SHE’S been dropped from her £18m Spotify deal but Meghan Markle could be worth “a billion dollars” in a few years, according to a branding expert.
The Duchess of Sussex, who joined Prince Harry yesterday for a panel talk, has had her Archetypes podcast ditched after just 12 episodes, with Spotify boss Daniel Ek suggesting that the show “didn’t work”.
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Speaking to BBC about not renewing Meghan’s contract, Ek said: “We thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues.
“And the truth of the matter is some of it has worked, some of it hasn’t.”
But despite the podcast being axed, PR guru and brand expert Andrew Bloch estimates Meghan is now worth “in excess of £71M” and could one day become the world’s “leading brand” with Prince Harry.
Speaking to Fabulous, he said: “Despite a few bumps in the road, there is little sign of her earnings potential slowing down and together Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could one day become the world’s richest personal brand.
“Them becoming a billion dollar brand is not out of the question.”
But just where does all the wealth come from?
Suits – £5million
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The Duchess of Sussex’s glitzy Californian multi-millionaire’s lifestyle is not going anywhere thanks to her other money-making ventures over the years.
After first appearing as a gameshow ‘suitcase girl’, Meghan first found mainstream fame when she starred in Suits from 2011 to 2017, but the money is still rolling in, years after production.
Andrew advised: “She is reported to have made £37,000 per episode for her appearance in Suits and appeared in over 100 episodes.”
Meghan’s £71m wealth
– Suits and movies – £5million
– Netflix – £41million (half of the £82m with Harry)
– Spotify – £9m (half of £18m with Harry)
– Penguin deal – £16m (half of £32m with Harry)
Meghan topped up her Suits earnings with other acting roles.
Her brief cameo in Robert Pattinson movie Remember Me scooped her £138,000 alone.
For the short film The Candidate she was paid £127,000 and £114,000 for an indie flick, The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down.
According to the Mirror, Meghan was worth a whopping £5million in net value down to her various TV and film credits.
And Meghan still receives royalties from Suits, and these helped pay for her and Prince Harry’s mansion in Montecito, California, according to Marie Claire.
Book deal – £16million
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Experts have speculated that the Duchess could have received a huge lump sum for writing the kids’ book The Bench, which retails at £12.99.
In 2021 Meghan and Harry signed a lucrative deal with publishers Penguin Random House involving four books, including Harry’s Spare memoir.
Andrew said: “Her first book was a NY Times best seller and I would estimate her advance would have been in excess of £408,000.
“It is likely her publishing deal with Penguin Random House is a multi-book deal and could be worth as much as £32million.”
It remains unclear what Meghan would have used her advance for, but it has not been confirmed that she would donate the proceeds or keep them for herself.
Netflix – £40million
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Stepping back from the Royal Family has meant Meghan and Harry have been able to put their names to some seriously lucrative deals.
In September 2020, it was revealed the Sussexes had signed a rumoured £82million production deal with Netflix.
According to PR guru Jonathan Shalit OBE, the deal could see the Sussexes rake in almost £200million with bonuses.
Prince Harry and Meghan agreed to a multi-year deal to produce nature series, documentaries and children’s programming.
We’ve so far had the release of their Harry and Meghan documentary, and Harry’s Heart of Invictus series.
What is Prince Harry’s net worth in 2023?
Prince Harry is thought to have an impressive net worth of about £48million.
Despite stepping down from being a working royal in 2020, it was rumoured he secured a $20m (£17m) advance from publisher Penguin Random House before the release of his memoir Spare.
In 1994, The Queen Mother put away around £19million into a trust fund for her great grandchildren – which includes William and Harry.
According to The Guardian, the brothers split £6million of this trust at age 21 and Harry took the majority of the money to “compensate for not becoming sovereign”.
When they reach 40 they reportedly get to split another £8million, but the other grandchildren, including Eugenie and Beatrice will get a few million pounds each.
As well as funds coming in from their great grandmother, Forbes reported that Princess Diana left her boys nearly £8million after taxes.
It was also set up that once William and Harry turned 25, they would start to receive around £340,000 a year.
Product investment – multi-millions
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Meghan is said to be building her portfolio of start-up investments – but it previously landed caused some to raise eyebrows.
Meghan is said to have sparked anger from the palace after she allegedly enlisted close pal Oprah Winfrey to help flog a coffee investment via an Instagram post.
Meghan – who invited Oprah to her and Harry’s wedding – reportedly ploughed cash into the instant oat-milk latte start-up Clevr Blends.
Critics said she could use her status and famous friends like Oprah, who has 19.2m followers – to net millions from the business.
Actor Jared Leto and U2 star Bono raked in a fortune in 2017 after Nestle bought a majority stake in the small coffee brand they’d invested in, Blue Bottle Coffee – now thought to be worth more than £515million.
Speaking events – up to £756k per speech
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Meghan has the scope to make millions from speaking at events, as she and Harry are signed up with elite New York firm the Harry Walker Agency.
Other famous clients include the Obama’s and Meghan’s pal Serena Williams.
Former US president Barack Obama reportedly earned nearly $400,000 (£320,000) for one 2017 speech.
And the Sussexes could rake in even more – with suggestions they could charge £756,000 a time, according to Andrew.
But Harry and Meghan have some firm demands as “virtual” speakers – including being able to dictate who moderates a discussion with them and getting exact fee offers in advance.
Instagram or lifestyle website – potential earnings: £81million
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Like countless other celebs, Meghan could turn to Instagram if she ever finds herself rummaging for cash.
And we could see a reboot of the duchess’ social media presence sooner than you think.
It has been speculated that Meghan is getting ready to make a comeback – five years after deleting her personal account.
Royal fans suspect a “new” Instagram, with the handle @meghan, could be her personal page, as it has raked in 100k followers without sharing one single post.
Meghan could earn £85,000 for just one sponsored post if she racks up more than 10million followers, according to the influencer marketing agency Inzpire.me.
The mum-of-two could also make millions from the relaunch of her website The Tig by advertising clothes, holidays and interior design pieces.
Some people have speculated Meghan could turn her old blog into a lifestyle brand, similar to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.
Andrew advised: “There is huge earnings potential from a lifestyle website.
“Gwyneth Paltrow grew Goop into a £204million brand and there is no reason to believe that Meghan couldn’t surpass this.
“Then there’s Instagram earnings which also has big potential to rake in further income – many of the top Instagram celebrities are charging hundreds of thousands for posts and Meghan will be able to command this level.
“Future sponsorships and endorsements could also conservatively run into the hundreds of thousands.”