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• OG Cast Members Are Bringing In The Big Bucks

• The Contrast Between Main And Side Characters

• Lisa Vanderpump Is The One True Star

Highlights

• Primary cast members of Vanderpump Rules are paid well, with the main cast reportedly earning between $10,000 and $25,000 per episode.
• Newcomers and side characters on the show earn significantly less, starting at a low scale and struggling to make ends meet.
• Lisa Vanderpump, the executive producer and star of the show, earns a reported $50,000 per episode and has an estimated net worth of around $90 million in 2024.
• On February 29th, former cast member Brittany Cartwright confirmed her separation from Jax Taylor on a podcast.

The cast of Vanderpump Rules has been entertaining Bravo fans since 2013.

What separates the reality TV show from other series is that the main cast has been reasonably untouched because of their longstanding friendships.

While cast mates like Jax Taylor, Stassi Schroeder, and Kristen Doute are no longer on the show, they continue to be a part of the Bravo universe.

Updated, March 2024: On February 29th, several news sources reported that two former Vanderpump Rules cast members were splitting up after five years of marriage. According to USA Today, Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are separating, as confirmed by Cartwright during a podcast on that date. She said:

"Jax and I are taking time apart and I made the decision to move into another home to take some space for the sake of my mental health ... Many of you guys have been asking me about Jax and I and our relationship," she said. "I just think it's important to be real and honest with you guys because... we've shared so much of our lives with you guys."

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After more than ten seasons, the cast of Vanderpump Rules have become rich in a multitude of ways due to the show's popularity. The value of the contracts the Bravo cast members signed continues to grow with the show's popularity.

The longer Vanderpump Rules airs, the more side characters and new partners are introduced.

However, which cast members are paid and how much money is Bravo paying them for their impact on the show?

Compared to other stars on Bravo, the Vanderpump Rules cast is bringing in the big bucks. Let's take a look.

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OG Cast Members Are Bringing In The Big Bucks

Season one of Vanderpump Rules saw Lisa Vanderpump, Jax Taylor, Katie Maloney, Tom Sandoval, Stassi Schroeder, and Scheana Shay as main cast members.

At the time, the reality TV show was an extension of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills(RHOBH) franchise, as Lisa Vanderpump was both a "Housewife," and the owner of the restaurant at which the cast worked, SUR.

Cast member Scheana Shay's net worth has continued to grow with the rise of her podcast, Shenanigans. However, it's said she made between $10,000 and $25,000 per episode of VPR.

Shay said on the Trading Secrets podcast (via Nicki Swift) that newbies don't make a lot on the show at first.

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"When you're brand new, you definitely need that hostess job," she said. Similarly, Life & Style Mag noted that both Schroeder and Doute made $25,000 an episode before being fired in 2020.

Ariana Madix joined the series as a full-time cast member in season three, making $25,000 an episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And after being on the series for more ten seasons, Ariana is looking at $600,000 (give or take) per season.

As for the men of the group, Tom Sandoval went from a reality TV star making a minimum $25,000 an episode to boasting a whopping $4 million net worth, according to Yahoo! Life. The star used his popularity from the series and built two successful bars and created a brand with his ex-girlfriend and cast mate, Ariana Madix.

While Tom was creating his brand with best friend Tom Schwartz, and Lisa Vanderpump created a dog foundation, cast member Jax Taylor went from $25,000 an episode (according to MSN) to hosting his own podcast and re-watch show with his wife (and former cast member) Brittany Cartwright.

Between $10,000 and $25,000 seemed to be the rumored per-episode rate for top-level Vanderpump Rules stars, but what about VPR's "side characters"?

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The Contrast Between Main And Side Characters

In an interview on The Kyle And Jackie O Show (via Heavy), Shay's husband Brock Davies explained that he didn't earn anything from his first season on the show as Shay's new partner and earned "zero" dollars.

Similarly, a fellow worker at SUR and friend of the group, Billie Lee, told Page Six that she struggled to get by as a friend of the series.

"They have a system [for] how they pay their newcomers, and it starts out at a low scale,” Lee said.

She continued, disclosing that she had a hard time paying her bills – but Lee elected not to disclose her low pay outright, presumably due to the importance of her image on the show.

As successful as the main cast members from Vanderpump Rules are, their related work as podcasters and entrepreneurs is what continues to boost their net worths.

While being a friend of the series (or side character) doesn't earn them much money, it does lead to other opportunities that could create the same level of fame and fortune enjoyed by the main cast.

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Lisa Vanderpump Is The One True Star

Since Lisa Vanderpump is an executive producer of Vanderpump Rules, the co-owner of SUR, and a big part of the series, In Touch Weekly reported that the titular star netted $50,000 per episode.

Season one only had ten episodes in total, suggesting Vanderpump brought in a cool $500,000 from the show, not accounting for any bonuses or other forms of compensation outside of episodic pay:

As of January 2024, Lisa Vanderpump's net worth is widely reported to be in the range of $90 million, though we were unable to locate a detailed estimate.

The success of being a "Housewife" and being on Vanderpump Rules has led Vanderpump to found her own dog foundation, Vanderpump Dogs.

She further leaned into her celebrity and opened Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Las Vegas, then launched her own series of wine labels.

And while most of the VPR stars are too famous to work at SUR anymore, Vanderpump is still running her empire, which always makes her an important part of VPR.