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Aaron Carter became a star in his own right early on, having released a cover of The Jets’ Crush on You after performing it as an opening act for the Backstreet Boys back in the '90s. Soon after, it looked like Carter was on a roll with his career. The singer went on to release several more hit pop songs and even starred in a couple of films. Pretty soon, it became evident that Carter was making good money for himself, reportedly amassing an estimated net worth of $100 million.
Aaron Carter later somehow dropped out of the spotlight, and several years later, revealed he had been dealing with serious money problems. Now, fans are wondering exactly what went wrong, and where his millions went.
Updated on December 26, 2022: Since this article was originally published, Aaron Carter has passed away. The updated content includes references to his net worth at the time of his passing and who stands to inherit his net worth, which didn't number in the millions but was more than zero.
Aaron Carter Once Made Millions Per Year
As a child star, Carter was earning so well, so much so that he possibly outdid his pop star brother, Nick Carter, when it came to net worth.
“No disrespect to my brother, but when Nick was 18 years old and I was 10 years old, I was just kind of starting to make lots of money,” Carter revealed while appearing on Oprah: Where Are They Now — Extra.
“I made over $200 million in my career before I even turned 18 years old," Aaron revealed.
As a result of his fame and fortune (and his brother’s too), Carter’s family lived well. “We had this massive compound, with, like, 12 houses on it,” he said. “It was worth over $10 million, and I had paid a lot of that money.”
As a teen star, Carter may have been taking his music seriously, but he was also getting into some trouble. Carter’s drug-related arrests raised concerns about his supposed wholesome reputation, and this eventually affected his ability to make money from his music.
“Labels were like, ‘We don’t want to touch you, you’re dead and gone. There’s no more Aaron Carter,” he said. “And I’m like, no! That’s not how it’s going to be. I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to stop. I’m going to succeed. If something is broken, I’m going to f****** fix it.”
Carter Admitted To Lying About His Lavish Lifestyle
Back in 2019, Carter shocked his fans when he sent out a plea for money. The pop singer even started a GoFundMe campaign where he explained that he was trying to raise $100,000 just so he could leave California.
On Twitter, Carter further explained, “I created this GoFundMe to get myself a new home and out of California.”
How Did Aaron Carter Lose His Money?
When he was young and earning millions, Carter was under the impression that his parents were looking after his wealth since that is what they were supposed to be doing.
He explained, “Under the Coogan Law, [my parents] were supposed to be putting 15 percent of my money into my Coogan Account.” However, when he finally became an adult, Carter discovered that he had less than what he was supposed to have.
“I got, like, $2 million when I turned 18 years old. I should have had at least $20 million in my account.”
To make matters worse, Carter found out that he still owed a lot in taxes, around $4 million in tax liens to be exact. “There was a lot of neglect on my parents’ part. They didn’t do a lot of things right.”
In 2013, the singer made the decision to pay for bankruptcy. When he filed, Carter claimed he had less than $1,000 in the bank, according to CNN.
As of 2016, he was apparently only making around $33,000 per year. However, as of Carter's passing in 2022, it seemed he had, in fact, built up his net worth from the negatives; Carter was worth an estimated $400K at the time of his death.
Who Inherited Aaron Carter's Money?
When Aaron Carter passed away at age 34, he left behind his son, as well as his parents and two siblings. Though fans might assume his son would automatically inherit, it was unclear whether Aaron had any documentation stipulating his wishes.
At the time of Aaron's death, his son's mother didn't have custody of their child, either, and because the two were not married, that added complications to the distribution of his assets.