Marvin Gaye Net Worth: $5 million
Marvin Gaye’s net worth was estimated to be around $5 million. Marvin Gaye was a popular singer as well as a songwriter.
Marvin was included in Forbes “Top Earning Dead Celebrities” list of 2008, coming in at the 13th place.
Marvin Gaye Earnings:
The below financial data is gathered and compiled to give you a better idea of Marvin Gaye Net Worth by breaking down the most relevant financial data such as contracts, earnings, endorsements, stock ownership etc.
Earnings 2002
Estimated earnings from his compilation album The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (certified platinum by BPI) $300,000
Earnings 2000
Estimated earnings from his compilation album Marvin Gaye: The Love Songs (certified silver by BPI) $60,000
Earnings 1983
Estimated earnings from his compilation album Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye (certified platinum by RIAA) $1,000,000
Earnings 1982
Estimated earnings from his album Midnight Love (certified 3x platinum by RIAA and gold by BPI) $6,000,000
Earnings 1977
Estimated earnings from his live album Live at the London Palladium $2,000,000
Earnings 1976
Estimated earnings from his compilation album Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits (certified platinum by RIAA and gold by BPI) $1,100,000
Earnings 1974
Estimated earnings from his live album Marvin Gaye Live! $1,000,000
Earnings 1973
Estimated earnings from his duet album Diana & Marvin with Diana Ross (certified gold by BPI) $1,000,000
Record Sales 1973
Estimated earnings from his album Let’s Get It On (certified gold by BPI) $60,000
Earnings 1971
Estimated earnings from his album What’s Going On (a.k.a. I Heard It Through the Grapevine) (certified platinum by BPI and gold by RIAA) $800,000
Earnings 1968
Estimated earnings from his album In The Groove (a.k.a. I Heard It Through the Grapevine) (certified gold by BPI) $100,000
Marvin Gaye Biography:
| Born | Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. April 2, 1939 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | April 1, 1984 (aged 44) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds to the heart and left shoulder |
| Occupation | Singer,songwriter |
| Years active | 1957–1984 |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Gordy(m. 1963; div. 1977) Janis Hunter(m. 1977; div. 1981) |
| Children | 3, including Nona Gaye |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | R&B,soul,psychedelic soul,gospel,funk, jazz |
| Instrument(s) | Vocalskeyboardsdrums |
| Labels | TamlaTamla-Motown,Columbia |
Marvin Gay Jr. was born on April 2, 1939, in Washington, D.C., to Marvin Gay Sr. and Alberta Gay. The singer later added the “e” to his last name.
His father was a church minister, so he was raised in the sound of gospel music and evangelical messages. By the time Marvin was 15, Marvin was singing in his father’s church and in the band The Rainbows. The Rainbows soon changed their name and became The Marquees.
Gaye joined a couple of vocal groups and in the early ’60s, moved to Detroit. After performing for Berry Gordy, Gaye had a deal with Motown Records.
Marvin Gaye played the drums in Smockey Robinson and The Miracles when the band was starting out. It helped him figure out that he wanted to dedicate his life to being a jazz singer and thus started singing with a band called The Moonglows.
In the beginning of the 60’s, Marvin Gaye signed with Motown Records and is credited with helping them shape their distinctive sound. Before his first LP was released he added an “e” to his name and during the next years he transformed his image to that of a sex symbol and his career quickly took off.
Gaye admitted to author David Ritz that his dad, a Pentecostal minister, abused him. The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Gaye compared living under his father’s control to ”living with a king, a very peculiar, changeable, cruel, and all-powerful king.”
Marvin Gaye’s father killed him:
Gaye’s career took off and he produced a number of hits including “Let’s Get It On,” “Sexual Healing,” “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” and “What’s Going On.”
However, despite all his success and fame, Gaye battled demons and after living in Belgium for some time moved back to the U.S. and into the Los Angeles home where his parents lived.
There are varying accounts of what happened which led to the star’s death. But it is clear that Gaye got into a heated argument with his father on the morning of April 1, 1984, and things turned physical. While Gaye’s mother was trying to calm him down in his bedroom, Gay Sr. got a gun his son had bought for him as a Christmas present and shot Marvin in the chest. Marvin collapsed and died, one day short of his 45th birthday.
Gay Sr. was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to a six-year suspended sentence and five years of probation. He died of pneumonia in 1998.