Selena Quintanilla's Net Worth: How Much Was The Singer Worth When She Died?

Selena Quintanilla quickly became known as the "Queen of Tejano Music" during her rise to fame. According to Biography, Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas in 1971. As fans who have seen the film about her life (you know, the one starring Jennifer Lopez) know, her father proved to be the mastermind behind her career and managed the family music group Selena Y Los Dinos. Selena became the lead singer of the family band at the age of 10, and her career took off from there. Though it was a pretty brief career before she died at the age of 23, Selena churned out plenty of hits, including "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," "Dreaming of You," and "I Could Fall in Love."

Before Selena's tragic death, she spoke about her success and how far she had come in her career. Selena also raved over how happy she was with her Grammy Award win for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album in 1994. "When they first told us that we were nominated, we all freaked out. We couldn't believe it," she shared in a clip digitized by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. "The first thing, I promise, the first thing that came to mind is, like, 'I have to take a camera, so I can take pictures with all of these stars.' It didn't hit me later until, like, when I thought, 'Oh my God. What if we win?'" Well, they won, and Selena said they were stoked.

Selena Quintanilla's life ended tragically, and the singer had so much potential for a great career ahead of her. When she died in 1995, the singer had $5 million in her bank account (via Celebrity Net Worth). Before and after Selena's death, money proved to be a big issue. The reason why the singer fired her fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar, was actually because she was embezzling money. According to Biography, Selena fired Saldívar in 1995, but still kept in touch with her to obtain financial documents she needed. During one of their meetings, Saldívar shot Selena (via Marie Claire), but she never recovered from her injuries. 

Following Selena's death, money continued to be a huge issue, and there was even a legal battle between her husband, Chris Perez, and her father, Abraham Quintanilla. According to Billboard, the two battled over Selena's estate, and it has gone on for years. Shortly after Selena died, Abraham wanted to make sure that the singer's legacy would live on. He drafted up an agreement that would allow him "exclusive authority to exploit" Selena's "name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness." Perez agreed to sign in exchange for a 25% share of the net profits. Years later, Perez filed a counterclaim, saying that he signed the papers during a time when he "was most vulnerable and susceptible to Abraham's deceit." The report also suggests that Perez has earned $3 million in net profits over the years.