Real Housewives Salary Leak – Are They Paid As Much As You Think? Or More?

Have you ever wondered how much The Real Housewives earn a year? The answers may surprise you, with some women earning as little as AU$14,000 per season while others are reportedly paid US$1 million!

A signed contract containing the salaries of the cast members of The Real Housewives of Auckland leaked to New Zealand media reveals exactly what each of the kiwi cast members had signed up for — and what they were paid in return.

The New Zealand Herald has obtained a copy of the contract, and considering we are talking about women who own mansions, holiday manors and flash cars, the wage is pretty low. The ladies received just NZ$15,000 (or $14k in Aussie dollars) for the whole ten-episode season.

What about the other major franchises around the globe? Here’s what we’ve been able to find out:

The Real Housewives of Sydney cast includes Lisa Oldfield, Melissa Tkautz, Matty Samaei, Athena Levendi, Krissy Marsh, Nicole O’Neill and Victoria Rees. Their salaries are reportedly all the same – AU$70,000 per season plus a wardrobe allowance. There is no word on how much The Real Housewives of Melbourne are paid, but you would have to assume that it would be a similar figure as they are employed by the same production company.

The Real Housewives of New York City are some of the most highly paid women in the reality juggernaut. Bethenny Frankel was reportedly paid US$1 million for her return to RHONY in 2015. Ramona Singer earns US$500,000 per year and Sonja Morgan pulls in US$220,000 to supplement her worldwide lifestyle brand.

Another US franchise happy to spend quality cash money on their stable of stars is The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Lisa Vanderpump is alleged to pocket US$350K per year with Kyle Richards on US$275,000. Yolanda Hadid and Kim Richards were earning a cool US$100K for every year they spent on the payroll and Brandi Glanville earned US$175,000 for her trouble.

Down the coast a couple of hours, The Real Housewives of Orange County earn higher figures. OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson appears to be the highest paid, clocking up a whopping US$500,000 per season with sidekick Tamra Judge collecting US$375K per year.

Across the country in Georgia, The Real Housewives of Atlanta are earning a very respectable wage for quintessential southern belles. Kandi Burruss collects a US$450,000 each year, Cynthia Bailey and Phaedra Parks each earn US$300,000 and the star of the show, NeNe Leakes, brought enough shade to pick up a cool US$1 million a season.

Finally, over at The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Melissa Gorga is allegedly collecting US$250K per year, Dina Manzo was on US$100,000 and ex-jailbird Teresa Giudice earns US$700,000 each season that she reveals all.

That’s pretty good coin for drinking champagne, wearing designer clothes and arguing with other rich women on television!