THE Only Way Is Essex has turned out some of the biggest reality stars in the UK – and, apparently, one of its most promising businessmen.
Tommy Mallet has just been included on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list of influential young entrepreneurs thanks to his stunningly successful footwear brand.
The 28-year-old founder of Mallet London is thought to have raked in £11.8million in sales since setting up the firm six years ago.
But he's not the only Towie star to make a fortune, with others banking millions from property deals, lingerie shoots and their own clothing and beauty lines.
Some can command £10,000 for a single paid post on social media.
Towie has dragged into the mainstream phrases including “well jel”, “reem” and “vajazzle”.
We eye up the assets of show favourites past and present, with the help of financial expert Alex Clarke.
1. Mark Wright
- Towie years: 2010-2011
- Estimated wealth: £9.1m
THE Towie favourite tops the list, with an estimated wealth of at least £9.1million (and that’s not including wife Michelle Keegan’s £2.7million fortune).
The 34-year-old, who starred in the show’s first three series, has become a top TV and radio presenter with modelling and property empires.
Like many Towie grads, he has appeared in an array of big-money shows from I’m A Celebrity to Strictly Come Dancing.
He’s also netted promotional deals with Littlewoods, Umbro and Oykos yoghurt and recently launched his new fitness website, Train Wright.
For two years Mark lived in LA, hosting NBC entertainment series Extra, but he moved back to Britain in 2019 to be with Michelle.
He has since co-hosted This Morning with Rochelle Humes and presented a Saturday radio show for Heart FM in a deal worth a huge £150k.
Records show Mark holds £1.1million in his modelling agency, The Wright Look Models, with a further £2million in assets in his firm Chigwell Properties.
In 2015 he bought a £1.1million, six-bed house in Chigwell, Essex, through his property company, which he transformed into four luxury homes.
Mark and Michelle bought a £1.3million Essex farmhouse in 2019 which they have knocked down so they can build their dream, Georgian-style home.
They also registered a clothing firm, Mysa Active.
2. Sam Faiers
- Towie years: 2010 – 2014
- Estimated wealth: £8.8m
FOR Sam, the former fiancée of Towie co-star Joey Essex, fame is a family business.
Alongside her sister Billie, the 30-year-old stars in ITVBe show The Mummy Diaries, with her partner Paul Knightley, an estate agent, and their two kids Paul Jr, four, and Rosie, two.
Sam netted £350,000 from series four, five and six of the show, which details her experiences of motherhood.
ITVBe recommissioned the series for another two years in 2019 in a deal worth a further £250,000 to Sam to take her wealth up to an estimated £8.8million.
She left Towie in 2014, the same year she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, and has launched clothing lines with Very, Quiz and River Island.
She has a home-furnishings range, her own fragrance and co-owns a boutique with Billie.
Sam has written several books, earning her at least £750,000.
She also signed a £250,000 advertising deal with nappy brand Pampers in 2019.
Experts reckon Sam pockets upwards of £10,000 for a post to plug products on Instagram, where she has 2.5million followers.
Other ventures include fashion brand All Bits London, co-run with partner Paul, as well as a babywear and gifts range, My Little Darlin.
Those businesses were expected to turn over a combined £1.2million in 2019.
Shortly before lockdown the family moved into a £2.25million, five-bedroom home in Surrey.
3. Joey Essex
- Towie years: 2011-2013
- Estimated wealth: £6.3m
ONE of Towie’s best-loved cast members, Joey’s £6.3million fortune must seem like a reem come true – and the sum is a big leap from his reported worth of £350,000 in 2011.
The 30-year-old, known for his “reem” catchphrase and lack of knowledge, banked £500,000 for a range of hair products.
His other successes include fragrances and a best-selling autobiography.
Over the past decade he has launched a clothing collection and men’s hair products.
He has also partnered with Batchelors Cup a Soup, McDonald’s and Jaffa Cakes, reportedly pulling in six-figure deals.
His fee for personal appearances is thought to be £50,000.
Joey has been on I’m A Celeb, which netted him £60,000, Celebs Go Dating, Educating Joey Essex and The Jump, for which he got a record £250,000.
More recently, he and Towie pal Tom Pearce launched “superfood tea” Chaga Cha, made from Siberian mushrooms, which is expected to turn over £50,000 in its first year.
Joey lives in a £1.6million Essex mansion which he showed off on MTV Cribs last year.
His firm Joey Essex Management Ltd holds a healthy £485,000.
4. Billie Faiers
- Towie years: 2010-2016
- Estimated wealth: £4m
BILLIE became a regular from season two and is now thought to be worth £4milion.
Now 31, she has appeared on Loose Women, This Morning and Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
She now co-stars with sister Sam in The Mummy Diaries with businessman husband Greg Shepherd, 33, and their kids Nelly, six, and Arthur, three.
Like Sam, Billie is thought to have netted £250,000 in the latest deal with ITVBe for their show.
Away from telly, Billie has earned £500,000 as the face of online fashion retailer In The Style and has launched a baby and children’s range for George at Asda. Nelly and Arthur have modelled her pieces.
Billie has also banked thousands of pounds from deals with glossy magazines, selling the rights to her wedding last year in the Maldives to OK! for £20,000 – an event covered on her ITVBe show.
She runs Minnie’s Boutique, set up with Sam in 2011, selling their clothes.
And Billie endorses brands on social media, commanding close to £9,500 a post thanks to her 2.3million Instagram followers.
She bought a £1.4million Essex mansion in January 2020.
5. Gemma Collins
- Towie years: 2011-present
- Estimated wealth: £3.7m
THE former used car saleswoman, 40, has made around £3.7million since her 2011 Towie debut.
The GC is said to have pocketed £100,000 for appearing on Dancing On Ice, the same for Celebrity Big Brother and £200,000 for Celebs Go Dating.
She also promoted Orange Is The New Black on Netflix.
Her best-selling debut autobiography, Basically: My Real Life As An Essex Girl, came out in 2013, followed by a second book in 2018.
She landed her own ITVBe reality show Diva Forever in 2019. Gemma launched a spin-off TV series, Diva On Lockdown, as well as hand sanitisers and a cruelty-free make-up range.
She signed a six-figure deal to become the face of budget airline Wizz Air. Gemma also has her own fragrance, a plus-size clothing range and a shop in Brentwood.
She bought a luxury barn home for £2million in 2019.
But in 2020 it emerged she had resigned from her companies and asked her dad to take over.
Latest accounts show her firms have £56,000.
Her boutique went bust in 2017, owing more than £76,000.
6. Lucy Mecklenburgh
- Towie years: 2010-2013
- Estimated wealth: £3.5m
WHEN Lucy was just 19 her male agent told her she would never be anything more than a pair of breasts – so she ditched him.
Nearly a decade on, the 29-year-old has built up a £3.5million fitness, fashion and property empire after finding fame on Towie.
She now has 1.7million followers on Instagram, where she earns around £7,000 per sponsored post.
In 2012 Lucy opened her Brentwood clothing store, Lucy’s Boutique, although she stepped down earlier this year after the business posted debts of £270,000.
She launched her subscription-based online fitness programme Results With Lucy in 2013, and it has had more than 600,00 sign-ups.
Lucy has also participated in modelling campaigns, TV shows and become a brand ambassador for beauty products.
And she has bought a number of properties, letting at least two flats.
She recently spent £100,000 transforming her own Essex “mini-mansion”.
In March 2020 the new mum welcomed son Roman with her fiance, former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas.
7. Amy Childs
- Towie years: 2010-2011
- Estimated wealth: £3.1m
AMY, 30, is among the stars who returned to Towie for its anniversary special last year. She did so with a £3.1million fortune to her name . . . as well as two kids.
The bubbly beautician has banked £3million-plus over the past decade thanks to telly appearances, brand endorsements and savvy business dealings.
Since leaving Towie in 2011 she has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 4’s The Jump and her own fly-on-the-wall series on Channel 5, It’s All About Amy, which was cancelled after just one series.
Away from the screen Amy has launched perfume, clothing, beauty and even furniture ranges.
Amy, who had daughter Polly in 2017 and son Rich the following year, reportedly earned less than £200 a week working as a beautician before Towie.
But in her first year of motherhood she was set to pocket £1million from a pram collection, a fitness plan and baby clothing line.
She owns four homes worth a combined £2.5million or more, including her own Essex gaff.
Amy has further topped up her bank balance with personal appearances and magazine deals.
But the eight companies that she is a director of are £91,000 in the red, according to the latest accounts.
8. Jessica Wright
- Towie years: 2010-2016
- Estimated wealth: £2.6m
MARK’S sister Jess, 35, who got engaged to businessman William Lee-Kemp in March 2020, was in little-known girl group Lola before starring on Towie from 2010 to 2016 and is now worth £2.6million.
While on the show she released her debut solo single Dance All Night, which peaked at No36 in the charts. It was followed by two other tracks.
Jess has done better modelling, including showcasing a lingerie range by Alexis Smith.
Her other ventures include a fat-burning workout DVD and clothing collaborations with Lipstick London and the fashion boutique SistaGlam.
She has also been a brand ambassador for teeth whitening firm Diamond Whites.
In June last year she set up clothing firm Swape Ventures.
Her success is perhaps not surprising as she has a business and marketing degree from London’s University of Westminster.
It has allowed her to enjoy a life of luxury, from lavish skiing holidays to a chandelier-filled home, built by brother Mark.
Jess, who used to date Strictly Come Dancing hunk Giovanni Pernice, paid £1.1million for the four-bedroom pad in June 2018.
9. Lydia Bright
- Towie years: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017
- Estimated wealth: £1.3m
LYDIA – like Gemma Collins, an ex of Towie co-star James Argent – has showed an entrepreneurial flair since finding fame on TV.
Now 30, she became a mother for first time last year giving birth to a baby girl Loretta Rose.
And she has a plenty more reason to celebrate, being worth at least £1.3million thanks to TV appearances, property investments and brand deals.
Lydia used her exposure on Towie as the launchpad for opening her own Essex fashion boutique, Bella Sorella, with her big sister Georgia. The store now operates online-only.
The keen blogger has launched her own clothing collections, including a vintage-inspired range.
She has ties with budget store Matalan, revealing showbiz “backstage secrets” and her outfit picks on its website.
She has appeared on TV’s The Jump, The Crystal Maze and Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island, as well as E4’s Five Star Hotel alongside fellow Towie regular Joey Essex.
She has property worth £790,000 via two companies and a pad she bought for £350,000 in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, is now thought to be worth £570,000.
10. James Argent
- Towie years: 2010 – 2018
- Estimated wealth: £1.1m
JAMES just makes the Towie millionaires’ club.
The 33-year-old has topped up his bank balance to an estimated £1.1million with appearances in panto and reality TV shows.
He has appeared on ITV’s Sugar Free Farm and Channel 4’s The Jump, as well as Loose Women, All Star Family Fortunes and Celebs Go Dating. And in 2014 he released his autobiography, Living It Arg, where he wrote about his self-esteem issues.
James splashed out £1million on a colourful home next door to his parents’ house in South Woodford, Essex, in 2019.
Records show his private company, James Argent, holds more than £130,000.
He also has a second company, JA Investment Management, incorporated in 2013. However, it hasn’t yet traded and has a net worth of just £100.
James is a recovering drug and alcohol addict and spent the first few weeks of last year in a rehab facility in Thailand.
Several stone lighter and sober, he went on to soak up the sun in Towie hotspot Marbella as he tried to move on from his bitter split with Gemma Collins, who he had started dating in late 2012.
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