Mariah Carey has recorded HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of songs across her career . . . but she could've basically retired comfortably if she'd only ever released ONE song. And yeah . . . it's THAT one.
According to "The Economist", Mariah rakes in more than $2.5 million in royalties . . . EVERY YEAR . . . from "All I Want for Christmas Is You". And some estimates claim the annual royalties are more than $3 million.
That's a little ironic, since the song is about someone not caring about the materialistic aspects of the holidays . . . as long as they can be with a lover.
(So yeah, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" . . . but that being said, "It's super nice to see another FAT ENVELOPE hanging on my tree!")
Mariah isn't the only one making bank off it. "All I Want for Christmas" was co-written by a Russian-Brazilian music producer named Walter Afanasieff. He did a lot of work with Mariah in the '90s, and has a net worth of over $100 million.
And . . . thanks to Christmas music-lovers everywhere . . . "All I Want for Christmas" isn't fading into obscurity, it's becoming MORE popular.
It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 2019 . . . and it's returned to #1 every year since, which is a six-year streak. (It could be considered a seven-year streak, because it already has a #1 in 2025 from the first week of the year back in January.)
It also made history in 2021, when it became the first (and only) holiday song to win the RIAA's Diamond Award, which recognizes 10 million sales and streaming units in the U.S.
photo: GETTY