Former media maven Wendy Williams was once one of the most enterprising women in the talk show space. Seeming to seamlessly transition from radio to television, the New Jersey native became wealthy dishing out around the kitchen table gossip to her viewers.
How much she made is actually up for debate.
Working Salary to Today
Serving as both host and producer of The Wendy Williams Show from 2008 to 2022, she was reportedly earning a salary of $10 million annually.
There seems to be no clear way to narrow down William’s net worth. But InTouch, while an entertainment publication and not a financial outlet, reported that in 2019, she boasted an estimated net worth of $60 million, which declined to $40 million in 2020. However, four short years later, it is believed by sources like Celebrity Net Worth, that Williams stock has dropped all the way down to $500,000, but there seems to be not explanation for this supposed drop.
Outside of her being removed from the show, the alimony she paid her husband after their divorce, and her extraordinary lavish lifestyle, many are wondering how she could lose $39.5 million.
Those are questions that only Sabrina Morrissey, the court-appointed guardian over her estate can answer, verifying if any of the quote figures around her fortune are true.
The public became acutely interested in Williams’ financial state of affairs when Wells Fargo froze her assets in 2020 and placed them under Morrissey’s care.
RadarOnline reports that anonymous “insider” claims Wendy had about $40 million to $50 million spread out between more than a dozen accounts in Wells Fargo before she lost control of them.
The bank filed a petition in the New York Supreme Court to place Williams in a temporary financial guardianship, believing the star was potentially a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Williams’ former lawyer, LaShawn Thomas, who worked with her from 2017 until the time Morrissey was placed in control by the bank believes the bank and the judicial system should be scrutinized for their swift actions to control the star’s purse strings.
“I find it curious that the court-appointed guardian keeps her family away from Wendy,” Thomas said to Radar, “But then [Morrissey] allows a manager and a publicist to be around her, so they are getting paid money from Wendy’s accounts.”
Thomas was referencing the documentary, “Where is Wendy Williams?” the same film where Williams’ son Kevin Hunter Jr. talks about how the bank and other financial advisers accused him of wrongdoing — believing he was taking her money and spending it frivolously. Morrissey unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit to block the documentary from airing.
The guardian doubted that Wendy signed an 18-page contract with A&E Networks Television, Lifetime’s parent company, for $400,000 to make the documentary that showed so much of the deterioration of her life.
The Lifetime production also revealed that Williams has dementia and that the family is removed from working with her.
With so many people involved in protecting her finances on the bank, guardian, and lawyer side, it is shocking that new legal documents report that Williams has a $568,451.57 federal tax lien on the condominium that she purchased.
“This unpaid balance is a result of her owing big balances for her federal taxes for the years of 2019 and 2021,” TMZ stated.
Morrissey has not responded to outreach for a statement regarding the unpaid bill and has not denied or verified any financial evaluation of Williams’ estate.
