Kriti Mehrotra
While Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, better known simply as Selena, needs no introduction as the undisputed Queen of Tejano Music, we must reiterate that she was and will remain a legendary icon. However, despite her charm and pure talent, she always maintained that her success was never just her own; it was also of her family and her band, which is why she toured as Selena y Los Dinos. Their reign sadly came to an abrupt end on March 31, 1995, when she was shot to death, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy,’ but her music, impact, and legacy live on.
How Did Selena Earn Her Money?
Selena was born on April 16, 1971, in Freeport, Texas, as the youngest child of homemaker Marcella Ofelia Samora and former musician turned oil industry worker Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr. She thus grew up with unwavering affection, care, and support in every way, so it’s no surprise that her father noticed her singing abilities when she was merely 6 years old before further encourging her. The truth is that her elder brother A.B. was already learning to play the guitar, resulting in their father getting the idea of forming a band with all 3 siblings, with middle child Suzette on the drums.
That’s when Selena y Los Dinos was officially established, with the name Los Dinos (translating to The Guys) actually coming from Abraham’s own band from when he was younger. It was around 1980 when they started performing at the family’s local restaurant at Lake Jackson, but things sadly changed within a year, owing to the oil glut, as they ended up losing everything. They hence relocated to Corpus Christi, where they decided to focus primarily on the band in the hopes of improving their finances – they played everywhere from street corners to weddings to quinceañeras.
Abraham saw the potential of Selena y Los Dinos from the get-go, which is why he essentially put all their eggs in one basket by becoming their manager and started promoting them. He was backed by Marcella at every step of the way, and it was fortunate that all three kids not only loved performing but could see how this path was bringing them even closer together. Their popularity gradually began growing, but it interfered with Selena’s education to such an extent that she ended up dropping out before eventually earning her diploma from the School of Correspondence.
As time passed, Abraham refurbished an old bus and named it Big Bertha, which the family used as their moving home or tour bus for years, performing their Tejano across the nation. Their dream was to bring the music of their roots to the mainstream media across the US and Mexico before climbing up the ladder to take risks and explore other parts of the industry too. Honestly, with additional band members and the support of fans, it truly seemed like they would be able to achieve it because they got to start recording original music when Selena was merely 10 years old.
Even though Selena y Los Dinos was often turned down by music venues because of the members’ ages, they never gave up by performing and recording wherever, to the best of their abilities. Therefore, by 1988, they had already released six records: ‘Selena y Los Dinos’ (1984), ‘Alpha’ (1986), ‘Muñequito de Trapo’ (1987), ‘And the Winner Is’ (1987), ‘Preciosa’ (1988), and ‘Dulce Amor’ (1988). As a direct result of all this hard work, Selena earned her first Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year at the tender age of 16 in 1987, and then again for nine consecutive years after.
Selena was signed by EMI Latin Records in 1989 as a solo artist, but even though the Los Dinos was dropped as a name in her career, they were still her band, and they still performed together. What came next was her self-titled album ‘Sele na’ (1989), which was such a commercial success that she was encouraged to release her sophomore album a year later, ‘Ven Conmigo’ (1990). Her brother gradually became her co-writer alongside other band members before also evolving into her producer, whereas her sister took on the responsibilities of backing vocals as well as percussion too.
Selena’s ensuing two studio albums – ‘Entre a Mi Mundo’ (1992) and ‘Amor Prohibido’ (1994) – also saw great success, resulting in her earning the title of Queen of Tejano Music in every way. In her early 20s, she actually even became the highest-grossing Latin Artist at the time, which was a significant feat since the genre had been very male-dominated until she came around. Although her status was also helped by her business ventures as well as her appearances in shows/documentaries like ‘Dos Mujeres, Un Camino’ (1993), ‘Sábado Gigante’ (1995), and ‘Latin Nights’ (1995).
While the family had established Q Productions by the mid-1990s to help Selena achieve her music dreams, she herself had launched a few businesses that represented her other passions. She not only opened two boutiques called Selena Etc. – one in Corpus Christi and one in San Antonio – to sell her original clothing line, but she also ensured they had in-house beauty salons. Then, Selena was given the chance to fulfill her childhood dream and cross over to mainstream music by making English-language songs too, but alas, she was killed before she could release her final studio album. ‘Dreaming of You’ was released posthumously in 1995, and it was a record with both English and Spanish music.
Selena’s Net Worth
Although Selena was merely 23 when she was shot to death on March 31, 1995, by a fan turned employee turned friend named Yolanda Saldívar, she had already created a legacy no one could touch. The way she interacted with fans, the way her music was always intentional, and the way she carried herself despite any adversity were almost revolutionary for people with Mexican roots. In other words, she did what only the best artists can do – she made fans feel comfortable in their own life experiences by being openly relatable as well as emotionally vulnerable in the deepest manner.
Coming to Selena’s exact income, it’s unclear how much she made through every single one of her records, owing to the details of all her contracts and royalties not being publicly available. However, we do know her 1992 album ‘Entre a Mi Mundo’ peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for 8 months and sold over 980,000 units, with 300,000 of them being in Mexico. On the other hand, her 1994 live album sold over 750,000 units, all the while she continued to tour and perform across the US and Mexico. It’s also imperative to note that she reportedly earned more than $5 million from her boutiques within its initial year, making her one of the most successful entrepreneurial artists at the time. Taking all these aspects into account, along with her possible assets, investments, returns, and expenses, we believe Selena had a net worth of around $8-$10 million at the time of her death in 1995.
Read More: A.B. Quintanilla: Where is Selena Quintanilla’s Brother Now?
