Here's How Much Anna Wintour Is Really Worth
Anna Wintour is the legendary editor of Vogue magazine and a Condé Nast titan, with a net worth of $50 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.
She also only spends 20 minutes at parties, never carries a purse because she has people who do that, is maybe leaving Vogue after 30+ years, is definitely not leaving Vogue — who knows! The rumor mill around this fashion legend is its own cottage industry. As for Wintour herself, she rarely grants interviews, but when she does, she's happy to dispel a few of those pesky stories. Kind of. "Well, it depends on the party," she told The Guardian in 2019 about the party rumors. "If it is fashion week, then most likely I will be in and out. But there have been many times I have stayed a lot longer, believe me."
Where she's stayed for more than three decades is at the helm of the world's most influential fashion magazine, and at the forefront of the style and design worlds. Here's what we know about how Anna Wintour amassed her multimillion-dollar fortune and became the ultimate tastemaker in the process.
Anna Wintour gets a clothing allowance
When you're leading the most influential magazine in the fashion industry, it's important that you look the part. To that end, Vogue's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, receives an annual clothing allowance on top of her $4 million salary. The New York Times Style Magazine estimated in 2014 that Wintour received around $200,000 per year just for clothes.
Wintour, who's frequently seen outfitted in designer brands like Chanel, has taken a much more utilitarian approach when it comes to her hairstyling and accessorizing. Her signature pageboy hairstyle, a bowl cut cropped close to her face with blunt bangs, and sunglasses have been her staple for decades. And the sunglasses often stay on inside, especially when she's sitting front-row at fashion shows — even next to the Queen!
According to Wintour, though, these aesthetic choices have not been intentional. She got her first bob haircut when she was just 15! Her look, she told The Guardian in 2019, was "not a strategic decision. I feel comfortable with it, that's all. I am a creature of habit. Honestly ... it's not something I spend any time thinking about at all. I come to the office and do my job."
Anna Wintour dropped out of school
Journalism is in Anna Wintour's DNA. She was born in London in 1949, and her dad was the editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper. Though she dropped out of finishing school when she was a teenager, she eventually got a job working in the fashion department of a British magazine. In the mid-70s, she made the move to New York, beginning a rush of fashion editor roles at outlets like Harper's Bazaar, Viva, and Savvy.
At Harper's, Wintour was fired after just nine months, something she later shared was a good thing. "Everyone should be sacked at least once in their career, because 'perfection' doesn't exist," she said in the 2015 book "Winners and How They Succeed" (via Good Housekeeping). "It's important to have setbacks, because that is the reality of life." Despite that bump in the road, Wintour continued working her way up in magazines, including a stint as the editor of British Vogue in the '80s.
By this time, she'd earned a reputation for her critical eye and demanding standards. At Home and Garden, according to Biography.com, she rejected $2 million of already-paid-for photos and articles. With the nicknames "Nuclear Wintour" and "Wintour of Our Discontent," she told a friend (also via Biography), "I'm the Condé Nast hit man. I love coming in and changing magazines."
Anna Wintour juggled motherhood, marriage, and her career
By the mid-80s, Anna Wintour had established herself as a force in the magazine world. And as a true powerhouse, she was juggling marriage and parenthood on top of everything. In 1984, she married South African psychiatrist David Shaffer, and in 1986, she became the editor of British Vogue. One of the perks of her new job, according to Biography.com, was frequent Concorde flights back and forth from London to New York so Wintour and Shaffer could maintain their relationship. As Wintour's career continued to soar, she and Shaffer became parents to two children, Bea and Charlie.
Wintour shared in 2015 with Stella magazine (via The Daily Mail) that her work/life balance as a young mom was challenging. "Of course there were times, particularly when you travel, when [it was] very tough to leave the kids, particularly when they were very young." But, she added, "I would try to take them with me when I could, just so they could experience and see a little bit of what a workday involved."
Shaffer and Wintour divorced in 1999, and in 2004, Wintour remarried, this time to telecom entrepreneur Shelby Bryan. Despite the ups and downs and demands of being Anna Wintour, the most recognizable magazine editor in the world's affection for her children has always been clear. In the 2009 documentary "The September Issue" (via Refinery29), when asked what her weakness is, Wintour replied, "My children."
In 1988, Anna Wintour became editor in chief of Vogue
Anna Wintour made her mark in the magazine business in the late 1970s and early '80s. In 1988, her hard work paid off with the gig that would change everything for both her career and the fashion industry: the editorship of Vogue.
At the time, the magazine was falling behind competitors like Elle, but under Wintour's stewardship, it quickly reclaimed its throne as "The Fashion Bible." Many of Wintour's initial choices raised many eyebrows, like mixing in lower-end items with high-end designer pieces. Her very first Vogue cover featured a model wearing jeans, something that The Guardian reported in 2019 caused the printers to frantically call the magazine's offices, thinking there'd been a mistake with the photo!
As Wintour settled into her new role, she moved the magazine's focus from exclusively supermodels to more celebrity coverage. She also helped launch the careers of designers like Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen by featuring them in the magazine. Of her exacting expectations and sharp eye as an editor, Wintour has never minced words. "I'm very driven by what I do," Wintour once said (via Biography.com). "I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do, and if that turns you into a perfectionist, then maybe I am."
Anna Wintour's New York homes are the epitome of style
After more than 30 years at the helm of Vogue, Anna Wintour has proven that she knows a thing or two about style, and that extends to her real estate holdings as well. In Manhattan, Wintour owns an almost 4,000-square-foot townhouse in the West Village neighborhood, which she and her husband, David Shaffer, mortgaged in 1988 with lending help from Condé Nast and its chairman, S. I. Newhouse. According to the New York Times, the townhouse is all about location, location, location.
The paper reported in 2016 that Wintour's house is part of the historically designated MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District, which translates to a backyard park accessible only to the residents of the houses that form its borders. Wintour's famous neighbors have included Bob Dylan and Richard Gere, who sold his townhouse in 2007 for $12.7 million, as reported by the New York Post (via Jezebel). Wintour fans can sneak a peek inside her home and the pristinely decorated interiors in the 2009 film, "The September Issue."
In addition to her row house, Wintour owns a 42-acre estate in the Hamptons, complete with a waterfront house and an 1834 farmhouse. As shown in Scene Therapy, the farmhouse is awash in lush gardens, neutral colors, and chic furnishings.
Anna Wintour has expanded Vogue's cultural reach
During her decades-long post as editor in chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour's decisions have ruffled many a feather. But she's remained steadfast in her editorial judgment. This is, after all, a woman unafraid to tell Oprah that losing 20 pounds would be a good idea for her 1998 cover shoot. (Wintour told "60 Minutes" in 2009, via People, that Winfrey was totally game and "welcomed the idea.")
But few choices have caused as much of a stir as Vogue's April 2014 cover stars: Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. Many balked at a reality star and rapper appearing on the cover of fashion's most celebrated and storied magazine, but Wintour knew it would be a mistake not to include them. "Kim and Kanye were a part of the conversation of the day," she said in her 2019 MasterClass course (via Refinery29). "And for Vogue not to recognize that would have been a big misstep. You are leading, not following."
The Kimye cover broke sales records, and along with a greater focus on fashionable personalities outside of the traditional fashion world, Wintour has expanded Vogue's coverage to include notable political figures, like Vice President Kamala Harris and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Today's audience — not just Vogue's audience, every audience — wants journalism to take a stand," Wintour told The Guardian in 2019. "People want to know what you believe in and what you stand for."
Anna Wintour has weathered high-profile divorces and professional upheavals
In 1999, Anna Wintour's marriage to psychiatrist David Shaffer fell apart, and the private Wintour faced tabloid rumors about both the split and her tenure at Vogue. While it's not clear whether Shaffer and Wintour had a prenup, New York Magazine reported at the time that Wintour was also dealing with professional fallout from one of her closest deputies taking the editorship of rival Harper's Bazaar.
"There are certain things that no one wants to read about in the tabloid press," she told New York for their 1999 story. "You know that your friends and your family have one vision, and if the outside world has another, then that's just something that you just don't focus on." When asked if she wanted to address any of the rumors, she gave a classically cool Wintour response: "No. But thank you for asking."
Twenty years later, Wintour was back in the tabloids with a second divorce, this time from Shelby Bryan, the telecom entrepreneur who'd precipitated her breakup from Shaffer. According to Page Six, Bryan and Wintour's marriage began to crumble in 2013, when news broke that he owed $1.2 million in back taxes to the IRS. It's not known whether the two had a prenup of their own.
Wintour made it clear she had moved on in 2020, when she was spotted by Page Six out for a cozy dinner with actor and fellow Brit Bill Nighy.
Anna Wintour thinks 'The Devil Wears Prada' was good for the fashion industry
The 2006 hit movie "The Devil Wears Prada" starred Meryl Streep as the icy and supremely demanding Miranda Priestley, the most powerful editor of the most powerful fashion magazine in town. Remind you of anyone? Though the filmmakers and stars denied that the character was based on Vogue's legendary editor, Anna Wintour, the book was written by a former Vogue staffer. For her part, Wintour leaned into the comparisons, even wearing Prada to the film's premiere!
"Anything that makes fashion entertaining and glamorous and interesting is wonderful for our industry," Wintour told Barbara Walters for ABC in 2006. "So I was 100% behind it. I think it's actually helpful to people that you are working with, that you can make decisions. So, if Meryl seemed somewhat strong, I respect that."
The movie did get at least one thing wrong, according to André Leon Talley, one of Wintour's former high-level staffers. He told Entertainment Tonight in 2020 that Wintour would never throw a coat down onto a desk, like Miranda Priestley did with frequent aplomb. A U.K. fashion editor shared something similar with The Guardian in 2006: "We spend our working lives telling people which it-bag to carry, but Anna is so above the rest of us she does not even have a handbag. She has a limo. And she has her walkers [Vogue staff members] ... whose main job is to carry her bits around for her."
Anna Wintour hosts the Met Gala, the most exclusive event in fashion
Dreaming of walking the Met Gala's red carpet on the first Monday in May? Having your own fabulous Billy Porter/Egyptian sun god moment? Anna Wintour will have something to say about that. For the annual charity gala, benefiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, Wintour, who began hosting the event in 1995, has the final say on pretty much everything, from the décor and seating charts to the guest list. Beyond the headline-making outfits and who's who of attendees, a single buzzy and glitzy evening can bring in $12+ million, as reported by the New York Times in 2015.
According to Page Six in 2017, even if you have the means, an invite isn't guaranteed. Single tickets can go for as much as $50,000, but as a source told the outlet, "Many people I know ... have the money to pay [and] have been turned down. Anna decides they can't go. Period."
The Costume Institute, which was renamed in Wintour's honor to the Anna Wintour Costume Center in 2014, isn't the only charitable endeavor the fashion titan has been involved with. She's also raised money for the Twin Towers Fund and the Council of Fashion Designers of America's initiatives for new designers.
Anna Wintour's role at Vogue has expanded further
Despite the ever-merging (and ever-shrinking) arena that is print journalism, Anna Wintour is unfazed. About Vogue's parent company, Condé Nast, combining its U.S. and international operations, she told The Guardian in 2019 that she believes print is in a "golden era." And even with Vogue's 21+ million Instagram followers, "Print remains the jewel in the crown," she said.
With the fluctuating print market, Wintour has seen her roles expand beyond the magazine that made her a household name. After being named Condé Nast's artistic director in 2013, she became its global content adviser in 2019. And, according to the New York Times, she added worldwide chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue to her titles in 2020. This move gave her editorial reign over Vogue's editions in 30 global markets.
For Wintour, the increased purview made professional sense. "I don't work for Anna Wintour. I work for Condé Nast," she told The Guardian in 2019. "I don't have any kind of social media accounts or look for personal recognition."
Anna Wintour is leaving Vogue! Anna Wintour is *not* leaving Vogue!
"Vogue stands for quality," Vogue editor Anna Wintour told The Guardian in 2019. "To be recognized by Vogue always has an impact." In the more than 30 years that Wintour has steered the world's most influential fashion magazine, she's expanded the publication's international reach, been fodder for tabloids and movies, weathered high-profile splits, turned tastemaking into a refined art form, and seen retirement rumors swirl more than once, most recently with Vogue being called out for its lack of past diversity.
Wintour sees her legacy, and the changes she continues to make at the magazine, as part of a larger picture. "I hope I have been able to use the platform of Vogue to do a little bit of good in the world," she also said to The Guardian. "As a company, we want to stand for positive change. I personally take that very seriously, but it's not just about me."
The social media-free tennis enthusiast shared some of what she's learned in a 2019 MasterClass course series, but her focus remains on the magazine that she's devoted three-plus decades to, as she also told The Guardian: "I don't care for the word brand, to be honest. It makes me feel like I'm in a supermarket. But I love Vogue — very deeply."