Some call her an international punchline. Others say she’s iconic. But no matter which team you’re on, there’s no denying that Monica Lewinsky made some money out of her 15 minutes of fame (or shame, depending on how you look at it). How much did she make? Sources put Monica Lewinsky’s net worth around $1.5 million.
Monica Lewinsky: Quick Bio
Before we look at her financial status, let’s start with the basics.
- Full Name: Monica Samille Lewinsky
- Birthdate: July 23, 1973
- Home Town: San Francisco, California
- Parents: Marcia Lewis and Bernard Lewinsky
- Education: Degree in Psychology from Lewis & Clark, Master’s in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics
- Famous for: An affair with Bill Clinton
5 Facts About Monica Lewinsky’s Financial Status
Let’s take a closer look at Lewinsky’s lifestyle and biggest paychecks over the years.
1. Her Family Was Quite Well-off
Monica Lewinsky might have capitalized on the scandal, but that doesn’t mean she was poor. Her father was a successful doctor who was making nearly $37,000 a month. So, the family was living lavishly—one could even say they were living beyond their means.
The Lewinskys’ home in Beverly Hills was worth about $1.6 million, their annual vacations cost $20,000, and her parents drove a Mercedes and a Cadillac Allante.
Image source: Google
Young Monica went to pricey private schools (with a tuition of $12,000!) and would spend about $100 every month on hair and grooming alone. Tennis lessons for her and her brother cost $720 a month.
I know these numbers might not seem like much today. However, when you consider that this was decades ago, you’ll realize how privileged little Monica was.
2. Her Career Began With an Unpaid Internship
Monica Lewinsky’s career started in the summer of 1995 with an unpaid internship in the office of the Chief of Staff in the White House. After a couple of months, she made her way to a paying job in Legislative Affairs. That was around the time the Clinton-Lewinsky affair started.
Apparently, people in the administration noticed her infatuation with the president and visits to the Oval Office. That’s probably why she was transferred to the Pentagon in April 1996. It wasn’t a terrible gig for her, though. She worked as an assistant to the chief spokesman at a salary of about $30,000 a year.
3. She Turned Down More Than $10 Million Because It Didn’t Feel Right
I can only assume Lewinsky got tons of offers to do interviews and talk about the affair. She claims she turned down offers that would have added up to more than $10 million. Why? According to her, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. That said, she made $1 million from her one-on-one ABC interview with Barbara Walters in 1999.
4. She Got $500,000 From Her Book Deal
The ABC interview wasn’t the only big paycheck the scandal brought to Monica Lewinsky’s doorstep. She was reportedly paid half a million as an advance for the 1999 book “Monica’s Story.” Some sources estimate Lewnsiky makes $800,000 annually from that book alone!
Around 2012, rumor had it that Lewinsky signed a $12 million deal for a memoir full of scandalous details of the affair. But it looks like these were just baseless rumors.
5. Her Jenny Craig Paycheck Was Missing $700,000
Shortly after the scandal, Jenny Craig hired Monica Lewisnkys as part of the brand’s $7.2 million campaign. She lost 31 pounds and appeared in the company’s weight-loss commercial, but things didn’t exactly go as planned.
Lewniksy was supposed to receive a million from the endorsement deal. However, she ended up with $300,000. She did consider legal action but was scared the company could come after her. After all, the last time she went to court, she got hit with about $800,000 in legal bills!
Image source: Pinterest
Final Thoughts: Where Is Monica Lewinsky Today?
Lewinsky is worth around $1.5 million, and it looks like she’s shifting to the entertainment industry. She took a couple of production jobs and now owns a production company. Do you think this company will thrive, or will it fade away like her handbag line?
Featured image source: Google
