Vanna White Salary and Net Worth

Vanna White is an American actress, model and television personality who has a net worth of $85 million dollars and a yearly salary of $10 million.

Best known to the world as the hostess of Wheel Of Fortune, Vanna White has been Wheel Of Fortune’s hostess since 1982. Her time on the program brought her a lot of money and is the primary source of her wealth. As an actress, she has been featured in several small and big screen projects which have undoubtedly added to her massive wealth.

For someone who has been part of the entertainment business for over four decades, it is only natural that almost everything about Vanna is newsworthy for her millions of fans and dedicated followers. As much as they have followed her career and personal life, they have also been curious about her wealth. As you would soon learn, her exploits in showbiz have been financially rewarding: Vanna is a multi-millionaire but she didn’t make all her wealth from the entertainment industry.

Vanna White Earns $10 Million Yearly for Hosting Wheel of Fortune

The South Carolina-native is multi-talented and this has made it possible for her to make money through various sources. However, Vanna’s Wheel of Fortune hosting gig has been her biggest cash cow: it is indeed a wheel of fortune that has been spinning millions for her over several decades.

According to various reports, the television personality currently makes as much as $10 million each year from hosting the game show. It is said that the show tapes only on Thursdays and Fridays for a total of four days a month. For each of the days they tape, they produce a total of six shows. From what we gathered, they would have an audience watch three shows straight, go for a break, and have another audience watch another three shows.

The implication of the above is that Vanna White gets to host Wheel of Fortune for a total of 48 days a year to pocket $10 million. To further break it down, it means that the host is paid roughly $34,722 for each show, $208,333 for each day she works, and $833,332 per month for hosting the popular show.

How Long Has She Been On The Wheel Of Fortune?

As stated earlier, Vanna White has been co-hosting the game show since 1982. Due to some personal reasons, she has taken some time off the show over the years but has always returned to resume her duties. An instance was when she was married to a restaurant owner named George Santo Pietro. She became pregnant in September 1992 and announced the pregnancy in an episode of the show where “Vanna’s pregnant” was the answer to one of the puzzles. Unfortunately, she miscarried a little while after the episode was taped. Because of that, she was away for a while. She was also away when she gave birth to her first son Nicholas in 1994 and her daughter, Giovanna – Gigi – in 1997.

Apart from those instances, it is hard to think of when Vanna White isn’t working on Wheel of Fortune. It is the gig that has defined her career and even though it was in 1982 that she started co-hosting the show, the journey began in 1980, precisely on the 20th of June. Yes, before her debut as a host, Vanna first appeared in an episode of the game show titled The Price Is Right. She was one of the game’s first four competitors. However, she lost the game midway through the episode.

Later, when Susan Stafford (the original Wheel Of Fortune hostess) left the position in October 1982, Vanna was recruited as a substitute hostess. She was not the only one recruited though; Vicki McCarty and Summer Bartholomew were also recruited as substitute hostesses. However, it is believed that the show’s popularity skyrocketed because of Vanna. She was later offered the permanent position, leading to her long duration with the show and the entertainment industry at large.

A Look at How Her Wheel of Fortune Salary Grew Over Time

Given that Vanna White has committed nearly 40 years towards hosting the game show created by Merv Griffin, one can conclude that the $10 million she gets yearly as her salary is deserving and, that she had not always commanded such a huge pay.

While details of her pay structure are not readily available for us to determine what she earned in the 80s and through the 90s hosting the show, we can tell that it was in the past few years that she began earning $10 million. This is so because it was widely reported in 2017 that she earned $4 million per year for co-hosting the show.

What is Vanna White’s Net Worth?

Vanna White is worth $85 million. Thanks to what she has been able to earn from hosting Wheel of Fortune, Vanna White is a multi-millionaire and continues to add millions to her fortune every year. It has been estimated on several quarters that the television personality has a net worth of $85 million.

Albeit it is clear that her Wheel of Fortune salaries have contributed most to her wealth, Vanna has made money through other means that range from other endeavors in the entertainment industry to other pursuits like writing and Flipping properties.

What is Vanna White’s Salary?

Vanna White earns an annual salary of $3 million from “Wheel of Fortune,” while her co-host, Pat Sajak, makes $15 million per year. As of 2023, It has come to light that Vanna White’s salary has remained stagnant for 18 years, with no increase since her contract negotiation in 2005.

Breaking Down Other Sources of Vanna White’s Net Worth

Vanna White’s $85 million net worth is bound to increase in years to come as she is still very much active in showbiz and continues to involve herself in other lucrative engagements. Below is a look at the various ways through which her wealth accrued.

She Has Made Million from Acting and Producing Short Films

The Wheel of Fortune host has also thrived as an actress. She has had no fewer than 22 acting roles across the small and big screens. Her acting career began in 1980 and over the decades that followed, she has been seen in popular works like Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Married…With Children, Graduation Day, Simon and Simon, The King of Queens, Naked Gun 33â…“: The Final Insult, Double Dragon, Goddess of Love, L.A. Law, 227, and Full House.

What she made from each of these roles has never been disclosed to the public but there are no doubts that they have contributed in no small manner to her wealth. More than acting, Vanna is also a producer. She has been credited as the executive producer of multiple short films including A Chess Player (2014), My Luchador (2015), Crab Trap (2017), Black Dispatch (2019), and most recently, Low Country (2020).

Vanna White Also Make Money from Endorsement Deals

At the height of Wheel of Fortune‘s popularity, Vanna White became so popular that she has been referenced quite significantly in popular culture. She was referenced in Nelly’s 2001 hit song, Ride Wit Me: he sang about sitting next to her on a flight in the first-class cabin. Similarly, Weird Al Yankovic known for his comedy-themed music wrote a song titled Stuck In A Closet With Vanna White. The song was featured on Weird Al’s Even Worse album, and these are just two of many instances.

Given such popularity, several brands have reached out to the American television personality to have her promote the products and services they offer. As such, she has made a great deal of money from endorsement deals and featuring in ads. One of her biggest endorsement partners is the Lion Brand Yarn company regarded as the oldest producer of knitting and craft yarn.

To the best of our knowledge, her partnership with them began at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Vanna talked about her love for crochet on the show and it gained the attention of the company which reached out to her for partnership. Since then, she has promoted crochet and knitting books that have been published in her name. Even, she owns a line of yarn known as Vanna’s Choice.

Samsung Electronics Was Once Ordered to Pay Her $403,000

One cannot tell what White has been able to make from her endorsement deals but it has certainly contributed to her riches. An instance that gave an insight into Vanna’s value in terms of promoting popular brands was in 1993 when she dragged Samsung Electronics to court. She accused the company of infringement of intellectual property rights, contending that they capitalized on her fame to market their product without her authorization.

Samsung had run a videocassette recorders ad that depicted a robot dressed like White. The robot posed like Vanna next to a game board that looks like the set of the Wheel of Fortune game show. It is said that unlike other celebrities used in the ad campaign that Samsung ran at that point, Vanna White was not contacted to authorize the advert neither was she paid.

Although the case was initially ruled in favor of Samsung by the lower court, the judgment was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court refused to honor Samsung’s request for a review. So the company had to pay the host $403, thousand as damages.

Proceeds from the Sale of Her Book and Profit Made from Flipping Properties

In addition to the foregoing, Vanna White is also a published author. She and Patricia Romanowski got her book, an autobiography titled Vanna Speaks published in 1987. Vanna Speaks was a best-seller, a further testament to her fame and the wealth it has brought her.

The Wheel of Fortune host has also made good money over the years from flipping properties. She once admitted that a large chunk of her income goes towards investing in apartment buildings. Sometime in 2020, it was reported that Vanna White and her long-time partner John Donaldson availed their Sherman Oaks property in Los Angeles, California for rent at the rate of $20,000 per month. It was in 2013 that she and Donaldson acquired the property for $1.125 million.

Vanna has owned a couple of other homes in popular locations. She and her ex-husband George Santo Pietro owned a home in Beverly Park, a gated community in Los Angeles known for its celebrity residents. After their divorce, they rented out the 15,000 square-foot home for $175,000 per month and eventually listed it for sale asking for $47.5 million. She also owned another property in the area which she listed in late 2019 for $38 million. Reports have it that the house was eventually sold in June 2020 for $19.3 million.

It has been suggested that she got the knack for flipping houses from her stepfather. Born on the 18th of February 1957 in Conway, South Carolina to Joan Marie and Miguel Angel Rosich, Vanna’s parents got divorced when she was still an infant. Her mother would later fall in love again and eventually got remarried to Herbert Stackley White Jr. whose name Vanna took as her last name. Her stepfather was a real estate agent in an area that is now known as North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.

Summary of The Major Sources of Her Wealth

  • Salaries earned from co-hosting the Wheel of Fortune game show.
  • Paychecks from acting and earnings from the short films she has produced.
  • Income from endorsement deals.
  • Proceed from the sale of her book, Vanna Speaks.
  • Profits made from flipping houses.

Vanna White’s $85 million Net Worth Compared to Other Hosts of Wheel of Fortune

The TV game show has been running since 1975 when it debuted. Even though Pat Sajak and Vanna White are currently the face of the show which has spewed thousands of episodes, Chuck Woolery was the original host of the show. Also, popular figures like Rolf Benirschke, Bob Goen, and Susan Stafford are known to have served as the host of the show at some point.

Thanks to the other sources of income that Vanna has, she ranks as one of the richest hosts of the game show. Even though Pat Sajak earns $5 million higher than what she takes home yearly from the show, she is as rich as he is.

  • Vanna White Net Worth – $85 million
  • Chuck Woolery Net Worth – $10 Million
  • Pat Sajak Net Worth – $85 million
  • Rolf Benirschke Net Worth – $12 Million
  • Bob Goen Net Worth – $5 Million
  • Susan Stafford Net Worth – $4 Million

Key Takeaways

  • Vanna White earns as much as $10 million yearly for co-hosting the Wheel of Fortune game show.
  • The show is the biggest source of her wealth but she makes money through other means like acting.
  • She is also an author and owns a line of yarn known as Vanna’s Choice
  • Vanna invests most of her income in apartment buildings and has made millions flipping houses.
  • The American TV personality has a net worth estimated at a massive $85 million.
Edidiong Mboho
Edidiong Mboho
A graduate of United States International University currently undergoing her Masters degree Programme in The UK, Eddy is a storyteller, movie enthusiast, and TV nerd who can always be found on Netflix. She's always up to argue about comic book movies. Getting to write and edit for a living is definitely the dream and it is always exciting to be afforded the opportunity to learn new things every day.

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