How Did Wendy Williams Lose All of Her Money?
Fans know The Wendy Williams Show star Wendy Williams for her hot takes and authentic personality that fans love. The reality talk show ran from 2008 and concluded in 2022, and fans have been curious about Williams’ whereabouts since the show ended. Now, viewers get an in-depth look into Williams’ life with the two-part documentary series, Where Is Wendy Williams? Here’s what to know about Williams’ wealth and why she claims she has “no money” now.
How did Wendy Williams lose her money?
Wendy Williams earned over $50,000 per episode with The Wendy Williams Show and once had a net worth of around $20,000. However, reports now suggest Williams’ net worth is only $500,000. In the trailer for Where Is Wendy Williams?, the star claims she has “no money.”
So, what happened to Williams’ fortune? She doesn’t have access to her financial assets, making it appear she has no money. Wells Fargo froze Williams’ accounts in 2022 and petitioned for temporary financial guardianship. Wells Fargo claimed that Williams was the “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation” and couldn’t make her own financial decisions, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While Williams and her legal team are fighting for her to regain control of her money, she currently doesn’t have access to the fortune she built through the years.
A New York judge appointed guardianship over Williams’ finances in 2022. Then, in March 2022, Bernie Young, Williams’s former manager whom she fired, was put in place as Williams’ guardian. Williams claimed Young used $10,000 of her money to pursue guardianship. Today, Sabrina Morrissey serves as Williams’ guardian.
Williams later went on Good Morning America to set the record straight. “When people want control of [your] accounts, they say anything, including something crazy like that about me,” she said.
Her divorce from her second ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, hit her finances hard
Aside from Wells Fargo seizing control of her wealth, Wendy Williams spent a lot of money on divorcing her second ex-husband, Kevin Hunter. Hunter and Williams have a son and were married for 22 years. Unfortunately, Hunter was having an affair and fathered a child with his mistress, leading to the end of the marriage in 2019.
During the finalization of the divorce in 2022, Williams and Hunter reportedly chose to forego alimony. However, Williams kept Hunter on her $1 million life insurance policy and continued to cover his health insurance. The talk show host also gave Hunter $250,000 to find a new home, and he received an undisclosed lump sum of money from Williams in addition to a severance payment from Wendy, Inc.
Her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., thinks the people around her are financially exploiting her
Wendy Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter Jr., doesn’t trust those closest to his mother. He speaks out in Where Is Wendy Williams? about his concerns, and he expressed his worries in the past.
“What’s been made more important by the people around her is that while her health may not be great, she needs to keep on earning income, and in my opinion, that should not be a priority at all,” he told The Sun in 2023. “And whoever has been hired, they are taking advantage of someone who needs to get better.”
Hunter Jr. spoke candidly about Sabrina Morrissey, Williams’ current guardian. “In terms of who is there now, people have put other things in front of her actually healing and getting better, and unfortunately, unlike many other alcoholics, she is worth a lot more money,” he continued. ” … I don’t know what the ultimate goal is for [Morrissey] as the person in charge of stuff, but there have never been articles put out saying [Williams] isn’t OK.”
Elements of this story were originally reported by Page Six.
Where Is Wendy Williams? premieres Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
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