When we think about our own wealth, most of us just think in broad terms. This includes ideas such as “middle-class” and “upper-class.” However, the very wealthy are in a class all their own!
When it comes to the rich and the famous, most of us have a simple question. “How rich are they, really?” And one person that has us naturally curious is Meghan Markle.
On one hand, she’s a former actress-turned-princess, which implies a great degree of wealth. On the other hand, she’s someone who fled England and left her royal life behind (including all the financial perks that come with it).
How much, then, is Meghan Markle really worth? Let’s find out!
Defining Meghan Markle’s net worth
Before we can explore Meghan Markle’s net worth, we need to define how net worth is calculated. That’s because a shocking number of people tend to think their income and their net worth is the same thing.
Your income is an annual amount in the form of a yearly salary. Just take how much you earn in a year and divide by 12 and you know what your monthly gross pay is.
Your net worth, however, is basically everything own minus everything you owe. If you own a home and a car, for instance, your net worth is probably much higher than you imagine. However, you must subtract things like credit card debt and student loan debt from that number.
That’s why figuring out the net worth of people like the Obamas is so difficult. You’re not just factoring in how much they make in a given year. Instead, you’re calculating the value of their multiple properties and other assets.
In Meghan Markle’s case, she’s had quite a life. From humble side hustles to royal gifts, there are plenty of things we must factor in to determine her net worth.
The importance of Meghan Markle’s net worth
If you’re cynical, you might be asking, “why is any of this important?” The honest answer is that whether you love Meghan or hate her, she made history by ditching the royal family. She could have lived the rest of her life without financial worries, but now she and Harry have to make it on their own.
In other words, her net worth (and his) determine just how extravagantly of a new life they can live in America. Of course, America is where Meghan’s rise to riches first began.
Meghan Markle’s acting salary
As an actress, Meghan is mostly known for her role on USA Network’s Suits from 2011–2017. And that show treated her well, with Meghan reportedly bringing it $50,000 per episode.
Around this time, she made about $450,000 a year, with about $80,000 of that coming from sponsorships and other endorsements.
Meghan didn’t appear in too many movies, but she got paid a decent amount when she did. This included a $187,000 payday for 2010’s Remember Me and a $153,846 payday for 2010’s The Candidate, according to Knownnetworth.com.
Long story short? Her acting career formed the core of her pre-marriage wealth.
RELATED: 6 Reasons To Worry About Harry & Meghan’s Marriage
Meghan Markle’s surprising side gig
Before she married into royalty, Meghan was best known for her acting career. However, like most actors, she didn’t have steady work right away. So she had to find ways to make ends meet between gigs.
When she was between roles, Meghan used to do freelance calligraphy in order to make a few extra bucks. We don’t know exactly how much money she made doing this, but it seems like this was just enough money to help keep a roof above her head.
“I went to an all-girls Catholic school where they would teach penmanship courses,” Markle explained to Glamour magazine in 2013.
She even taught calligraphy at a Paper Source store in Beverly Hills while auditioning for her big break.
“Instead of waiting tables, I did calligraphy,” she revealed.
An Instagram post by Luminary Bakery displaying a thank you note from Markle in August 2019 revealed that she still has amazing calligraphy skills to fall back on. Though, when you take a look at her net worth on the next page, we doubt she’ll need to.
Meghan Markle’s Instagram endorsements
Remember when we said Meghan got about $80,000 from sponsorships? Most of that came from Instagram endorsements back before she deleted her social media accounts in January 2018.
She also ran a lifestyle website called The Tig until early 2017 and had a clothing partnership with Reitmans in spring 2016. We don’t know exactly how much she made from these ventures, but two of her Reitmans clothing lines sold out entirely.
Meghan backed out of these partnerships and online ventures leading up to her marriage. However, all of this helps contribute to her overall net worth.
Meghan Markle’s net worth revealed
So, now we come to the big question. How much is Meghan Markle worth? According to Knownnetworth.com, about $7 million dollars.
While that is a lot of money on its own, Prince Harry is reportedly worth about $40 million. In this way, Meghan is a bit like Melania Trump: wealthy on her own, but her wealth is overshadowed by that of her husband.
Ultimately, these high-dollar amounts should ease the minds of their fans. While these two may have left most of royal life behind, they still retain enough money to live large here in America.
No wonder she and Harry can afford to stay in Tyler Perry’s $18 million Beverly Hills mansion!