How Reality TV's Biggest Stars Spend Their Millions

With reality television fame can come pretty major paydays ... just look at the Kardashians! We've watched them rise from relative obscurity to boasting net worths in the billions. From the ladies that found fame on Bravo as "Real Housewives" to the OG reality legends like Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag to a former reality star-turned President of the United States, these celebrities can always be counted upon to keep us normal folk entertained at home. As we watch their lavish lifestyles unfold on TV, one of the most fascinating elements to track is what these famous faces choose to spend their money on ... and we fortunately have a front row seat to see it all!

From absolutely drool-worthy real estate and expensive private jets to never-ending closets and over-the-top glam squads, we're taking a look at some of the wildest ways our favorite reality TV stars have dished out a lot of dough. 

How many cars does the average American have at home? We're willing to bet it's a whole lot fewer than reality superstar Kylie Jenner. Though we originally met her as a precocious 10 year old when her family's show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" debuted back in 2007, these days she's a bonafide media mogul that boasts nearly 400 million Instagram followers and an estimated net worth of $680 million. And if you're wondering how she manages to spend that much dough, look no further than her extravagant car collection. 

Business Insider reported that Jenner's car collection is worth almost a million dollars, which kicked off with her first car at age 16. Unlike most teens, Jenner received a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon for her 16th birthday, estimated to cost around $225,000. Since then, she's added to her collection with a fleet of other luxury vehicles, including a Bugatti Chiron, multiple Rolls-Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and more. She once took to her YouTube account back in 2019 to walk through all her vehicles for her fans, including the first car she ever purchased, a white Range Rover. 

Reality stars need to be camera ready often. So what's a star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" to do? Hire a glam squad, of course! The phenomenon has become so popular, it's even referenced on the series, as the wealthier housewives employ teams of hair and makeup artists to doll them up around the clock ... and sometimes even travel with them. One reality star who most famously kept her glam squad paid round the clock is Erika Jayne.

In 2019, Jayne famously accrued a $40,000 a month tab on her glam squad alone. The Toronto Star reported that she'd spend two hours in the makeup chair each morning, and asked her about that glam squad price tag. Jayne replied, "That number is a little low, really. It's the cost of doing business!" Her co-star, Dorit Kemsley, weighed in to "Entertainment Tonight" about her own glam budget, and while she wouldn't give specific numbers, she shared it wasn't as much as Jayne's. Though she wouldn't give an exact amount, Kemsley shared, "You know, I do spend money on glam, and I love it... We have lots of parties and events to go to, so I do spend money. But I couldn't even put a price tag on it."

One reason viewers tune in to the "Real Housewives" franchise week after week? The incredible fashion sported by the wealthy ladies. That means that the cast members have to keep up in the style department, which according to Town & Country means purchasing designer clothes straight out of their own wallet. "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Crystal Kung Minkoff opened up to the outlet about this very expensive job hurdle, which is made even more difficult for her due to the fact that she's not big into designer clothing. 

"This is going to sound so weird, but what to wear is the hardest part for me on the show. I am not into fashion. It's not my thing. But fashion is its own character on the show," Kung Minkoff shared. That led to her spending a reported tens of thousands of dollars on clothing to try and keep up with her fellow Housewives... which ends up being a large chunk of her pay as a relatively new cast member, allegedly around $60,000 a season according to the outlet. Fortunately, Kung MInkoff's estimated net worth is around $1 million.

One of the more outlandish reality TV splurges comes from none other than one of the original villains of the genre, Spencer Pratt. The star, who gained fame on MTV's "The Hills" in the '00s, frequently talks about his time in the spotlight, even revealing that he made up to $175,000 per episode at the height of the show's popularity. And though he hasn't been on our small screens in quite some time, he was candid about how he spent that chunk of change back in 2018 while speaking to CNBC.

Pratt shared, "It's really easy to spend millions of dollars if you're not careful and you think it's easy to keep making millions of dollars. The money was just coming so fast and so easy that my ego led me to believe that, 'Oh, this is my life forever.'" Since he assumed the money would keep rolling in, some of the wildest items he purchased included wines that cost $4,000 per bottle, and enough crystals to amount to around $1 million. Fortunately, Pratt revealed to the outlet that his wife and fellow reality star Heidi Montag eventually stepped in to budget their money, revealing, "I love to spend money, and she loves to not spend money. If we had her as the accountant back in the day, we would have $20 million in the bank account right now."

Aside from fancy cars and a jaw-dropping real estate portfolio, "The Kardashians" star and matriarch Kris Jenner also has developed a penchant for very expensive watches. Though she loves jewelry, including pieces like Chanel earrings that cost over $12,000, it's the reality superstar's watch collection that carries a really steep price tag. 

Over the years, Jenner has been known to love Rolex watches, owning quite a few. Her son, Rob Kardashian, posted a photo of her on Instagram back in 2020 casually rocking one of the brand's most coveted pieces, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Rose Gold watch that has an estimated retail of $35.000. But it's not just herself she purchases Rolexes for — the whole Kardashian clan reportedly gifted their crew with Rolex watches at the end of their run on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The family spent a reported $300,000 on the gifts.

It's a given that reality stars purchase themselves big mansions to live in ... but did you know they sometimes buy them for their dogs too? Yep, stars like Paris Hilton's gaggle of tiny pups don't just live in the lap of luxury — they live in their own gigantic two-story dog house. Hilton had a mansion constructed for her pups that consists of an impressive 300 square feet and reportedly has a price tag of $325,000 according to Curbed Los Angeles. Among the dog house's amenities? A balcony, a chandelier made of black crystals, glamorous designer furniture, and clay roof tiles. 

The over-the-top doggy home has been featured on Hilton's social media often, like in this video of the reality-star-turned-DJ returning home to see her pups happily running out the door. She also gave fans a tour of the impressive property that same year on her YouTube channel.

One of the most impressive glow ups a reality star has ever made has to be Donald Trump's transition from "The Apprentice" host to President of the United States. But long before he was Commander in Chief, the big personality was also a wealthy businessman and reality television staple that splurged on one of the most expensive things on this list ... a $100 million private jet. 

Yep, back in 2011 Trump purchased a Boeing 757 for approximately $100 million, and then proceeded to dump even more money into it by making it his own. Business Insider reported at the time, "The private jet is now covered in gold, boasts the latest electronic equipment and has the family logo emblazoned on just about every surface." Curious what that all looked like? The Trump Organization's YouTube account posted a video that same year offering a tour of the impressive aircraft carrier, showing an "inside look into traveling Trump style." 

When you're a multimillionaire, spending money on things like mansions and luxury cars must get old. Maybe that's why "The Kardashians" star Kim Kardashian decided to purchase something not many people would ever be able to get their hands on ... a necklace worn by the late Princess Diana. Kardashian purchased the sentimental piece, an amethyst cross called the Attallah cross, at a Sotherby's Royal and Noble Sale in January 2023. And since the jewelry item carried pretty impressive significance, it came with a very hefty price tag.

Kardashian reportedly outbid other buyers at auction to snag the amethyst necklace for a whopping $197,453. The piece was originally created back in the 1920s by one of Princess Diana's favorite jewelry designers, Garrard. It reportedly features a total diamond weight of 5.25 carats. The owner of the necklace before Kardashian told Veranda, "Princess Diana and my father were friends and I remember that she often came to see him at the historic Garrard store on Regent Street, where his office was, and she would ask to borrow the pendant on several occasions—she really loved the piece."

Reality stars aren't immune to scandals. And when the drama gets a little too crazy, sometimes they need to call in reinforcements. In December 2020, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne found herself in hot water after her husband, Tom Girardi, found himself in the midst of a bevy of lawsuits surrounding his treatment of client funds as an attorney. The couple had recently divorced in November 2020 prior to the news breaking, and public perception of the couple was at an all time low. Among the points of contention? $25 million dollars that Jayne's company, EJ Global LLC, spent that had been transferred from Girardi's law firm, Girardi Keese. 

Page Six reported how the reality star had spent that sum in August 2021, shedding light on things like Jayne's glam squad charges and some other interesting expenses. Among the charges included? Large sums to multiple public relations groups, as well as suspicious amounts paid out to the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Billboard's publishers, E5 Global Media, possibly for image control purposes.