'RHONY's Sonja Knows Her Way Around A Buck

I love Sonja Morgan to death, and she gives me life. And her Grey Gardens antics have really carried the past few seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City. But she's been open about her monetary struggles so just how much money does Sonja Morgan make? She's a lady who lunches, but that lunch is catered by a dozen unpaid interns with whatever caviar and canapés were available at the local Gristedes. She's got the moneyed exterior, and is in the process of saving that beautiful townhouse, so she must have some money, right? But, like everything she does, Sonja's monetary situation is complicated.

Sonja has been open about her divorce, and that her ex-husband, despite being from a wealthy family descended from JP Morgan, didn't pay out millions of dollars when he and Sonja split, and, according to RadarOnline, wasn't even paying his lawyers. So even though her ex is said to be worth 100 million (damn!) the always reliable (see: sarcasm) Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Sonja is worth eight million. But, if that's true, keep in mind that most of Sonja's money has been tied up in real estate/court cases for the past few years, which is why, according to another RadarOnline scoop, when she was able to sell her French estate, it freed up 5.7 million and she seemed actively relieved on Housewives. Will the toaster oven finally be freed? I literally can't stop watching RHONY until I know for certain. (Side note: that may be my favorite reality TV plotline of all time, from Heather's total disinterest to Sonja's insistence on a "sexy" J).

But even with a prenup, Sonja is successful enough that she more than deserves a more sizable paycheck. Unfortunately, a major mismanagement of her assets left her bordering on broke for a while. She invested in a John Travolta movie being produced in Europe that turned out to be a total bust. That was the source of a lot of Sonja's financial woes, and according to the Confidential@l, caused her to declare bankruptcy. They estimate that Sonja put in eighteen million to the movie. That means she's basically lost two-thirds of her fortune in the last few years, which makes all of her manic moneymaking attempts make more sense.

But beyond her money problems, Sonja has also managed to have some successful businesses as well. She makes a good salary as a RHONY, around half a million per season par RadarOnline's secret documents yet again. And of course you can't forget about her successful career as a burlesque performer.

It shouldn't surprise any Real Housewives of New York fan that Sonja Morgan has a high net worth, but where her cash comes from is a different story. Hopefully this helped to explain just how Sonja manages to juggle her finances and how it's possible that she has a net worth of millions, even though she lives like she's on her last dime half the time.

Image: Will Hart/Bravo