The Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, rakes in millions each year from all the fanfare surrounding her 1994 classic holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
According to Forbes, the Grammy-winning singer reportedly earns between $2.5 and $3 million annually in royalties for the holiday hit. The Economist estimates the earnings at $2.5–$2.6 million, while The New York Post suggests it’s closer to $3 million.
Forbes noted that the $3 million in royalties annually adds to the “$60 million in royalties the singer had received when the song was first released nearly three decades ago in 1994. “
The song has taken the octave-leaping singer to historic heights since its release 30 years ago on Carey’s Merry Christmas album.
“It’s the gift that keeps on giving — to her fans and to Mariah,” Gary Trust, managing director of charts and operations at Billboard, told The Post. “It ranks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday Songs chart. For every holiday song that’s ever been out, this is the biggest. The chart reflects that.”
The song’s rise to the top of the Hot 100 was far from immediate.
It had to weather significant industry changes, including the shift from raw album sales to streaming. Initially, it was ineligible for the Hot 100 because it wasn’t sold as a standalone single, only as part of Carey’s album.“And at the time, Hot 100 rules were such that you had to be a physically commercially available single to be on the Hot 100,” Trust explained.
Once the streaming rolled in, it helped catapult “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to the top of the charts in 2019. Since then, it has made a triumphant return to the Billboard Hot 100 every holiday season.
“There is just something a little magical that really has put it above all other Christmas songs during the season,” Trust said. “It’s not going away.”
Beyond the millions in royalties Carey earns from the song, she also capitalizes on its success through sponsorship deals,
holiday-themed merchandise, specials, concerts, books, and an animated film — all inspired by the iconic holiday hit. To date, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has been streamed 1,872,843,557 times since its release.Carey celebrates the 30th anniversary of her Christmas album this holiday season with her third Christmas tour, “Mariah Carey’s Christmas Time.” The tour serves as a “Christmas extravaganza” with performances of her iconic holiday classics and fan-favorite hits. The 20-city tour kicked off on Nov. 6 in California and includes stops in Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Boston, and more before closing out on Dec. 17 with a grand finale at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.