The cast of Vanderpump Rules has come a long way since the reality series first began. Though they began as hopeful wannabes waiting tables and slinging drinks to bide their time before their big breaks, the core cast members are now business owners and stars in their own respect. That means series regulars like Jax Taylor, and even recently fired Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute made a lot more in Season 8 than Season 1.
Lisa Vanderpump
Lisa Vanderpump, the former Real Housewife who decided her time was better spent running a hospitality empire, is of course the highest paid cast member. LVP reportedly makes a cool $500,000 per season. She likely takes in extra profit from the publicity her restaurants SUR, where most of the stars worked, and Pump Lounge generate from tourists coming in to recreate the encounters had by the cast members.
Stassi Schroeder
Though Schroeder was recently fired by Bravo for once falsely reporting the one black Vanderpump Rules cast member, Faith Stowers, to the police for a robbery Stowers did not commit, she exited the show as one of the highest paid core members of the cast. The Hollywood Reporter reported that due to contract renegotiations that took place between 2017 and 2018, Schroeder was taking home $25,000 per episode, quite the increase from the $10,000 she and other castmates made during the initial season.
Since she first appeared on Vanderpump Rules, Schroeder has gone on to write a book, Next Level Basic: The Definitive Basic Bitch Handbook, and co-owns a wine company, Witches of Weho, with Kristen Doute and Katie Maloney. Since the scandal concerning her treatment of Stowers, however, sources have told Us Weekly that Schroeder has begun losing sponsorships and other paid opportunities that she’d previously enjoyed.
Jax Taylor
Jax Taylor was only working at SUR while getting his modeling career off the ground, but the gig ended up helping him out in more ways than one. Taylor won’t be picking up any more shifts at the restaurant any time soon, especially with the $25,000 per episode paycheck he takes in from Bravo. Taylor also describes himself as an entrepreneur and investor and told Complex in 2016, “If I’m smart about it, and if I live reasonably, I’ll be good for the rest of my life.” Though he’s since run into some financial troubles, notably the $80,424 tax lien he was hit with in 2019, Taylor seems to have weathered the storm.
Kristen Doute
Another recently fired cast member, Kristen Doute was one of the original cast members, which means she too enjoyed a nice bump up from $10,000 to $25,000 by the time Season 8 rolled around. Unfortunately, she was also involved in the racial incident involving Faith Stowers and tweeted about Stowers’ so-called resemblance to a woman accused of drugging and robbing men in Hollywood, outright calling her a thief. Though both Doute and Schroeder have apologized for their actions, it was too little too late, and Bravo gave them the axe. Two other cast members, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni, were also fired after past racist social media postings the men made began to recirculate.
People are often fascinated by reality stars, which tabloids often exploit. There have been numerous rumors surrounding the Real Housewives franchise, leading to some particularly bizarre tabloid stories. Even people who aren’t connected whatsoever to the Real Housewives, like Heather Locklear and Katherine McPhee, have been involved in the rumors. Gossip Cop was able to debunk those bogus tales with no trouble at all, but the tabloid will continue to lie in order to take advantage of the public’s interest in celebrity gossip.