Kandi Burruss, the star of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” is reportedly the highest-paid housewife on the network.
Many wonder how this 5-foot-3 powerhouse from College Park, Georgia, was able to achieve this feat, clocking a salary over names like Lisa Rinna, Lisa Vanderpump, Bethenny Frankel, and Nene Leakes, who have claimed Queen Bee statuses during their tenure with the franchise. It comes down to her value and ability to use that to negotiate.
According to Brian Moylan’s 2021 book “The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives,” Burruss earns close to $2 million a season and commands the salary because she is the star of the show that receives the highest television ratings out of all of the franchises.
Impact and Longevity
After 14 seasons, RHOA continues to average over 1 million views per episode, TV Deets, is an outlet dedicated to providing analytics and news for reality television.
Burruss has been on the show for 13 of those seasons, making her the longest-running consecutive housewife of any franchise. One of the reasons why Bravo pays her so substantially is because of her popularity with viewers.
E-News rated her in their “Official Ranking of The Real Housewives,” 10 out of 144 women cast in the franchise’s universe, bested by only one of her cast mates from her show, Nene Leakes. Before leaving the show for good, Leakes, who started with the series with the original squad in 2008, was the top-paid housewife of all the shows.
Since joining RHOA in 2009, the network has given Burruss several series, showcasing her, her business acumen, and her family.
In 2013, she debuted a competition-based reality show called “The Kandi Factory,” where 16 artists were judged and mentored by Burruss, the Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and actor before RHOA, in the pursuit of their dreams to become a star.
The following year, Bravo debuted another reality show with Burruss at the center, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi’s Wedding,” documenting her marriage to Todd Tucker. This was followed up by another show “The Housewives of Atlanta: Kandi’s Ski Trip,” in 2015.
In 2017, the network got behind a reunion based-reality show, where Kandi would reunite with her former band members from the group that made her famous. Titled “Xscape: Still Kickin’ It,” the series followed the four women’s efforts to get past hurts spawned from their early celebrity — and Burruss outworking and getting paid more than the members back in the 1990s.
In 2018, Bravo explored giving Burruss her own web series called “Kandi Koated Nights,” an adult series based on “the digital dating age” and “the do’s and don’ts of relationships.”
Most recently, she has been able to parlay a show to promote her family and businesses called “Kandi & the Gang,” which debuted in 2022.
Net Worth Winning
Currently, Burruss boasts a net worth of $30 million.
While Burruss has made strides in reality television, she has been pulling in money since she was a teen in the music world as a singer, songwriter, and producer.
She received her first platinum project with Xscape’s debut album “Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha” in 1993. But her industry breakout was when she started getting her songs placed on albums in 1999.
That year, she wrote chart-topping songs. For LaFace artist Pink, she wrote “There You Go” and for Columbia recording act Destiny’s Child she wrote “Bills, Bills, Bills.” However, it was writing the hit TLC song “No Scrubs” that won her a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Since then, the mother of three has written for acts like ‘N Sync, Joe, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Usher, Alicia Keys, and Ed Sheeran, who gave her one of the top two biggest hits of her career, “Shape of You.”
The CEO of Kandi Koated Entertainment, she owns and distributes Bedroom Kandi high-end sex toys designed to look like makeup products, with a plan to expand to offer accessories for playtime like lingerie, lotions, body sprays, and candles.
As an actor, she stars in the hit Showtime series “The Chi” as the ruthless political strategist Roselyn Perry, where she is going into her third season.
Restaurants and Real Estate
The entertainer purchased her first home for $250,000 in 2002 and sold it for the same price 15 years later. Her second property, a 7,000-square-foot Atlanta mansion, was purchased in 2012 for $512,000 and has almost doubled its value, estimated at least $1 million today.
She has two Atlanta-based restaurants in three locations, Old Lady Gang, Old Lady Gang Southern Cuisine, and Blaze Steak and Seafood.
At 46, Burruss is nowhere close to stopping and is already slated to be the queen of the next season of her hit housewives show. Announced to return with a peach are Kenya Moore, Sanya Richards-Ross, Drew Sidora, Sheree Whitfield, and Marlo Hampton.
According to Distractify, Janell Stephens, the owner of Camille Rose Naturals, will also be joining the RHOA cast.
Wow, that’s impressive! Kandi truly deserves it for all her hard work and talent. It’s great to see her recognized as the highest-paid housewife! I can’t wait to see how this impacts her storyline in the upcoming season.
Wow, that’s impressive! Kandi really knows how to leverage her brand and talent. It’s inspiring to see her achieving such success on RHOA. She definitely deserves it with all the hard work she puts in!
Wow, that’s an impressive salary! Kandi truly deserves every penny with all the hard work she puts into her projects. It’s great to see her success recognized, and it just shows how valuable she is to the RHOA franchise. Can’t wait to see what she’ll do next!
Wow, Kandi truly deserves it! Her talent and business acumen have really set her apart from the rest. It’s inspiring to see someone work so hard and achieve such success. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi truly deserves it for all her hard work and talent. It’s inspiring to see someone who can juggle so many roles and still come out on top. Excited to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi truly deserves it for all the hard work and talent she brings to the show. It’s amazing to see her success recognized, and she continues to inspire so many with her entrepreneurial spirit. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, Kandi absolutely deserves every penny! Her hard work and talent have really set her apart. It’s inspiring to see her thrive not just in reality TV, but also in her music and business ventures. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, it’s incredible to see Kandi Burruss achieving such a milestone! She truly brings so much talent and authenticity to RHOA, and it’s great that her hard work is paying off. Definitely deserving of the title of the highest-paid housewife! Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi truly deserves it with all her talent and hard work. It’s interesting to see how much the dynamics of RHOA have evolved, and Kandi’s journey has been such a huge part of that. Can’t wait to see how she continues to shine this season!
Wow, Kandi really knows her worth! It’s amazing to see her hustle pay off in such a big way. She totally deserves it for all the hard work she puts into her music and businesses. Can’t wait to see how she uses her platform to continue thriving!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi truly deserves every penny. She’s not only a talented singer and songwriter, but she also brings so much to the table on RHOA. It’s amazing to see her hard work pay off, especially since she’s always been a fan favorite. I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi definitely deserves it for all her hard work and talent. It’s fantastic to see her recognized as the highest-paid housewife. Love how she always brings authenticity and entrepreneurship to the show!
Wow, Kandi truly deserves every penny! Her business acumen and on-screen presence have always set her apart. It’s inspiring to see a strong woman succeed like this. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s an incredible amount! Kandi really deserves it for bringing so much to the show. Her talent and business acumen definitely set her apart from the rest. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, that’s incredible! Kandi truly deserves it with all the talent and hard work she puts in. It’s amazing to see her shine not just on RHOA, but also in her music and business ventures. She really sets a high standard for the other housewives!
Wow, Kandi really knows her worth! It’s impressive to see her leading the pack as the highest-paid housewife. Her talent as a songwriter and entrepreneur definitely adds so much value to the show. Can’t wait to see what she brings this season!
Wow, that’s impressive! Kandi truly deserves every penny for her hard work and talent. It’s amazing to see her success on RHOA and how she continues to break barriers. Can’t wait to see what she does next!
Wow, Kandi really knows her worth! It’s impressive to see her not only thrive on RHOA but also break records as the highest-paid housewife. Her talent and business acumen truly set her apart. Can’t wait to see how she uses this platform to further her endeavors!