For children of the 90s who grew up with bops like “I Want Candy” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq,” it might seem impossible that there are modern-day middle schoolers out there who have never even heard of Aaron Carter. How do we explain to them the greatness of “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” and the rest of his discography when his rapping sounds nothing like Hamilton?
Even if he’s not mainstream anymore, most of us vividly remember Aaron Carter’s epic rise. We delighted in his music videos, shock of blond hair, and model good looks. We were thrilled when his songs played at school dances and that most ultimate date spot, the roller rink. We squealed when he said, “Merry Christmas, Lizzie McGuire,” and kissed Hilary Duff, giving us the steamiest moment to ever grace the Disney Channel. When he released new music for 2001’s Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, we were excited to find out who the heck Jimmy Neutron was.
Carter experienced the kind of mega-success that most kids think they want but which few actually achieve. Selling millions of albums as a teenager and having songs go platinum became a typical occurrence in the Carter household, and not just for Aaron. His older brother, Nick, was a member of the popular boy band the Backstreet Boys, which Aaron opened for regularly in the early days of his career. Both Carters seemed destined to skyrocket to international stardom with their separate musical ventures, but in the end, only one of them succeeded in the long term.
Who Became More Successful: Aaron Or Nick?
Unfortunately for Aaron, his status as a teenage heartthrob was not destined to last as long as his brother’s. As shown on his family’s reality show House of Carters, Aaron had a rollercoaster family life. He openly fought with Nick, filed for legal emancipation from his mother in 2003, and later claimed that his sister had sexually harassed him when he was a kid. He also insisted that his mother had stolen a lot of his music earnings, revealing to Complex in 2016 that he had grossed over $300 million during his singing career, but when he turned 18 and went to access his trust fund, there was only $2.1 million in his account.
Carter also had bad luck with his romantic relationships, struggled with opioid addiction, and at one point was over $3.5 million in debt. By the time he tried to resurrect his music career in 2014, the music scene had moved on, as had Carter’s fans. Nick, on the other hand, had been able to maintain both his career and public persona. Despite the Backstreet Boys having an on-again, off-again relationship since 2002, the band still performs and releases new music to this day. Nick was even able to carve out a solo music career in addition to his band duties. He broke into acting as well, appearing on shows like American Dreams, 8 Simple Rules, and later Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer. His singing and acting projects have given Nick an overall net worth of $35 million.
What Is Aaron Carter’s Net Worth?
Despite his vast earnings as a young artist, Aaron currently has a net worth of $400 thousand. Though Carter still occasionally releases new music, he has not reached the same level of fame he once had, a reality that has seemed to weigh on him over the years as evidenced by the eye-popping tattoos now covering his face and neck. Seemingly desperate for cash, Carter created an OnlyFans account in March 2020 and began charging fans for nude photos of himself as well as live cam shows. Does Aaron have a future in porn? The world may know soon enough.
One thing that is clear is the strained relationship Aaron now has with his brother, who filed a restraining order against him in 2019 after Aaron reportedly made threats against Nick’s wife and children. Though the brothers have made a habit of supporting each other publicly, there’s no way to know what goes on behind closed doors. All we can hope is that Aaron continues to get the help he needs and hopefully finds some new creative outlets that might not involve removing his clothing or performing questionable acts.
