to have spent between $50 and $100 million on unfinished musical projects and movies. He purchased his famous Neverland Ranch for $19.5 million and the property cost $10 million to maintain. Adding an amusement park to the property cost another $35 million. He was the King of Pop, but he wasn’t the King of Frugality.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Building Neverland: Michael Jackson’s Dream Fantasy World | the detail.” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vj8yKGoKhic?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/michael-jackson-1-madonnas-songs-meant-album-bad.html/”>
Michael Jackson: 1 of Madonna’s Songs Was Meant for His Album ‘Bad’ </a>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-madonna-said-she-doesn-t-care-about-money”>Madonna said she doesn’t care about money</h2>
<p id=”par-6_96″>While Madonna has a higher net worth than the “Thriller” singer did, she said she doesn’t care too much about wealth. During a 2009 interview with <a href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonna-looks-back-the-rolling-stone-interview-197575/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rolling Stone</a>, Madonna discussed her attitude towards that song and “Like a Virgin.” “I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me,” he said. “I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn’t a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They’re so geeky, they’re cool.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_77″>The Queen of Pop still enjoyed her wealth, though. “I feel lucky to be able to afford a Frida Kahlo [painting] or live in a nice house, but I know that I can live without it,” she explained. “I’m resourceful, and if I ended up in a log cabin in the middle of the forest, that would work too. These things are not mandatory for my happiness. That’s what I meant by ‘I’m not a materialistic person.’”</p>
<p id=”par-8_21″>The King of Pop and the Queen of Pop were similarly important, but they didn’t deal with money the same way.</p>