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How Jenni Rivera Achieved A Net Worth Of $25 Million?

by Lily Morgen
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Jenni Rivera Net Worth

Do you ever wonder about Jenni Rivera’s net worth? Jenni Rivera was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter, actress, television producer, and entrepreneur. She was best known for her three combined traditional Mexican music styles of banda, norteño, and mariachi. She is estimated to have a net worth of $25 million when she lost her life in a plane crash on December 9, 2012. 

Rivera is the highest-earning banda singer, who sold around 20 million albums worldwide in her 30 years music career. In this article, we’ll discuss how she became such a big success, as well as what we can learn from her inspiring story. 

Early Life 

Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra was born in a Mexican musical family on the 2nd of July 1969 in Long Beach, California. She was introduced to banda, norteño and ranchera music which are traditional music genres from Mexico by her family at a small age. At home, her father didn’t allow her and her siblings to listen to English music. That’s when Mexican music runs through Rivera’s veins.  

Rivera was a very clever lady when she was young, she achieved straight A’s in school but fell pregnant at the age of 15 (the second year at high school) with her first child. She had to marry and then have another two kids in her first marriage. 

However, she did not drop out of school like most young mothers. She kept studying at a continuation school and graduated as class valedictorian. Meanwhile, she sold CDs at flea markets to support her kids.

Then she got a business administration degree from Long Beach City College. She first worked in real estate after graduation, and then worked in her father’s record label to pursue a career in music. 

Beginnings in Music

Rivera began her music career in 1992 when she and her siblings recorded their first family album ‘Guera Rivera Con Banda’ as a gift for their father’s birthday. Then she was signed to Capitol Records in 1992. She then went on to record more and more records. Rivera went on to release her first album ‘Somos Rivera’ that year. 

During the beginning of her music career, she was told that she would not succeed as the Mexican music market where Rivera was in, was a male-dominated industry. She did not let that negativity stop her as she continued to make records. In 1995, Rivera had released five albums which include ‘La Maestra’, ‘La Chacalosa’ and ‘Adios a Selina’ (this album particularly was dedicated to the late artist Selana who was murdered back in 1995).  

During the early to mid-90s, Rivera signed to a string of different record labels including Balboa Records in 1993, Sony Music and Fonovisa Records in 1999. 

Rivera’s first studio album ‘Si Quieres Verme Llorar’ was not a commercial success, which was released in 1999. 

It marked the beginning of her success from the third major label studio album ‘Que Me Entierren Con La Banda’ with the hit ‘Las Malandrinas’ in 2000. Her popularity grew as people started to be interested in her songs. 

Where Rivera was in a male-dominated industry, she was clearly a non-conformist and wanted to show her female fans that they can be strong. It was after Rivera released this song, that her music career really took off. 

In 2001, Rivera managed to bag her first Latin Grammy nomination for Best Banda Album for the records ‘Se las Voy a Dar a Otro’ and ‘Dejate Amar’ released that year. What was great about this was that she was the first American-born artist to be nominated for the award. 

In 2003, Rivera released ‘Homenaje a Las Grandes’ which she dedicated to female Mexican singers across the world. 

In 2004, her first compilation disc called ‘Simplemente… La Mejor’ was her first compilation disc which managed to really blow up in the United States. 

Became Famous

Rivera began to release more successful records and rose to prominence in 2005. Some of which managed to peak in the top 10 of the Billboard Top Latin Albums Chart. One album in particular called ‘Parrander, Rebelde y Atrevida’ managed to be certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. One of her well-known singles ‘De Contrabando’ was from this album.

In 2007, Rivera’s career really peaked. She released ‘Mi Vida Loca’ which went straight to number 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums Chart. This album was really at the height of her career, as she managed to gain her first-ever Lo Nuestro Award. In the same year, she released a live album ‘La Diva en Vivo’, which helped her gain her second Latin Grammy nomination for Best Ranchero Album. 

In 2008, Rivera released her tenth studio album ‘Jenni’, which ranked No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. This album helped her win her second Lo Nuestro Award.

In 2009 -2010, Rivera’s career was just flourishing. She was releasing more albums, making more hits, and winning more awards; and then, Rivera began her career venture in television production. 

In 2009, although commercializing a mariachi album is much harder than banda, she took a big risk to release her first mariachi studio album ‘La Gran Señora’ for people who prefer to listen to mariachi instead of banda. The turnout was good as this album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and garnered her a third Latin Grammy nomination for Best Ranchero Album. 

It was from here that Rivera could really see the growth in her net worth and market value. 

In 2010, she promoted ‘La Gran Señora’ by tour and released ‘La Gran Señora en Vivo’ during the tour. And the tour was very successful as ‘La Gran Señora en Vivo’ garnered her fourth Latin Grammy nomination.

Rivera was the producer on both the reality TV Show ‘Chiquis & Raq-C and Mun2 which featured her firstborn ‘Chiquis’. From this, Rivera appeared on her own spin-off show called ‘I Love Jenni’. She then grew her net worth by branching into other areas of TV by working as a coach on ‘ La Voz… Mexico’ which is a talent show similar to ‘The Voice’. 

Awards After Death

In December 2012, Rivera’s three albums (‘La Misma Gran Señora’ was released just two days after her death, ‘Joyas Prestadas: Pop’, and ‘Joyas Prestadas: Banda’) were all listed on the top three on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.

Rivera was awarded the Top Latin Artist of 2013 by Billboard magazine.

Rivera was labeled as the most outstanding female and top-selling female artist in the regional Mexican music genre by Billboard, CNN, The New York Times, and Fox News.

Rivera was on the list of Forbes Top Earning Dead Celebrities of 2013, with an estimated 7 million dollars.

The United States Senator Marco Rubio said, “Rivera was a real American success story”. The Jenni Rivera Memorial Park was named for Jenni Rivera. Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach, said “Rivera was one of our city’s most inspiring native daughters. Her music, and her many philanthropic contributions, touched so many people in our city and around the world.”

For more awards, you can visit List of awards and nominations received by Jenni Rivera.

Jenni Rivera Net Worth 2022

Jenni’s net worth was estimated to be around $25 million at the time of her death. There is no surprise really when you look at everything she has achieved in her career. Most of her earnings came from her album sales. Over her career and even after her death, she had managed to sell over 20 million albums. 

She also had her reality tv shows, merchandise, concerts, interviews, television appearances. This is a woman who had her hands in several pots all of which contributed to her impressive net worth even after her death.

What Can We Learn From Jenni Rivera?

Turn A Negative Into A Positive 

Jenni Rivera has not had things easy at all. She was a teen mum, but she never let that stop her from reaching her dreams. She was one ambitious lady who did not allow the fact that she had a baby very young to stop her from finishing school and pursuing her goals. 

There were times that she was turned down. In an interview that she did with Billboard Magazine, she specifically said that one producer threw her CD in the trash right in front of her. She was rejected time and time again as she produced music in a male-dominated banda music market. She used that to motivate her and to prove that women can do what men can do and even go beyond that.  

There were times Rivera struggled with depression due to failed marriages, abuse, and legal issues, but she would put all of that negativity into her music to encourage people and ultimately make great hits. This negativity really contributed to her net worth. A great example of turning straw into gold. 

Challenge Yourself

Although banda was her main focus, she also released albums in norteño and mariachi. She was already a superstar in the man’s world of banda music, but would like to take big risks to norteño and mariachi. That crossover appeal helped her albums to achieve gold and platinum status.  

Make a Difference to Stand Out

Rivera was one of the early women to sing non-traditional and gender nonconformity songs in Mexican Regional music. She was also one of the first to successfully cross over into the English-speaking market. Being the first to do something unique can set you apart and make you successful besides talent. It certainly did for Jenni Rivera.      

Do Not Limit Yourself 

Jenni Rivera was more than just a singer; she was a powerful voice for Latinas everywhere. We can see from Rivera’s career that she also wore many other hats. Including merchandising, branding, TV contracts, concerts, magazine deals, etc. She really believed in herself and in the talents she had and how she could branch into other things. 

We can see from all the awards she received just how brilliant she really was that she can still make millions after she died. It shows us all that we’re not limited. Branching to different avenues can enrich our life.

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