The 20 Richest Reality Stars of All-Time
Once, people became famous for their talents in various aspects of the entertainment industry. For example, their phenomenal musical talents, their beautiful singing voice, or their outstanding acting skills. It was these talents that gave them celebrity status and helped them to earn their fortune. Now, there is a whole new category of celebrity as the reality stars are the new kids on the block. By taking part in reality television series, reality stars are now overtaking those who became famous through the traditional routes in terms of both fame and wealth. Reality stars are making big money, and their reality television appearances are opening up opportunities in other aspects of the entertainment industry and in business. This has led to them becoming some of the wealthiest celebrities around. Here are the top 20 richest reality stars in the world in 2019.
20. Golnesa Gharachedaghi – $12 Million
According to Wiki Celeb Info, Golnesa Gharachedaghi has a net worth of $12 million. She is famous for her appearances on the reality television series ‘Shahs of Sunset’, which airs on Bravo. She has appeared in this series since 2012. She is the daughter of the well known Los Angeles architect Mahmoud Gharachedaghi. Aside from her success on television, Golnesa is also a successful entrepreneur. Along with her sister Leila, she has created a line of hair extensions.
19. NeNe Leakes – $14 Million
NeNe Leakes is known for being a cast member of ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’. She has also appeared on ‘I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding’. Beyond her career in reality television, Leakes is a comedian who has performed in a successful one-woman comedy show. She also owns several accessories stores and she is a popular blogger who writes for several blogs.
18. Paul ‘Pauly D’ DelVecchio Jr. – $20 Million
Pauly D is best known for being a housemate on the reality television series ‘Jersey Shore’. He then got his own spin-off series called ‘The Pauly D Project’, which focuses on his other career as a DJ. In his career in music, he has released three singles between 2012 and 2019. He is currently working on his debut solo album.
17. Bethenny Frankel – $25 Million
The first reality television series in which Bettheny Frankel appeared was in ‘The Apprentice: Martha Stewart’, in which she was a runner-up in 2005. She then became a cast member of ’The Real Housewives of New York City’, in which she has appeared in eight of the 11 seasons of the series. She then appeared in two spin-off series of her own, ‘Bethenny Ever After’ and ‘Bethenny & Fredrik’. Frankel also had a talk show simply called ‘Bethenny’ between 2013 and 2014. She is also a successful businesswoman as she is the founder of the Skinnygirl lifestyle brand. Furthermore, she has written four self-help books.
16. Lauren Conrad – $25 Million
Lauren Conrad is famous for appearing in two reality television series; ‘Laguna Beach’ and ‘The Hills’. However, this is not the only way that Conrad has made money. She has also written a series of novels and she has her own clothing line. Lauren Conrad is married to former musician William Tell and they have one son together. They are now expecting their second child.
15. Shaunie O’Neal – $35 Million
Famous for her appearances on ‘Basketball Wives’, Shaunie O’Neal’s estimated net worth is $35 million. She is the former wife of professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal. Although she has made a lot of money from appearing in the reality series, most of her wealth comes from her divorce settlement, and her divorce is ranked as one of the most expensive divorces in history.
14. Kendal Jenner – $40 Million
Kendall Jenner has made most of her money from her appearances on ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ and its spin-offs. However, she has also grown her wealth through her modeling career and through endorsing products on her social media accounts.
13. Kourtney Kardashian – $45 Million
Kourtney Kardashian is the eldest of the Kardashian sisters. She was also the first to appear in a reality television series as she was in the 2004 reality television series ‘Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive’. Kourtney has several business ventures in the fashion and beauty industries, and she earns a significant amount of money from endorsing products on social media.
12. Khloe Kardashian – $50 Million
Khloe Kardashian is one of the Kardashian sisters who became famous for their appearances on ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ and the various spin-off series. Khloe Kardashian also has a very successful line of denim clothing, and she wrote the New York Times bestseller ‘Strong Looks Better Naked’. Khloe also earns $250,000 for every sponsored Instagram post.
11. Andrew Firestone – $50 Million
Andrew Firestone was the Bachelor in the third season of ‘The Bachelor’. He has also appeared in ‘Celebrity Poker Showdown’, ‘Celebrity Paranormal Project’, and ‘Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School’. Although he is a reality television star, this is not the main reason that he has a personal net worth of $50 million. He is the founder of a Santa Barbara hospitality firm called StonePark Capital. He is also heir to the Firestone Tire and Rubber fortune. He has been married to actress and model Ivana Bozilovic since 2008 and the couple has three children together.
10. Lisa Vanderpump – $75 Million
Lisa Vanderpump is a successful restaurateur along with her husband, and she is now also a reality television star. In the past, she has also enjoyed an acting career, which began in the 1970s. In 2010, she became a cast member of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills’. She then appeared in the spin-off series ‘Vanderpump Rules’, which focuses on her life as a restaurateur. Another reality series in which she has appeared is ‘Dancing with the Stars’. Currently, Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, own 36 successful restaurants in Los Angeles and London.
9. Kris Jenner – $90 Million
Kris Jenner is best known for her appearances on ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ and its many spin-off series as she is the mother of the Kardashian/ Jenner family. Although she does not have any other business interests, she does make money from her children’s earnings. It is reported that she receives 10 percent of everything her children earn. As she has six millionaire children, it is little wonder that she is on the list of richest reality stars in the world.
8. Caitlyn Jenner – $100 Million
Previously known as Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner became famous in ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. However, this was not the first time that she had appeared in a television reality show. As Bruce Jenner, she had appeared in ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ in 2003. She has also appeared in many other films, television series, and quiz shows. Caitlyn Jenner also has a business that sells aviation supplies to executives and corporations.
7. Gordon Ramsay – $190 Million
Despite growing up on a council estate in Scotland and almost becoming a professional football player, Gordon Ramsay has managed to forge a successful television career on both sides of the pond. He trained as a chef and opened his own restaurants before he became a star of television. In 1997, he was an undocumented judge on a televised cooking competition. He then appeared on series including ‘Boiling Point’, ‘Beyond Boiling Point’, and ‘Faking It’. His first series of his own was ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’ in 2004. This became a long-running reality series in which Gordon Ramsay goes to struggling restaurants and helps them to become a success. He has filmed both UK and US versions of this series. He then created ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, which is another series that he filmed on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a judge and executive producer for the US version of MasterChef since 2010. Other series in which he has been involved include ‘Ramsay’s Best Restaurant’, ‘Hotel Hell’, and ’24 Hours to Hell and Back’.
6. Paris Hilton – $300 Million
Paris Hilton is a socialite who is part of the Hilton hotel family. However, she has become famous in her own right because of her appearances on reality television series. The first of these was ‘The Simple Life’, which followed Paris and her best friend Nicole Ritchie. This premiered in 2003 and ran for five seasons. She has gone on to appear in many other series, and she also makes money from her perfume line, her clothing range, and through the music industry.
5. Kim Kardashian West – $350 Million
Kim Kardashian is the second richest of the Kardashian/ Jenner clan. She now has a personal net worth of $350 million. She is best known for her appearances on ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’, although she also has a beauty line called ‘KKW’. Kim Kardashian also makes money through brand endorsements.
4. Jamie Oliver – $400 Million
Chef and restaurateur turned television star, Jamie Oliver first appeared on television as a celebrity chef with his own series ‘The Naked Chef’ and then ‘Oliver’s Twist’. He was then involved in a reality series that followed his attempts to train disadvantaged youths in the kitchen called ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’. Spin-offs of this included ‘Return to Jamie’s Kitchen’ and ‘Jamie’s Chef’. He also grew his fame for the 2005 series ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’, which followed his attempts to reform school dinners in the UK to make them healthy for children. He has gone on to feature in multiple cookery shows along with many reality series and documentaries. In some of his shows, viewers see his family, including wife Jools and their five children Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear Maurice, and River Rocket Blue Dallas. Oliver has also made money by publishing both cookery books and novels.
3. Ryan Seacrest – $410 Million
Ryan Seacrest is the third richest reality television star in the world with a fortune of $410 million. The reality series for which he is best known is American Idol, which he hosted from 2002 to 2016. By that time, he had become the highest-paid television host in history, and he had also had his own production company since 2006. His reality television series links do not end there as he is an executive producer of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’.
2. Simon Cowell – $570 Million
Music and television mogul Simon Cowell is synonymous with reality television shows. The first reality television series in which he appeared as a judge was ‘Pop Idol’ in the UK. This led to him becoming a judge on ‘American Idol’ for seven seasons and the one-off series ‘World Idol’. Cowell then created ‘The X Factor’, which is one of the most successful reality competition series of all-time. Next, he created ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and its American equivalent ‘America’s Got Talent’, for which he was a judge on both series. This show is now franchised around the world. His success with reality series and his career in the music industry mean that he now has a personal net worth of $570 million.
1. Kylie Jenner – $1 Billion
Kylie Jenner tops of the list of the richest reality stars by a significant amount since she now has a personal net worth of $1 billion. Like the rest of her family, she has made a lot of her money from her appearances on ‘Keeping Up with The Kardashians’ and several spin-off series. However, she has also earned money as a model, and she was named as the top-earning model of 2018. Furthermore, she can command high fees for brand endorsements and for social media posts promoting products.
