Vanna White Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Vanna White’s Net Worth and Salary?

With a net worth of $85 million, Vanna White, an American television personality, model, and actress, earns an annual salary of $10 million. In the upcoming section, we will explain how Vanna’s salary remained unchanged at just $3 million for 18 years from 2005 to 2023. Following the announcement of her co-host Pat Sajak’s retirement in June 2023 and Ryan Seacrest’s replacement, Vanna made it clear to the “Wheel” producers that she would not return unless her salary rose from $3 million to $7.5 million. When factoring in her compensation for hosting additional ABC shows, particularly “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” Vanna’s total salary through the 2025-2026 season amounts to $10 million.

Vanna White gained substantial wealth and recognition serving as the long-time hostess and puzzle board turner on the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune.” Interestingly, Vanna’s net worth is actually $10 million more than that of her co-host Pat Sajak, who has a net worth of $75 million. This difference is largely attributed to real estate investments she made with her ex-husband, real estate developer and restaurateur George Santo Pietro. While Vanna White’s salary from “Wheel of Fortune” is $10 million each year, it is not her primary source of income annually. In fact, Vanna and Pat earn more from licensing their likeness to casino slot machines than from their actual work on the game show.

In June 2023, Pat Sajak disclosed plans to retire from “Wheel of Fortune” following the completion of the show’s 41st season. On June 27, 2023, Ryan Seacrest publicly announced he would take over hosting responsibilities after Pat.

Vanna White Salary

Vanna White receives a salary of $3 million annually from “Wheel of Fortune,” while Pat Sajak makes $15 million. It was made public in June 2023 that Vanna’s salary had not seen an increase in 18 years since her contract negotiations in 2005. This revelation occurred shortly after Pat’s announcement about his retirement.

Initially, it was stated that her attorney demanded Sony increase Vanna’s salary to at least 50% of Pat’s $15 million before she would agree to return for the upcoming 42nd season (when Ryan Seacrest steps in). This would adjust Vanna White’s salary from $3 million to $7.5 million annually. However, within weeks, one of Vanna’s representatives refuted the 50% claim, stating:

“Asking for 50 percent of Pat’s salary is so unreasonable that no rational person could consider it just. The negotiation seeks much more than half of his salary. It’s actually asking for equal pay, if not more… Vanna was warned, ‘If you contest this, you’ll lose your job. You’re fortunate to have this position.’ Being told this repeatedly for a long time, you start to believe it. She is genuinely a kind person who deserves far better.”

In June 2023, Vanna signed an additional contract concerning her position as the host of “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” which reportedly included a significant salary bump.

On September 19, 2023, it was disclosed that Vanna had extended her contract for an additional two years with “Wheel of Fortune.” This new agreement allows her to continue through the 2025-2026 season and is said to have substantially increased her salary.

Vanna White’s Salary Per Episode

Regardless of where Vanna White’s salary ultimately lands, it’s undeniably a lucrative position. Consider the taping schedule:

“Wheel of Fortune” records four days each month, with six episodes filmed per day. They tape

two Thursdays and two Fridays. They both typically arrive around 8:30 am on taping days and begin shooting at noon. An audience watches three shows before taking a break for lunch, followed by a second audience watching three additional tapings.

In summary, Vanna and Pat each work 48 days a year to earn $3 million and $15 million annually, respectively. When calculated, this means Vanna White makes $62,500 per workday, while Pat Sajak earns $312,500 per workday.

However! As will be discussed in the next paragraph, Vanna White’s salary from Wheel of Fortune isn’t even her primary source of annual income!

Casino Licensing Earnings

You might be surprised, but Vanna White’s earnings from “Wheel of Fortune” don’t represent her largest annual income! In fact, she earns more from licensing her image for casino slot machines than she does from the game show itself.

Remarkably, Wheel of Fortune was the FIRST entertainment property to receive licensing for use on slot machines. In 1996, the initial Wheel of Fortune branded slot machines debuted in Las Vegas casinos, quickly achieving notable success and being licensed to casinos globally. Within ten years, these slot machines were reported as the highest revenue-generating machines in many casinos. An estimated 20,000 “Wheel” slot machines can be found on casino floors worldwide. In Las Vegas alone, Wheel of Fortune slot machines produce more than $1 billion annually in gross revenue, with a global total exceeding $2 billion.

In return for allowing their images and likenesses to be used for these slot machines, both Pat and Vanna each earn at least $10 million annually, primarily from base royalty payments along with various bonuses and appearance fees.

Total Annual Income

When summing it all together, Vanna White’s annual income easily surpasses $15 million each year when combining her “Wheel of Fortune” salary and casino licensing earnings.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Vanna Marie Rosich was born on February 18, 1957, in Conway, South Carolina. She is the child of Joan and Miguel Angel Rosich. Her father hailed from Ponce, Puerto Rico, while her mother originates from Syracuse, New York. After her parents divorced when she was just a baby, her father abandoned the family shortly thereafter. Her mother later remarried Herbert White, Jr., and Vanna adopted his last name. Herbert White worked as a real estate agent and broker in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Raised in North Myrtle Beach, she graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School before moving to Atlanta to study at the Atlanta School of Fashion and Design. During her college years, she participated in the 1978 Miss Georgia USA pageant, finishing as the fourth runner-up.

When Vanna White departed from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to chase her dream of stardom, she had only $1,000 to her name. Throughout her time in college in Atlanta, she juggled waiting tables and modeling while aspiring to achieve fame and fortune.

In her early days in Los Angeles, fortune seemed distant.

She relocated to Los Angeles in 1979 with aspirations of becoming an actress. On June 20, 1980, Vanna participated as a contestant on “The Price is Right.” Here’s footage from that episode:

In the same year, Vanna featured in a movie titled “Gypsy Angels,” which was not finished and saw its release only a decade later, in 1990.

In 1981, she played minor roles in “Looker” and “Graduation Day.”

By 1982, struggling financially, Vanna hesitated to reach out to her father for help with rent. To earn some money, she consented to a series of lingerie photographs taken by a photographer. As elaborated later, these images were published in Playboy in 1987, leading her to unsuccessfully sue both Playboy and Hugh Hefner personally over them.

Playboy Lawsuit

In 1987, middle America was taken aback when Vanna appeared in Playboy Magazine. The photographs were taken in 1982, a mere few months before her game show debut, by a photographer who had no ties to Playboy. Five years later, the photographer sold the images to Hugh Hefner and the magazine.

Upon learning about Playboy’s intentions, Vanna directly contacted Hefner, whom she regarded as a friend, but was unable to dissuade him from publishing the photographs.

Following the publication, she initiated a $5.2 million lawsuit against Playboy, asserting that the pictures were never meant for widespread distribution and claiming their release would “tarnish her image as a modest, wholesome, attractive and innocent all-American girl.”

She also pursued legal action against Hefner personally. Playboy contended that Vanna was aware of their plans to release the images and had actually hoped for their publication to coincide with her autobiography’s launch. Eventually, the lawsuit was withdrawn.

Years later, she reflected:

“I did something I shouldn’t have done. When I first moved to Hollywood, I was too embarrassed to ask my dad for rent money. I was young and I wanted to do it on my own. So, I did these lingerie shots and from the moment I said I would do them, I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m not going to ask my dad for money, so I’m just going to do it!’” – Vanna White

Wheel of Fortune

Merv Griffin, a visionary in the game show realm, came up with the idea for “Wheel of Fortune” in the mid-1970s while on a family road trip, passing the time playing the word game hangman. Collaborating with executives at his production firm, they refined Hangman into what eventually became “Wheel of Fortune.”

On January 6, 1975, the game made its debut, with Chuck Woolery as the original host. However, after demanding a significant salary increase that Merv declined, Woolery was replaced in 1981. Merv then selected a local NBC Los Angeles weatherman, Pat Sajak, to take the hosting mantle.

Susan Stafford was the original hostess of Wheel of Fortune, contributing to the show from its inception in 1975 until October 1982, when she exited to pursue humanitarian work.

An audition to find her successor drew over 200 of Los Angeles’ most stunning and talented models. Ultimately, the decision lay between Vanna White and Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarthy. As you already know, Vanna won the role.

She officially became the show’s regular hostess on December 13, 1982, and has held that position ever since.

During her time on “Wheel of Fortune,” White has donned over 6,700 dresses without repeating any. She does not receive

To avoid losing her wardrobe from the show, White typically borrows dresses from designers, which are returned after she completes taping.

On the May 24, 2013 episode of “Wheel of Fortune,” White was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the “most frequent clapper.” By January 31, 2013, she had clapped over 3,480,864 times throughout the 30 seasons of the show.

She has appeared on a variety of television shows, including “Just Shoot Me,” “Married With Children,” “The King of Queens,” and “The A-Team.”

Sony Lawsuit

In 1993, Vanna successfully took legal action against Samsung Electronics over a commercial that featured a robot turning letters on a game show, which she claimed used her likeness without permission. Remarkably, after several appeals, Vanna won the lawsuit and was awarded $403,000 in damages.

Personal Life

In the 1980s, Vanna was involved with John Gibson, a Playgirl centerfold and actor who once danced as a Chippendale. They became engaged during that period, but tragically, Gibson died in a plane crash in 1986 before their wedding could take place.

In the summer of 1980, she returned to South Carolina for a brief period to support her mother during her fight against ovarian cancer, ultimately losing her mother to the disease.

Vanna married George Santo Pietro, a restaurant owner, in December 1990. Santo Pietro, who hailed from a wealthy Beverly Hills family, opened his first restaurant in the early 1980s and later established a renowned sushi restaurant, Sushi-Ko, that attracted many celebrities. Together, they had two children: Nicholas, born in 1994, and Giovanna, affectionately called Gigi, in 1997. White and Santo Pietro divorced in November 2002. She was engaged to businessman Michael Kaye from 2004 until 2006, but they never wed.

Since 2012, Vanna has been in a relationship with contractor John Donaldson, whom she met through a friend at a BBQ at her house. They remain together today, although they have not legally married. John is the founder of JDC Construction + Development Group, which has constructed custom homes and apartment communities in Northern and Southern California since 1992. JDC has catered to several affluent individuals and celebrities, such as Richard Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, and Martin Mull.

At the age of five, her grandmother taught her to crochet, a hobby that Vanna still enjoys today. After sharing her passion for crocheting on the “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” she was approached by Lion Brand Yarns, leading to the creation of her own yarn line called Vanna’s Choice.

White is a supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, having contributed $1.8 million to the organization. She intends to carry on her charitable efforts after retiring from “Wheel of Fortune.”

Real Estate

At one time, Vanna and George Santo Pietro resided in a gated community known as The Mulholland Estates, neighboring celebrities like Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. They later constructed a 15,000-square-foot spec house in the exclusive Beverly Park. The couple inhabited the residence until their divorce in 2002, after which they both vacated the property, subsequently renting it out for $175,000 monthly for several years. In 2017, they listed the house at a price of $47.5 million. Additionally, they owned another nearby property, which they sold separately. The second lot was sold for $22 million, and in June 2020, the primary property featuring Vanna’s mansion was sold for $19.3 million. Here is a video tour of their former mansion:

Vanna White utilizes her earnings to invest in apartment complexes and enjoys flipping houses.

Her long-term primary residence has been a mansion covering 10,000 square feet in the Beverly Hills hills, which she purchased in the early 2000s for $3.4 million. This property is likely valued at over $10 million today.

In 2013, Vanna acquired a home in Sherman Oaks, California, for $1.125 million. She placed this home on the rental market in May 2020 for $20,000 a month.