Juan Gabriel: A Look at His Net Worth and Contributions as News of His Death Breaks
Juan Gabriel, Mexican music icon, died on Sunday, August 28, 2016 at the age of 66 after he died of natural causes according to the Los Angeles County Coroner spokeswoman Selena Barros. His death was first announced via twitter and later via several media outlets.
Alberto Aguilera Valadez (the artist's legal name) led an illustrious career that spanned a period of about 45 years (1971 to 2016) during which he reportedly sold more than 100 million albums. Latin Post reported earlier today that he had died of a heart attack at his home in Santa Monica, California around 11:30 a.m local time.
Juan Gabriel's Net Worth
While many sources report that Gabriel's net worth hovers around $30 million, this numerical figure may be questioned due to commonly known information about his career and also due to the achievements the artist reached during his lifetime. At $30 million, Gabriel's earnings paralleled other artists such as Eugenio Derbez, Paulina Rubio and Sergio Perez.
Juan Gabriel charged in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars per show. Two sources report Gabriel charging $700,000 and $900,000 per show appearance or performance. These numbers are comparable to what Luis Miguel is reported to charge per show. Miguel's net worth, however, is significantly higher than Gabriel's at $45 million. Gabriel's financial woes, however, were well known and documented during his career and could have affected his net worth significantly.
Produced 60 Albums, 1,000 Songs
One of Mexico's most beloved artists, his career produced more than 1,000 tracks and several dozens of albums. His website enlists 61 albums since 1971. The musician had several collaborations with renown latino musicians and was nominated for the Grammy's six times.
The value of Gabriel's work and impact certainly transcends numerical value many would argue and his contribution to putting mariachi music and Mexican pop culture "on the map" throughout not only the United States but also Latin America is highly regarded.
Gabriel Awarded Start on Hollywood's Walk of Fame
Gabriel performed in several genres of music including mariachi, ranchera, disco, rock, latin pop music, and others. Due to his achievements, contributions and international recognition he was also awarded a star in Hollywood's Walk of Fame in May of 2002.
The musician also contributed to charity by founding his own Orphan school, Semjase, which he also funded. The institution however had to stop its operations and close due to a lack of funding in 2015.
Social Media Reacts to News
After news of his death broke on Twitter, users on social media started flooding the internet with messages of gratitude, condolences and support towards the artist and his family.
The previous Friday night before his death, Gabriel had performed in a concert in the city of Los Angeles, California. The concert was part of his "MeXXico es Todo (MeXXico is Everything)" tour. He was scheduled to perform in El Paso, Texas today.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com