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  • Meghan Markle reportedly has a net worth of around $5 million.

  • Although Markle is often credited as a former actress, that's not the only way she made

  • her fortune.

  • Here are the deets on how the Duchess of Sussex amassed her wealth.

  • Long before she was royalty, Meghan Markle's family received a huge financial boost that

  • reportedly helped put her on the path she's on today.

  • Her now-estranged father, Thomas, won $750,000 in the lottery when she was nine years old.

  • Her half brother, Tom, told the Daily Mail in 2017,

  • "That money allowed Meg to go to the best schools and get the best training."

  • And before Markle's acting career took off, she had her hands in the gig economy, quite

  • literally, thanks in part to that windfall.

  • In an interview with Esquire, Meghan explained her longtime knack for cursive handwriting

  • after taking classes in Catholic school.

  • "Meghan took pen in hand and wrote a letter to Proctor and Gamble.

  • And just look at that penmanship."

  • She told Esquire,

  • "What it evolved into was my pseudo-waitressing job when I was auditioning.

  • I didn't wait tables.

  • I did calligraphy for the invitations for, like, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding."

  • Meghan was also hired to do hand-lettering for Dolce & Gabbana's celebrity correspondence.

  • "Dolce & Gabbana.

  • They just get it!"

  • Meghan told the magazine,

  • "I would sit there with a little white tube sock on my hand so no hand oils got on the

  • card, trying to pay my bills while auditioning."

  • While calligraphy isn't your average job, Meghan said it can be, quote, "super lucrative."

  • It's hard to picture now, but Meghan Markle was once a Deal or No Deal model.

  • After interning for the United States Embassy in Argentina, Meghan appeared on the popular

  • American game show from 2006 to 2007.

  • Meghan explained to Esquire why she took the job of "briefcase girl," saying,

  • "I would put that in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try

  • to make ends meet."

  • Meghan also divulged that she was, for a time, quote, "the ill-fated number 26", the briefcase

  • contestants would never choose for some unknown reason.

  • She recalled lots of standing around in high heels just wishing her name would be called

  • so she could go sit down.

  • Meghan likely didn't pull in too much dough with this job, but hey, it kept her afloat.

  • Between Meghan Markle's very first acting gig as a nurse on General Hospital in 2002

  • to her first speaking role in a major feature film in 2010, Meghan starred in 11 different

  • television shows.

  • Now, how's that for versatility?

  • The War at Home, CSI: New York, and Fringe were just some of the series in which the

  • up-and-coming actress landed roles.

  • Although Meghan didn't reveal how much she was paid for her two-day stint on Fringe,

  • Deadline explained that recurring actors, aside from special "Guest Stars", can be hired

  • for as little as $900 a day.

  • Every bit counts, though, right?

  • After acting in quite a few bit parts, Meghan Markle finally started securing more major

  • roles.

  • In 2010, Meghan starred in The Candidate, a short thriller, in which she's reported

  • to have earned around $153,000.

  • In that same year, Meghan reportedly earned a higher grossing part in Remember Me, a mainstream

  • film starring Robert Pattinson.

  • Meghan reportedly received $187,000 for her efforts.

  • Come 2011, Meghan starred in the TV movie The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down,

  • which reportedly earned her around $50,000.

  • Meghan continued to pull in more roles, including a supporting gig in the rom-com Random Encounters.

  • "So, who's the victim?"

  • "A guy I met online."

  • In 2014, she began working with the Hallmark Channel, starring in When Sparks Fly.

  • Meghan teamed up with the network again some two years later to star in Dater's Handbook.

  • While Meghan Markle was busy playing the lead in television movies and making cameos in

  • films like Horrible Bosses, she was also starring in the TV series Suits, which ended up making

  • her a household name.

  • Due to Harry and Meghan's engagement and eventual marriage, Meghan made the difficult decision

  • to part ways with the show after seven long years.

  • Meghan said in an interview with the BBC,

  • "Once we hit the 100 episode marker, I thought, 'You know what?

  • I have ticked this box.'

  • And I feel really proud of the work I've done there and now it's time to...work as a team

  • with [Harry]."

  • Of course, that meant Meghan was also reportedly leaving behind a whopping $50,000 per episode.

  • Although acting was definitely a main source of Meghan Markle's income throughout most

  • of her adult life, fashion was also her bread and butter.

  • In 2016, Meghan became a guest designer for Reitmans, Canada's largest women's apparel

  • retailer.

  • Some 18 months later, Women's Wear Daily reported that the Meghan Markle collection was sold

  • out online and in select stores.

  • Meghan reportedly received around $80,000 in sponsorships and endorsements.

  • As a brand ambassador, her income from Reitmans may have made up part of this figure.

  • Before Markle deleted her personal social media accounts, she was somewhat of a social

  • media influencer.

  • After reviewing the now-extinct content of Meghan's Instagram account, Inc. reported

  • that Meghan often promoted her friends' brands.

  • When Serena Williams was launching her fall fashion line, for example, Meghan created

  • some hype with Instagram posts.

  • Meghan also followed Instagram's rules, making sure to use the proper hashtags so her nearly

  • 3 million followers knew they were seeing sponsored content.

  • Meghan likely earned thousands from her Instagram endorsements and sponsorships alone.

  • Meghan Markle had already reportedly become a multi-millionaire some time before becoming

  • the Duchess of Sussex.

  • And, as you could probably guess, her net worth didn't exactly decrease upon entering

  • into the royal family and, you know, marrying an actual prince.

  • When Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, died, her will included a provision not only

  • for her sons William and Harry but for their future wives as well.

  • Plus, through her marriage to Harry, Meghan was also entitled to receive an income through

  • two revenue streams: the Sovereign Grant and the Duchy of Cornwall.

  • According to a financial report published by the Duchy, the estate experienced a "distributable

  • surplus" to the tune of $28 million between March 2017 and March 2018.

  • The royal family doesn't detail how these funds are divvied up, but, according to CNBC's

  • Make It, Prince Harry, and likewise Meghan, are, quote, "reported to receive [about $6.5

  • million] a year from the estate."

  • In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle issued a statement announcing their decision

  • to "step back as 'senior members' of the royal family."

  • Now, there are a great number of things Harry and Meghan can't do once they step down from

  • their positions, but one in particular is a huge deal, not to mention unprecedented.

  • Citing plans to become financially independent, Harry and Meghan's site revealed the couple's

  • desire to cut themselves off from the Sovereign Grant.

  • It's not known if they will also give up their income from the Duchy of Cornwall, but, even

  • if they do, they'll be able to more than make up for any lost revenue.

  • According to data from influencer marketing platform Klear, Meghan and her hubby could

  • earn over $110 million from Instagram sponsored posts.

  • David Haigh, CEO of the brand valuation firm Brand Finance, also told the publication that

  • the couple may pursue a movie or book deal, which could lead to them earning tens of millions

  • of dollars.

  • And, as the publication reported, Harry and Meghan have already trademarked "Sussex Royal,"

  • which could point to future capitalization on their brand.

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Meghan Markle reportedly has a net worth of around $5 million.

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