The Shocking Amount Bethenny Frankel Made On Season 1 Of RHONY

Considering that former Real Housewives of New York cast member Bethenny Frankel is reportedly worth as much as $70 million, fans may be shocked to learn how little money she cleared after the first season of the popular Bravo show (via Celebrity Net Worth). But as the mom of one and Skinnygirl maven revealed on a recent episode of The Tamron Hall Show, her paycheck back in 2008 when the show began was less than what she probably pays now for a few pairs of designer shoes (via IMDb)!

"When I signed on to the Housewives, the contract said $7,250 for the entire season," Frankel confided to Hall (via Page Six). The reality star would go on to explain why she agreed to do the show even though the money left something to be desired. And it turns out her bank account wasn't her primary motivation in saying "yes" to appearing on season 1 of The Real Housewives of New York. Judging from how far she has come, it seems Frankel made the right decision!

The very wealthy star also told Hall during their interview, "I wasn't looking at the money ... you can't always look at the money, you have to look at the big picture, the other opportunities, you have to look at the whole board, not just the pieces — and the money was just the pieces."

Eventually, according to Frankel, she would become the highest paid cast member of the show, with Women's Health reporting her salary for appearing on RHONY grew to as much as $1 million.

Of course, as fans know, the outspoken star left and came back to the show in 2010 and 2019, but finally parted ways with the franchise for good after her most recent stint. About the decision to move on, Frankel told Hall, "And when I did ultimately leave this last time [in 2019], people thought I was leaving because I wasn't getting more money." The New Yorker clarified that in fact, she "was leaving because I was staying because of the money."