Kathy Hilton Net Worth 2024: How the ‘RHOBH’ Star Made Her Millions

Kathy Hilton’s net worth, estimated to exceed $350 million, is a testament to the tremendous wealth potential of real estate, fashion design, and acting.

She was born into a wealthy family and later married into the tremendously rich Hilton family, which once founded (and sold) the gargantuan chain of Hilton hotels, but she earned much of her wealth herself. She shares her fortune with her husband Rick Hilton, the co-founder of Hilton & Hyland.

Older generations know her for her acting in Bewitched and Family Affair. Younger generations know her for her acting in Housewives of Beverly Hills. No matter how you’ve heard of Kathy Hilton, she is undoubtedly a big name in the world of show business and real estate.

Kathy Hilton is many things aside from being a member of the wealthy Hilton family. She’s a businesswoman, actress, philanthropist, fashion designer, socialite, and mother of 4 (including Paris and Nicky Hilton).

Let’s dive into Kathy Hilton’s career journey and net worth to gain as many valuable insights as we can.

Kathy Hilton’s Net Worth: Full Breakdown

Kathy’s net worth is tied to her husband Rick Hilton’s fortune. She has amassed quite a net worth through her own efforts, but Rick Hilton has contributed millions as well.

That being said, we cannot with certainty pinpoint every asset in Kathy’s portfolio or the exact contribution of her TV appearances to her net worth.

Nevertheless, we were able to piece together public information from around the web to give you as accurate of an estimate as we could.

5 Fun Facts about Kathy Hilton

1. RHOBH Exit: Kathy recently left The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after appearing in seasons 11 and 12, contributing significantly to her fame.
2. Fashion Entrepreneur: Her cocktail dress line, The Kathy Hilton Collection, has been a hit in top stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
3. Real Estate Empire: Kathy owns properties in Bel-Air, the Hamptons, and a luxury apartment in New York City, contributing to her wealth.
4. Philanthropy: She’s deeply involved in charitable work, supporting causes like the Starlight Children’s Foundation and Make-A-Wish.
5. Social Media Influence: Kathy has over a million followers across platforms, where she often showcases her luxurious lifestyle and promotes various products.

Kathy Hilton’s Early Life

Kathy Elizabeth Avanzino was born on March 13 1959 to Laurance Avanzino and Kathleen Mary. She grew up in Los Angeles where she attended a private school. During her time in school, Kathy met – and became good friends with Michael Jackson.

When Kathy was a child, her parents divorced and both of them re-married. Kathy Hilton now has two maternal siblings and five paternal siblings from her parents’ remarriages.

Kathy Hilton’s acting journey began at the age of nine, setting her apart as one of the few actresses to start so young. Her net worth started growing almost as early.

She appeared in Bewitched and The Rockford Fires, two incredibly popular series at the time.

Before the age of 15, Kathy appeared on the TV series Family Affair, Nanny and the Professor, and Happy Days. She also had movie appearances in ‘On the Air Live with Captain Midnight’ and ‘The Dark’.

When Kathy was 15 years of age, she met her future husband, Richard Hilton, the young heir to the famous Hilton hotel chain (which the family still owned at this point). Five years later, in 1979, the happy couple married.

Today, the couple lives in Bel Air and has four children and six grandchildren.

How Kathy Hilton Built Her Wealth: From Child Actor to Real Estate Mogul

Kathy Hilton certainly had a head start when it comes to wealth but she started building her net worth on her own from a very early age.

When she married Richard Hilton, Kathy spent three years working in the sales department at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where the family actually lived. The couple and their children lived in a residential part of Waldorf Astoria called The Towers, which the Hilton family owned, for nine years.

It took quite some time for Kathy to return to the show business. While taking her break from Hollywood she owned and ran a gift and antique store on Sunset Plaza dubbed The Staircase for around ten years.

Kathy’s Return to the Show Business

In 2002, Kathy became a host on QVC and was tasked with selling houseware. She was an instant hit – raking in boatloads of sales the first time she appeared on the shopping channel.

One of Kathy Hilton’s most popular appearances during this point of her career was on The Young and the Restless, the tremendously popular soap opera, where she starred as herself for 2 episodes.

A few years later, Kathy started a collaboration with HSN to sell a skincare line.

Hilton was featured in a smattering of episodes of TV by herself but her most famous appearances also featured her family members.

Kathy Hilton’s Appearances with Her Family

During her career, the actress has often appeared with her daughter Paris in TV shows and series.

In 2005, Kathy joined her daughters in hosting the reality show I Want to Be a Hilton. This show, however, was not a success like her daughter Paris’, The Simple Life. After just 1 season, I Want to Be a Hilton was canceled.

In 2011, Kathy appeared on her daughter’s show The World According to Paris. More recently, she made an appearance on Cooking With Paris, a baking show featured on Netflix.

Furthermore, Kathy appeared in Paris in Love, a Peacock series that follows Paris Hilton as she plans the wedding to Carter Reum.

Interestingly, Kathy Hilton’s most notable role on TV didn’t feature Paris Hilton at all. Instead, she appeared alongside her half-sisters Kim and Kyle Richards in the breakthrough hit reality series, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH).

Kathy Hilton’s Time on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the 6th installment of The Real Housewives franchise, has quickly turned into one of the most successful and is still airing episodes to this day.

The series shows the lives of a few affluent women in the Beverly Hills area, including Kathy Hilton and her half-sisters Kim and Kyle, and is often chock-full of your classic American reality TV drama.

The salaries of the cast differ and have grown larger over the years as the show’s popularity continued to rise.

In the first season of RHOBH, the housewives are said to have made about $36,000 per season. The Sun reported that Kathy Hilton requested between $1 and $2 million to return for season 12. They eventually reached a deal, likely earning her a hefty sum, though she hasn’t confirmed how much she was actually paid.

The highest-paid RHOBH was actress Denise Richards who signed a contract with Bravo for at least $1 million per season.

Kathy will not be part of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ thirteenth season after she left the show in 2023. She appeared in seasons 11 and 12 of the show and, according to Bravo, their sole error was that they didn’t bring her into the program earlier. Bravo also noted that:
“Kathy Hilton is already a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills icon.”

Hilton’s Scents, Cosmetics, and Clothing Line

In 2012, Kathy launched a remarkably successful line of cocktail dresses called The Kathy Hilton Collection. Her clothes are now sold in 400 stores worldwide including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.

Her dresses were priced in a range from $395 and $750 apiece.

“My inspiration is designing beautiful dresses that look like a million dollars but they don’t break the bank. These dresses are affordable, they’re classic and they’re timeless” – Kathy told The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2020, Kathy and her daughters Paris and Nicky Hilton modeled the Valentino 2021 resort collection, featured in Vogue.

Apart from successful TV appearances and a profitable clothing brand, she has also seen great success in the makeup and skincare industry.

In 2008, Hilton debuted her first fragrance My Secret, which was soon after she started selling skincare products on QVC. She hasn’t revealed exactly how successful these products have been but they seem to have been quite profitable.

Kathy Hilton on Social Media

When it comes to social media, the Hilton women have millions of fans. Kathy Hilton has over a million fans on Instagram and Facebook and has posted a fair number of ads for various cosmetic products, so it’s safe to assume that her social media profiles are yet another major income source.

Kathy Hilton Net Worth: Philanthropy and Other Investments

Kathy Hilton’s estimated net worth of 350 million includes her investments in real estate, her luxury cars, as well as other assets the family owns. She also puts a significant portion of her wealth to good use and is known as a philanthropist.

Philanthropy

Over the years, Hilton has been involved with several charitable organizations. Some of her most notable philanthropic activities are the money she raised for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in 2007 and her activities for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

In 2011, Kathy and her daughters Paris and Nicky Hilton received an award from the Starlight Children’s Foundation at a gala in Los Angeles for their philanthropy.

Real Estate

Along with her skills in acting and fashion, Hilton has a great sense for real estate that has helped her build a fortune in property alone. She likely learned much of it from her husband Rick as he founded a monolithic luxury real estate brokerage Hilton & Hyland which boasted annual sales of over $4 billion in 2021.

In 1999, the couple spent $3.38 million to buy a 3-acre property in the Hamptons. This property is likely worth exorbitantly more today. They have been renting the property over the summer for many years, driving even more income every single year.

In 2004, Kathy and Rick bought a large Bel-Air mansion for $9.2 million where they live now. The mansion is likely worth $50+ million today, making it yet another fantastic investment.

In 2014, they spent $2.5 million to buy an apartment in the Pierre Hotel in New York City and its value is also likely much greater today.

Altogether Hilton’s real estate holdings make up a massive portion of her net worth and if housing prices continue to rise, so will her net worth.

The Hilton Hotels

At a glance, you might think that much of Kathy Hilton’s net worth was derived from the sale of the massive Hilton hotel chain but you would be wrong.

The Hilton Hotels allowed the family to amass a $4.5 billion net worth. However, Rick’s father Barron Hilton decided to donate all but three percent to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation upon his death. The hotel chain was sold in 2007. In 1979, when Conrad Hilton died, the vast majority of the money went to the foundation.

Of course, the family still got some of the proceeds and it was helpful as seed capital but Rick and Kathy were able to earn most of their net worth themselves.

Cars

Hilton lives a luxurious lifestyle, as is seen on her social media. She’s shown great passion for cars and some of the vehicles she owns are:

• Rolls Royce Ghost priced at around $311,800
• Range Rover SV Autobiography priced at around $157,600

What Can We Learn From Kathy Hilton’s Success?

Kathy Hilton is an inspiration to anyone in the fields of acting, real estate, and fashion. Hilton could have rested on her laurels and lived off of the wealth she got from her family and husband but she didn’t. Instead, she decided to follow her passions and persevere until she was successful.

She had the benefit of a strong foundation of wealth but she still made her own fortune and should be proud of it. Even though she is now in her mid-60s, she continues to work and further her passions.

Her determination shows how important it is to seek out a job that you really love. If you find the right career it won’t feel like work anymore and you may be happy working for years after most retire, deriving great fulfillment as well as wealth.