What is Annie Leibovitz Net Worth and Salary?
Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer who has a net worth of $50 million. Annie Leibovitz has captured some of the most iconic celebrity photos of all time. Her famous subjects have included John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Queen Elizabeth II, LeBron James, Demi Moore and Miley Cyrus, among others. Notably, Leibovitz is the first woman to have a special exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
She began her artistic career as a musician and painter and graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1960s. After spending a number of years abroad focusing solely on photography, she returned to the United States and began one of the most successful photography careers of all time. She first made a name for herself as a staff photographer for Rolling Stone. She rose to become chief photographer and held this position from 1983 to 1993. Her more famous photographs include the last portrait of John Lennon just five hours before his assassination; the photo of Bruce Springsteen on the cover of the Born in the USA album; Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk; Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson semi-nude with Tom Ford on the cover of Vanity Fair; Demi Moore’s nude and pregnant cover photo, also for Vanity Fair; and Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the United States. She photographed the Rolling Stones on tour and has long been a popular photographer for musical artists. She has shot portraits of Sting, Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Miley Cyrus, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, among others. In the late 2000s, she was struggling severely financially and began putting everything she owned, including the rights to many of her famous photos, up for sale. She received some reprieve and was able to keep the rights to her photos.
Financial problems
Although Leibovitz had an archive worth around $50 million, she had a history of imprudent financial dealings that caused her significant economic problems. In early 2009, she had to borrow $15.5 million from Art Capital Group. As collateral, she had to build several houses and give up the rights to all her photographs. That loan eventually grew to $24 million. In 2009, Art Capital Group sued Annie for failing to repay those loans. The lawsuit was eventually dropped. Leibovitz was later sued by Brunswick Capital Partners for failure to pay for his financial services.
Liebovitz has since worked to restructure her debt and pay off the loan to avoid losing her life’s work, which she was forced to use as collateral. In 2012, she listed her New York City townhouse for $33 million. The home eventually sold in 2012 for $28.5 million. In June 2014, Annie bought an $11.25 million apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, signaling that her financial woes were finally resolved.
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Early Life and Education
Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2, 1949 in Waterbury, Connecticut, the third of six children of Samuel, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel, and Marilyn, a modern dance instructor. She is of Jewish descent. Due to the services of Leibovitz’ father, the family moved often. Leibovitz began taking photographs while stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Back in the United States, she attended Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she developed an interest in art. Leibovitz then attended the San Francisco Art Institute; There she studied painting before switching her major to photography.
Rolling Stone Magazine
In 1969 Leibovitz was working on a kibbutz in Amir, Israel. She returned to the United States the next year and began her career as a photographer for Rolling Stone magazine. In 1973 Leibovitz was promoted to chief photographer by publisher Jann Wenner; She remained in that position for the next decade. During her tenure, she became known for her intimate celebrity portraits, which helped define Rolling Stone’s image. Among her most famous portraits was that of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on December 8, 1980, just five hours before Lennon was murdered. The image that later graced the cover of Rolling Stone shows the couple lying on the floor with a naked Lennon snuggling around Yoko and kissing her on the cheek. Other notable subjects Leibovitz photographed for Rolling Stone include David Cassidy, Dolly Parton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the members of Fleetwood Mac.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Further work
After leaving Rolling Stone magazine, Leibovitz moved to Vanity Fair. She snapped two highly acclaimed photos of Demi Moore for the magazine, including one in which the actress was naked and pregnant. Leibovitz has photographed celebrities in a variety of other capacities over the years, including for a 1987 global American Express ad campaign that earned her a Clio Award. In 1991, Leibovitz organized an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, making her the first woman and second living portraitist to have a special exhibition there. She began working regularly for Vogue later in the decade. Her subjects photographed for this magazine included Lady Gaga, Adele and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Leibovitz remained productive into the new millennium. A retrospective of her work was held at the Brooklyn Museum in 2007; It then took to the streets and was shown at venues such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington and the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Also in 2007, Leibovitz was hired by Disney to shoot a series of celebrity photos for a Walt Disney Parks and Resorts advertising campaign. In the 2010s she had exhibitions in cities like Moscow, New York and Los Angeles. Leibovitz also photographed celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Reese Witherspoon, and was the lead photographer for the 2016 Pirelli Calendar, which featured Amy Schumer, Patti Smith, and Serena Williams, among others.
controversies
Leibovitz has not been without her fair share of controversy over the years. In 2008, she was criticized for her photo of LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen that appeared on the cover of Vogue. Although James made history as the first black man to grace the cover of this publication, his pose – with his hand wrapped around Bummel’s waist – drew backlash for its resemblance to a King Kong movie poster and its racist connotations. Also in 2008, Leibovitz caused controversy for allegedly photographing a topless Miley Cyrus, who was 15 at the time. It turns out that the singer and actress was actually wrapped in a bed sheet.
Personal life
In 1989, Leibovitz began a relationship with writer and activist Susan Sontag. The relationship lasted until Sontag’s death in 2004. It was never fully disclosed whether it was a romance or a close friendship, although Leibovitz has claimed that “lover” is an accurate description of Sontag’s role in the relationship. Leibovitz has three daughters: Sarah and twins Susan and Samuelle.
property
In 2002, Annie bought her first of what became three townhouses in the West Village area of New York City. This initial purchase, in 2002, cost $4.2 million and enabled Annie to purchase two townhouses. In the years that followed, she bought the third townhouse for $1.9 million. Between 2002 and 2009 she did a good job of renovating the three apartments, one of which was converted into a photo studio. In December 2012, she listed the combined three-house estate for $33 million, eventually accepting $28.5 million from Ralph Lauren’s son, David Lauren, in 2014.
In June 2014, Annie bought an $11.25 million apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
In October 2022, Annie paid $6.5 million for a condo in the West Village.
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