Wendy Williams Earns $15 Million A Year From Her Talk Show And Books
Wendy Williams built a true empire with her now ex-husband Kevin Hunter. The self-described "Queen of All Media" rose to fame and fortune—and now, her hot takes on all the hot topics are taking her all the way to the bank. You can dive deep into her backstory with a double feature Wendy Williams: What A Mess documentary and Wendy Williams: The Movie biopic premiering on Lifetime.
But it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the talk show host. In 2019, Wendy was candid about a relapse of alcohol and drug addiction and living in a sober living house. Wendy also filed for divorce from Kevin and opened up about her lymphedema diagnosis that has been causing her legs and ankles to swell. “The elephant in the room is that I’ve been having a very, very tough year, but slowly but surely I’m climbing out of the pit,” she told LA Times. “Sometimes life is a very, very lonely path, and you’ve just got to make some hard decisions.”
That's a lot to deal with, but Wendy has come through stronger than ever. "The life that I’m living right now is my best life, and I have no guilt about saying that," she told Essence. "I like who I am, so I have no regrets. If anything, I’m extremely happy that I’m still relevant enough that I’m able to come through some pretty kick behind double doors and say. ‘How you doing?’ and still be young, fun, and pop culture relevant."
And, she has a whole lot of reasons to celebrate—40 million, to be exact. That's around how much Wendy Williams' net worth is, InTouchWeekly reported. So yeah, makes sense why she dubbed herself "The Queen of All Media."
Here's how Wendy made all that moolah:
She started out in radio.
Wendy graduated from Northeastern University in 1986 with a degree in communications and a minor in journalism. She set out to do radio, landing her first job in the Virgin Islands, where she said she made $3.75 an hour.
Wendy moved back stateside, and her radio career blossomed.
After a short stint abroad, she moved back to the U.S. Once in New York City, Wendy started her own show called The Wendy Williams Experience that was a major hit. According to the Washington Post, she was pulling in over 12 million listeners at the time. Later, in November 2009, she was also inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Wendy wrote her first book and continued writing more.
Wendy wrote her first book in 2004, titled Wendy’s Got the Heat, and has penned six(!) more books. She became a New York Times bestselling author and doled out words of wisdom in her latest book, Ask Wendy: Straight Up Life Advice for All the Drama In Your Life. Cha-ching!
She started her daytime talk show 10(!) years ago.
After 23 years in radio, Wendy transitioned to television. Since then, her show has reached syndication in 53 countries, and it will continue into at least 2022. All those Hot Topics are worth a whole lot of cash.
She earns around $15 million annually, thanks to income from books, endorsements, and her talk show, per Forbes.
Wendy earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wendy made her stardom official in Los Angeles in October 2019. The iconic star doesn't actually add anything to the bank account (womp womp). In fact, all star applications require a $30,000 sponsorship fee. (Half goes to the Hollywood Historic Trust, and the other half funds the creation of the star itself and the ceremony.)
“If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, so I’ll keep it light and laughter-y,” Wendy said during the ceremony. “Jack and Elvis and Mitch and people have said throughout the day ... I’m successful because I’ve done things my way. No, not exactly. It’s because I’m a good listener to advice, and if I don’t like the advice, then I do things my way.”
Wendy celebrated her 55th birthday with bling.
The talk show host donned a full-on tiara for her big day. It sparkled bright like legit diamonds, but she didn't confirm if the rocks were real. She also hosted a super special episode of her daytime talk show The Wendy Williams Show, during which she brought the party by having Watch What Happens Live! host Andy Cohen on her show for the first time in six years, according to a tweet from Andy. (ICYDK, they were beefing because of Wendy's ex, per Hollywood Life, but it's all good now.)
Wendy executive produced the new unfiltered Lifetime movies all about her.
She's revealing all in the documentary and biopic, but how much she takes home from her executive producer roles isn't publicly available. You can be pretty certain that number includes plenty of zeroes, because Wendy.
Unfortunately, Wendy's divorce likely came with a big price tag.
Wendy worked hard to amass those millions, but her divorce could drain her accounts. "In terms of dividing assets, you have a lot of prospective financial issues with celebrities," Family Law Attorney Maryam Atighechi told Forbes about the financial implications of Wendy's divorce. "They enter into contracts now for future royalties or endorsements. Those future royalties or endorsements could vest after a divorce, but the contract was entered into during marriage, potentially making it all community property."
So far, Wendy paid her ex $250,000 for new living arrangements, per Page Six. The former couple put their $2-million New Jersey home up for sale in the summer of 2019, and she moved into $15,000-per-month Manhattan digs. Her net worth was estimated at $60 million in 2020, In Touch Weekly reported, and is now around $40 million.
Wendy's not too worried about paying those bills, though. "I have the privilege of having a thriving career," she told Essence. "That was a blessing and a curse. There came a point early that I knew, 'OK, I’m going to have to pay alimony.' But I can handle that. It’s comical to me almost."
You Might Also Like
