How Tyra Banks Achieved a Net Worth of $90 Million

Supermodel Tyra Banks has been successful in many phases of the modeling industry. She's put in the time and effort to build a career that has made her a very wealthy woman. She has a net wealth that is estimated to be at $90 million but how did she get where she's at today? Was it all through her modeling career or were there other ventures that helped her to amass such a tremendous net wealth? The average pay for a model is between $48,000 to $50,000 per year but she makes far more than that. She's one of those very special people who knows how to build a lucrative career, but she's also a frugal spender.

Tyra's early years

Tyra Banks was brought up to understand the value of money. She was raised in a frugal household and she adopted the philosophy as her own. When other young and wealthy models were spending their money on partying, she was the type to put her earnings in savings. She'd rather put her money away and save it than spend it. This helped her to establish herself early in life. Tyra hangs onto her money and she keeps the purse strings so tight that her accountants actually told her at one point that she had to start spending some of her money because she was so rich that she was paying far too much in taxes. By the time that she was just 20 years old, she had already purchased a home. She's not a frivolous person and only buys what she needs.

She grew up without a lot

She hasn't always been rich. Her mother and father divorced and she and her brother moved with their mother into a one bedroom apartment. She had to share a bedroom with her brother while her mother made her bed on the floor of the living room. They lived in these cramped quarters for a year before moving into a two bedroom apartment. Soon, their mother was able to move them into a 3 bedroom apartment so everyone had their own room. Tyra lived with them in the apartment until she reached the age of 20 and it was at this time that she bought her first home and she credits her mother for teaching her how to respect and manage money.

Tyra made good career decisions

She didn't put all her eggs in one basket either. She diversified her career. After becoming a supermodel and working for some of the top brands in the world, she was in high demand and was paid far above the average wages for modeling. In addition to this, she is a businesswoman and author. The television show "America's Next Top Model" was her idea and she served as the host of the show which also added to her fabulous net worth as well as making her a famous television personality on top of her success as a model. She's also a published author because Tyra has things to say that people are interested in reading about. The title of her book is "Perfect is Boring." In the book, she discusses the many valuable life lessons that she was taught by her mother.

Tyra lives on a budget

Even though Tyra Banks is incredibly wealthy, she knows how to manage her money. In fact, when she was just 19 and began making high wages, she invested in a money manager and she is still using the same person to help her manage her wealth today. She has set an annual limit for what she calls frivolous spending and the only reason she buys things she really doesn't need is because she was told by her accountants that she has to spend more. Instead of booking expensive luxury suites at hotels she would opt for a room at the DoubleTree early in her career. She has always had a good head on her shoulder when it comes to managing her finances.

Final thoughts

Tyra Banks has it all. She has enjoyed a multi-phase successful career in the modeling industry, she's taught others how to model, she's written a book, she's hosted multiple television shows and more. Tyra has beauty, fame and wealth, but she doesn't seem to have a big head about it at all. She is wise with her money and this is one of the reasons that she has so much put back.