The Real Housewives of New York’s Luann de Lesseps. Photo: @countessluann/Instagram
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3141825/real-housewives-new-yorks-net-worths-ranked-ramona-singer Luxury
Real Housewives of New York’s net worths, ranked: Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan ... which cast member has the most millions to play with?
- Bethenny Frankel is the richest RHONY star overall after selling her Skinnygirl Cocktails brand, while Luann de Lesseps has money from her marriage to a count
- Leah McSweeney has women’s streetwear brand Married to the Mob, while Sonja Morgan was married to a descendant of Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan’s founders
The Real Housewives of New York City’s season 13 cast: Sonja Morgan, Leah McSweeney, Ramona Singer, Eboni K. Williams and Luann de Lesseps. Photo: Bravo TV
Former Housewife Bethenny Frankel was regarded as the highest-earning reality star in 2011 after starring in the first three seasons of The Real Housewives of New York. Off the back of the show – which she left for the second time in 2019 – Frankel built her brand with spin-off series, books that became bestsellers, and her Skinnygirl Cocktails label.
In 2011, she sold the company for at least US$39 million – and possibly quite a bit more, according to Celebrity Net Worth, who put her current wealth at US$70 million. She has come a long way since earning just US$7,250 for the entire first season of the show – during her more recent stint, she raked in US$40,000 per episode.
But how did the current cast members appearing in season 13 earn their fortune, and how do they rank against the women of the show’s west coast counterpoint?
1. Luann de Lesseps (US$25 million)
Known as “The Countess”, De Lesseps is believed to derive the bulk of her net worth from her previous marriage to Count Alexandre de Lesseps, who is worth US$50 million.
Since her 1993-2009 marriage to the French aristocrat, she has come a long way. Joining the show in 2008, according to Page Six she was earning US$20,000 per show by 2015, and has used her platform to get into acting and singing, even taking a one-woman show on tour. In 2019, she sold her Bridgehampton, New York property for a whopping US$8 million.
2. Ramona Singer (US$18 million)
The Real Housewives of New York’s Ramona Singer. Photo: @ramonasinger/Instagram
Singer is the longest-running full-time cast member and, according to Celebrity Net Worth, she earns US$500,000 each season. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and made her fortune as a lifestyle entrepreneur. She has fashion and jewellery brands (True Faith Jewelry, which she launched with her jeweller ex- husband Mario Singer) exclusive to Amazon and the Home Shopping Network, and skincare brand Tru-Renewal. Like former co-star Frankel, Singer has dabbled in the world of alcoholic drinks and has her own pinot grigio label.
3. Sonja Morgan (US$8 million)
The Real Housewives of New York’s Sonja Morgan. Photo: @sonjatmorgan/Instagram
In 1998, Sonja married John Adams Morgan, a former Olympic gold medallist in sailing who is worth US$100 million, largely thanks to being son and great-grandson to the founders of Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan respectively. She lost her fortune and had to file for bankruptcy after they divorced in 2006. But the former socialite and model paid off her debts in four years and joined RHONY during its third season in 2010. She now earns US$465,000 per episode.
As well as a clothing line she launched in 2015, Morgan has her company Tipsy Girl with business partner Peter Guimaraes, which distributes wine (a brand Frankel has complained is too similar to her Skinnygirl). Morgan and Guimaraes have also opened a restaurant which she has promoted on the show.
4. Leah McSweeney (US$3.5 million)
The Real Housewives of New York’s Leah McSweeney. Photo: @leahmob/Instagram
Current cast member McSweeney told Bravo TV that she took the US$75,000 she won in a settlement after New York police knocked her front teeth out, and created her women’s streetwear brand Married to the Mob. She now has a net worth of US$3.5 million.
McSweeney joined the series in season 12 and was earning US$3,000 per episode, but it’s believed she boosted her earnings for her second season, that is currently airing.
5. Eboni K. Williams (US$3 million)
The Real Housewives of New York’s Eboni K. Williams. Photo: @ebonikwilliams/Instagram
Newest cast member Williams is a high-profile divorce, spousal support and child custody lawyer who made her name as a TV and radio host, working for the likes of Fox News and Revolt TV. She currently lives in a flat in the posh Tribeca neighbourhood in Manhattan and her net worth is expected to grow even more with her increased exposure.