In the past several years, the Duchess of Sussex went from living at Frogmore Cottage to stepping down from the British royal family all together. It’s only natural that Meghan Markle’s net worth has changed since then—but followers of the royal family have often wondered if that change was for the better or worse.
Here’s what we do know: Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, are doing fine financially. Before leaving the British royal family, he Duke of Sussex had been well-supported by his father, King Charles III. There were even reports at the time that Charles offered to pay for Meghan and Harry’s security fees when they moved to California, though Harry denied those reports in his and Meghan’s interview on CBS’ Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special in 2021. Harry and Meghan explained that they were in Vancouver, Canada, at the time they were told their security would be removed as a result of them stepping back as senior royals. “This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy, where I’m going, hold on a second… he needs to be safe,” Meghan said in the special. “We have created this monster machine, you’ve allowed this to happen, which means we need to be safe. “While I was pregnant, they wanted to change the convention, for Archie. Why? There’s no explanation.”
In May 2020, the Sussexes set out to repay taxpayer costs for those Frogmore Cottage renovations themselves—and their plan is to make those payments over the course of the next decade or so, according to reports. The total refurbishment costs were estimated at approximately £2.4 million (or $3.05 million), meaning that they will pay around £18,000 (roughly $22,000) a month moving forward
So what is Meghan Markle’s net worth? Read on for what we know about Meghan Markle’s net worth and how much he’s made before and after marrying her husband, Prince Harry.
How much did Meghan Markle make from Suits?
Christos Kalohoridis / ©USA Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection.
How much did Meghan Markle make on Suits? Many followers of the royal family are familiar with the fact that Megha had a successful acting career long before she became the Duchess of Sussex. Her most popular role was on the television show Suits, where she played a character named Rachel Zane from seasons 1 to 7. Meghan made $50,000 per episode on the series, according to Cheat Sheet. But that’s not all—Meghan also made a pretty penny from smaller roles on films like Remember Me and The Candidate, for which she was paid approximately $187,000 and $171,429 for respectively in 2010, according to various reports.
USA Network, the network where Suits aired, announced Meghan’s exit from Suits in November 2017, soon after her engagement to Prince Harry. “From all of us at USA Network and Universal Cable Productions, we want to send our most heartfelt congratulations to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their engagement,” the statement read. “Meghan has been a member of our family for seven years and it has been a joy to work with her. We want to thank her for her undeniable passion and dedication to Suits, and we wish her the very best.” Meghan, who was one of Suits‘ original cast members, had been in 103 episodes. Meghan’s body double, Nicky Bursic, who worked with the Duchess for six years, also honored her in an Instagram post at the time. “It’s been an absolute pleasure and honor being your ‘STAND-IN’ for the last 2 seasons,” Bursic wrote. “Wishing you all the happiness in the world Bella.” Bursic concluded her post with two very telling emojis: a heart and champagne glasses. She also included a congratulatory hashtag: #youdeserveitall.
How else did Meghan Markle make money?
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How else did Meghan Markle make money? Any starting actor knows that they need to diversify their streams of income, and Meghan was no exception. She established herself as a lifestyle expert, running a popular blog called The Tig for years before shutting it down in April 2017. Along with her blog, Meghan was also able to make money via sponsorships and endorsements on social media. According to Cosmopolitan, the emerging star used the platform to “tap into the wonderful world of celebrity #SponCon.” This earned her anywhere up to an additional $80,000 per year, as per knownetworth.com. She also appears to be dipping her toes back into the lifestyle world, as she is currently working on a cookbook.
What were Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s annual allowances?
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How much were Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s annual allowances? According to BBC, 95 percent of Harry’s income (which he shared with Meghan after they married) prior to leaving the royal family came from his father, King Charles III, who at the time controlled the Duchy of Cornwall, a portfolio of property and financial investments that brought in £21.6 million (or $29.8 million) in 2019. From 2018 to 2018, Harry’s annual allowance from Duchy, which he shared with Meghan, was £5 million or $6.9 million. This paid for Harry and Meghan’s public duties as working members of the royal family, such as wardrobe and travel, as well as private costs.
The other 5 percent of Harry’s income came from the Sovereign Grant, which is tax-payer funded and paid from the government to the royal family to cover expenses for official duties, as well as the royal palace. According to the BBC, the grant, which is also funded from crown estate profits and commercial properties owned by the crown, is worth £82.4 million (or $114,004 million.)
However, after Meghan and Harry left the royals, they announced their plan to be “financially independent” and no longer take money from streams like the Sovereign Grant. “They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties,” Kensington Palace said in a statement in September 2020.
How much did Meghan Markle inherit from Queen Elizabeth II?
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How much did Meghan Markle inherit from Queen Elizabeth II? Radar Online also reported in September 2022 that Meghan and her daughter, Lilibet Diana, were left out of the inheritance of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. “There’s a very good chance the Queen won’t leave either of them any jewels of value,” a source said. “It’s not surprising, since they’re not members of the royal family anymore, but it would be a real slap in the face.” Radar Online also reported that Meghan’s sister-in-law, Kate, who was set to inherit $110 million in jewelry from the Queen, will likely pass some of her jewels to her niece because she and William, “really don’t want Lilibet to be left out.” “As for Meghan, she’s not their concern,” the insider added. As for why the Queen left Meghan out of her inheritance, Radar Online’s source speculated that it could be due to either “practicality” or Harry and Meghan’s drama with the British royal family in the years leading up to the Queen’s death. “Some people think it won’t be out of spite, but practicality,” the insider said. “Others say it would be the Queen sending a message to Meghan and Harry: You reap what you sow.”
How much did Meghan Markle make from her Spotify podcast?
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How much did Meghan Markle make from her Spotify podcast? Meghan launched her podcast with Spotify, Archetypes, in 2022. According to Forbes, Meghan and Harry signed a contract for $18 million in December 2020 for a three-year podcast deal with Spotify. “On Archetypes, you’ve listened to others tell their stories — now, Archewell Foundation is encouraging you to share your experience with archetypes, learn how they impact our lives, and take action,” the description for the podcast reads.
What is Meghan Markle’s net worth?
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What is Meghan Markle’s net worth? Meghan Markle’s net worth is $60 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. According to a 2021 report by Forbes, Meghan and Harry’s net worth was around $10 million at the time, which included the money Meghan made from her acting career as well as other sources of income pre- and post-royal family. Forbes also reported that Meghan and Harry had a “nest egg” of around $5 million after they started to repay the Sovereign Grant and put down a payment on their $14.7 million home in Montecito, where they moved to in August 2020. In comparison, Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had a $500 million net worth before her death, according to a 2020 Forbes report.
Though there was speculation that Meghan and Harry were paid for their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Page Six confirmed that the two did not receive a cent for the special. “A spokeswoman for the Oprah Winfrey Network confirmed that the couple won’t be collecting a paycheck and said that no donations are being made to their charity,” Page Six reported at the time.
So how did Meghan make money after she and Harry left the royal family? Well, one source of income was from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s massive Netflix deal in 2020. According to Us Weekly, Harry and Meghan signed a deal with the streaming service at the time for $100 million. “Quibi had a huge offer out to Meghan Markle that was in the tens of millions,” a source said. “Netflix swooped in and their production deal is worth over 100 million.”
The partnership will work with Meghan and Harry’s production company to create documentaries, children’s programming, docuseries and scripted series. The deal will feature projects that Meghan and Harry care about and highlight issues that are relevant to their nonprofit, Archewell. “Our lives, both independent of each other, and as a couple have allowed us to understand the power of the human spirit: of courage, resilience, and the need for connection,” the couple said in a statement at the time. “Through our work with diverse communities and their environments, to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope. As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us, as is powerful storytelling through a truthful and relatable lens. We are pleased to work with Ted [Sarandos] and the team at Netflix whose unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.”
Along with their 2022 docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the couple’s Netflix deal also includes Heart of Invictus, another docuseries that follows stories of competitors on their journey to the Invictus Games The Hague 2020, which was held in 2022. Also included in their Netflix deal is Pearl, an animated series following the heroic adventures of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by influential women throughout history.
The New York Times also reported that Harry and Meghan signed a deal with Harry Walker Agency in June 2020 for speaking engagements, with fees estimated at $1 million per speech. Topics for Harry included mental health and grieving. (Harry Walker also represents the Obamas.) Since they left the royals, Meghan and Harry have also worked with streaming services like AppleTV+ and Disney Plus.
In an interview with The Cut in 2022, Meghan explained why she and Harry almost didn’t buy their $14.65 million house in Montecito, California. “We were looking in this area and this house kept popping up online in searches,” she said. “We didn’t have jobs, so we were just not going to come and see this house. It wasn’t possible. It’s like when I was younger and you’re window shopping – it’s like ‘I don’t want to go and look at all the things that I can’t afford, that doesn’t feel good’.” Meghan added that Harry did “everything they could” to get the home, which included their deals with Netflix, Spotify and more companies. “It’s healing, you feel free,” Meghan said of the feeling when she enters her home.
Courtesy: Penguin Random House.
For more about Prince Harry, read his upcoming memoir, Spare. Told for the first time in his own words, the book takes readers through the Duke of Sussex’s life with the British royal family, from the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 to how the moment led to his decision decades later to move to America with his wife, Meghan Markle, and leave Buckingham Palace for good in 2020. “With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” the publisher’s description reads.
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