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Kandi Burruss has been a fixture on The Real Housewives of Atlanta for over a decade. Burruss came to the Housewives with a formidable music career behind her and added star quality to the RHOA lineup. But just how much money does Burruss rake in per episode?

Kandi Burruss
Kandi Burruss attends Reelz On Wheels A Drive-In Benefiting Meals On Wheels Atlanta at The Springs Cinema & Taphouse on August 31, 2020 in Sandy Springs, Georgia | Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Kandi Burruss was a singer and songwriter before joining ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’

Before joining The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kandi Burruss was known to many people as a singer and songwriter. She rose to fame with the R&B group Xscape in the 1990s alongside fellow reality TV personality Tiny Harris, and eventually began to establish herself as a songwriter.

After Xscape disbanded in 1998, Burruss began writing hit songs for other artists. This included TLC’s chart-topping single “No Scrubs” and Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills.”

Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, Porsha Williams, Kandi Burruss, and Drew Sidora in promo shots for 'RHOA' Season 13
Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, Porsha Williams, Kandi Burruss, and Drew Sidora of The Real Housewives of Atlanta| Tommy Garcia/Drexina Nelson/Bravo

Kandi Burruss has been on ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ for years

Burruss joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta in its second season and has consistently appeared on the hit Bravo show since 2009. Burruss butted heads in her early days on the show with RHOA stalwart NeNe Leakes. A feud soon developed after Burruss got close with Kim Zolciak and helped her with her music career, including her single “Tardy for the Party.”

In 2012, Burruss received her own spinoff called The Kandi Factory, which followed Burruss and her record producers as they looked for and helped launched the careers of undiscovered artists. Two years later, her wedding to TV producer Todd Tucker was chronicled in the docuseries Kandi’s Wedding.

Burruss appeared on several other reality shows in the following years, including Celebrity Big Brother, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and The Masked Singer. Burruss became the first female winner of The Masked Singer in 2020.

Kandi Burruss
Kandi Burruss | Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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Kandi Burruss’ per-episode pay on ‘RHOA’

The Real Housewives of Atlanta is just one of Burruss’ sources of income. Like other cast members, Burruss is paid on a per-episode basis, rather than per-season.

According to a 2019 report by Radar Online, Burruss had a salary of $2.3 million per episode. WealthyGorilla estimates her net worth to be $30 million in 2021, thanks in part to her Old Lady Gang restaurants in Atlanta and the royalties from the Grammy-winning songs she’s written.

In 2019, Burruss’ RHOA castmate Kenya Moore appeared on The Wendy Williams Show and spoke about the Xscape singer, Leakes, and more. She pointed out that even though Burruss’ per-episode salary is more than $500,000 less than Leakes’, she made more money in the most recent season because she appeared in more episodes.

“Kandi makes the most money, OK?” Moore said honestly. “So, if I was coming for anybody’s purse and bag it would be Kandi’s.”

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