The Richest Cast Member On Floribama Shore Might Surprise You

Nearly a decade after the original "Jersey Shore" premiered, MTV once again did what they do best (since they no longer play music): assembled a group of strangers to live together and drink. In 2017, the network moved its venue to the Florida Panhandle to film "Floribama Shore," and the party hasn't stopped since. The show's Instagram account bio ("Puke. Rally. Repeat.") is a recurring theme on the series and a perfect motto for this cast.

As the show grew in popularity, so did the show's cast. And while reality television can put its stars under intense scrutiny and eliminate their privacy, it can also make them really, really rich. Kim Kardashian is a literal billionaire; Paris Hilton is worth $300 million. Although those two are outliers, there's no denying that a starring role on a reality television series creates major money-making opportunities, and the cast of "Floribama Shore" are taking those opportunities as they come.

Although we don't have exact net worths of the cast members, Screen Rant estimated in 2021 that they each rake in about $20,000 per episode of "Floribama Shore." Assuming they all earn around the same amount from MTV, it's their outside gigs and spending habits that make a difference in their bank accounts. We rounded up info on their financials to better surmise who the richest cast member is on "Floribama Shore," how they spend their money, and who has the potential to attain Kim K. status. Let's get into it.

Kirk Medas is known on "Floribama Shore" for his fun-loving personality and bringing the good times. As for what he was doing before he became a party dude on the small screen? According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Medas was working at an HVAC company when MTV brought him aboard.

Nowadays, Medas' Instagram bio notes that he's an "Actor, entrepreneur, sports & music enthusiast." Since his only credit listed on IMDb is for his work on "Floribama Shore," we're guessing he's not making much money from acting, but he does note his employment as Social Media Manager at Shouty, LLC on his LinkedIn page.

Where Medas's earning potential could lie is in his YouTube page. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, YouTubers can make $3-5 per 1,000 views. Although his follower count is low now, it'll likely grow considering the following he has on Instagram and TikTok, both of which he uses to promote his channel. Medas could also post more frequently to TikTok and qualify for the TikTok Creator Fund, as he meets nearly all the requirements. TikTok has pledged $300 million to the fund from 2021-2024, giving content creators like Medas the opportunity to earn a significant amount of money through the platform.

The 21st century is an unusual time to be alive. Just think of all the ways a person can make money. Whether it's playing drinking games on cable television or advertising CBD tinctures and vibrators on the internet, it's more possible to make a living in non-traditional ways today than it ever has been. Before she joined the "Floribama Shore" cast, AL.com noted Aimee Hall was a "bona-fide small-town girl" who "makes her living as a bartender." Nowadays, she rakes it in as a TV personality who promotes various products on social media.

Like most of the Real Housewives and every contestant on "The Bachelor" who is definitely there for the right reasons and not there to promote their future careers in social media, Hall is using her nearly 550k follower count on Instagram to make some money through paid advertisements. She's worked with multiple brands, including Flat Tummy Co, which cemented her status as an influencer, because you're not a true reality-star-turned-influencer unless you've encouraged your followers to try some diet gummies. 

There's good money in shilling for companies on social media. As marketing expert Ashley Hajjar told MIC, a sponsored post can earn influencers anywhere from $50 to $50,000. One sponsored post for Hall could potentially match her per-episode salary from MTV. 

It should come as no surprise that a man who signed up to be paid by MTV to party with strangers on "Floribama Shore" has worked as a bartender. Jeremiah Buoni took to Instagram to celebrate his first day working at The Lobby Bar at the Ritz-Carlton back in 2016, and we have to imagine his tips were generous.

In addition to serving drinks, Buoni has made money through a partnership with FitStrong Supplements. Per his Instagram bio, Buoni is a FitStrong Supplements athlete, meaning he uses their products and gets paid to promote them. Spend a few minutes looking through Buoni's account and the FitStrong account, and you'll find no shortage of photos of the reality star showing off the supplements at the gym. And it sure keeps him occupied. As he shared in a video for NPC Heart of Texas, "When I come back from filming, I know also have an obligation to my supplement company as well to make sure I've maintained that fitness look." 

Buoni also uses his social media presence for a good cause. In June of 2021, the reality star posted a photo promoting a fundraiser for The Hope Fund, an organization that supports children in need of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The charity golf tournament cost $300 per person, and Buoni, along with other members of his cast, participated. We suspect Buoni did well, as many of his other photos on Instagram show him hitting the links.

Jeramiah Buoni isn't the only drink slinger on the cast of "Floribama Shore." Codi Butts has years of experience making and serving drinks — and he didn't hang up his bartender hat after he became a reality star. "I still bartend at my old people's bar I worked at before the show," he told the Tampa Bay Times in 2019. "I'm usually partying it up with the people I work with or hanging out there having a good time." In late 2020, he shared on social media that he'd returned to his post behind the bar at South Carolina establishment The Spot on the Alley. According to U.S. News, the average income for a bartender in 2019 was just over $23,000. Luckily for him, bartending isn't the only way Butts earns money.

Like many of his castmates, Butts leverages his Instagram following to make dough. At the time of writing, Butts has over 420,000 followers on the photo-sharing platform, and he has partnered with the beer Natural Light to promote the frat house staple. 

Being a reality television star can make people lots of money, as can being an influencer. Combine the two, and there's serious earning potential. According to Mediakix, reality television stars can rack up $10,000-$15,000 per sponsored post. Although he doesn't post about the beer regularly, Butts could be making decent cash through his work with Natty Light. He could also be bringing in the bucks through his posts on TikTok, where he has over 58,000 followers.

Resident "Floribama Shore" hottie and lothario Gus Smyrnios had success in his field before he joined the show. The MTV star was working as a model, shooting ad campaigns for huge design houses like Armani and Hugo Boss, per Greene Publishing. By the sound of it, he more or less stumbled into this line of work. He told Us Weekly, "Growing up, I never wanted to get into modeling." Alas, he ended up meeting an agent through someone he had a crush on, and his career took off.

While working as a model, Smyrnios likely took home a decent chunk of change for his efforts. Per Comparably, the median salary for a male model in the United States lands at around $49,000 a year, so make of that what you will. If fans didn't recognize Smyrnios from his fashion ads, perhaps they had seen his face on the cover of a romance novel, as that's the bulk of his modeling portfolio. Posing for romance novel covers can be quite good to a model's bank account: Fabio, the world's most famous romance novel cover model, known for his luscious locks, is worth $10 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Should Smyrnios keep booking gigs, and continue growing out his hair, he could reach Fabio-level success in no time.

Another bartender in the group, Kortni Gilson earned her income pre-"Floribama Shore" working at infamous watering hole Coyote Ugly, per her Instagram. We've already established the bartender paycheck isn't exactly on the same level of a reality TV star's salary, but given the establishment's popularity, the tips presumably stacked up.

Gilson joined the cast in Season 1, but left "Floribama Shore" after the third season. She's the only original cast member to depart prematurely thus far. Her time on the show proved to be lucrative: In the summer of 2021, she shared on Instagram that she purchased a Lexus. It's unclear the exact model she drove off the lot, but it was undoubtedly expensive. The cheapest (if you can use that word to describe the price of a luxury vehicle) Lexus model starts at $33,000 and goes up in price depending on the version, but some versions cost over $100,000. Definitely not chump change.

Gilson's time on the show also built her a strong social media following. With over 380,000 followers on Instagram, the former reality star uses her clout to partner with businesses for sponsored content.

"Floribama Shore" star Nilsa Prowant has had her share of struggles since joining the cast. Not only did she lose her father a few seasons in, she also went through a divorce while filming the first season of the show. Unfortunately, her split from her first husband entangled her in some financial issues. As she told Life & Style, "He still has debt that he's trying to screw me over with...It was our separation agreement that he had to pay off some credit cards, and I'm getting calls that he never did."

Despite those issues, Prowant moved on and opened her own boutique which she promotes on Instagram. Fellow MTV star Nicole Polizzi, better known as Snooki, took a similar route in light of her reality television fame and opened a boutique, too. Should Prowant become as successful as Snooki, who's worth an estimated $4 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, she could one day have a similar bank account balance.

Prowant also moved on and found love. She married Gus Gazda (how did she manage to hook up with two separate men named Gus, both under age 80?) in November 2021, and the two share a child together.

"Floribama Shore" star Candace Rice is another castmate who's used her stardom to promote her small business. Rice owns her own skin care line called Yaaganix, and she advertises her products on her Instagram page to her 368,000 followers. Her products range in price, but most cost $25. Building her empire sure keeps Rice busy. "Entrepreneurship ain't no joke," she wrote on Instagram in June 2021. "I'm truly a one man band."

Like some of her other castmates, Rice has enjoyed her success and purchased luxury items with her hard-earned money. In May 2021, Rice showed off one of her designer buys on Instagram, modeling her new Chanel purse. Rice did note in the caption that she worked with a business to find the bag, so we're unsure the exact price, but a similar style retails for $9,100.

It sounds like Rice doesn't usually indulge in such frivolities, though, as her caption read, "Believe it or not; I've always had an issue with purchasing luxury items for myself." If her skin care line really takes off, this might not be her last splurge.