Sarah Ferguson Net Worth

What Is Sarah Ferguson's Net Worth?

Sarah Ferguson, formerly known as Sarah, Duchess of York, is a British Royal figure who has a net worth of $2 million. Also known as Fergie, Sarah Ferguson was married to Prince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth of England, from 1986 to 1996. They have two daughters together, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Often called "Fergie" by the press, she became one of the most visible members of the royal family during the late 1980s and early 1990s, celebrated for her warmth, informality, and approachable style. However, her life has also been marked by intense scrutiny from the media, financial challenges, and controversies that made her one of the most talked-about royals of her generation.

Ferguson was raised in a well-connected English family with ties to the aristocracy. She worked in public relations and publishing before her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986 propelled her into the global spotlight. The couple had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, but their marriage was troubled by long separations due to Andrew's naval career and by relentless tabloid attention. They separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, though they maintained an unusually close relationship and continued co-parenting their children.

After leaving the royal fold, Ferguson built a varied career as an author and public figure. She has written numerous books, including children's stories, autobiographies, and works on health and wellness. She became a sought-after television guest and presenter, appearing on programs in both the UK and the US.

Over the past three decades, Ferguson's finances have swung dramatically — from royal luxury to crippling debt and back to modest stability. She has admitted to periods of "utter financial ruin," facing multimillion-pound debts, tabloid humiliation, and reliance on bailouts from both the royal family and friends. Despite sporadic windfalls from book deals and speaking engagements, her wealth has remained minimal for most of her adult life.

Early Life

Sarah Ferguson was born Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October 15, 1959, at London Welbeck Hospital in London, England. Her parents, Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Wright, divorced in 1974. Her mother married polo player Hector Barrantes in 1975 and relocated to Argentina, while Sarah remained with her father at their home in Dummer, Hampshire. Her father married Susan Deptford in 1976 and had three more children.

Fergie is a descendant of King Charles II of England via three of his illegitimate children. Sarah and her former husband, Prince Andrew, are distantly related as they are both descended from the Duke of Devonshire and King James VI and I.

Sarah attended Hurst Lodge School, where she didn't thrive academically but showed immense talent in swimming and tennis. After finishing a course at Queen's Secretarial College at the age of 18, Ferguson went to work for an art gallery. She later worked in two public relations firms in London and for a publishing company. During her youth, she dated Paddy McNally, a motor racing manager 22 years her senior.

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Duchess of York

Prince Andrew, then fourth in line to the throne, and Sarah Ferguson announced their engagement on March 19, 1986. The pair had known each other since childhood and often crossed paths at polo matches, but it was at the 1985 Royal Ascot that they reconnected as adults. Prior to their engagement, Sarah had accompanied Princess Diana — a close friend — on an official tour of Andrew's ship, HMS Brazen. With her warmth, humor, and down-to-earth personality, "Fergie" was embraced by the public as a lively and relatable addition to the royal family.

Prince Andrew designed her engagement ring himself: a Burmese ruby surrounded by ten diamonds. The two were married at Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986, with the Queen's blessing. Upon marriage, Sarah assumed her husband's status, becoming "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York." She quickly took on the duties of royal life, joining Andrew on official overseas visits and charitable engagements. In 1987, the Duke and Duchess embarked on a 25-day tour of Canada. That same year, Sarah earned her private pilot's license, completing a 40-hour training program gifted to her by industrialist Lord Hanson as a wedding present.

The Duchess's early years in the royal spotlight, however, were marked by both positive attention and unwelcome scrutiny. On a 1988 fundraising trip to New York, she was attacked outside her hotel by a man waving an IRA flag; she was unharmed, and the attacker was arrested. In the same year, she gave birth to her first daughter, Princess Beatrice, followed by Princess Eugenie in 1990. Yet her decision to leave Beatrice behind in the UK while accompanying Andrew on a royal tour of Australia sparked criticism, setting the tone for what became a turbulent relationship with the press.

Fergie's weight and appearance became frequent targets of cruel tabloid ridicule, with the press dubbing her the "Duchess of Pork." She later admitted these stories exacerbated her eating disorder and damaged her self-esteem.

Her marriage to Andrew also drew scrutiny. With Andrew away for long stretches due to his naval career, their relationship was strained, and rumors of extramarital affairs circulated around both partners. By 1992, the couple announced a formal separation. That same year, Sarah was caught in one of the most infamous royal scandals of the modern era. Paparazzi in Saint-Tropez photographed her sunbathing topless and having her toes sucked by American financial adviser John Bryan — all while her young daughters and royal bodyguards were nearby. The images caused an international sensation and deeply embarrassed the royal family, reportedly infuriating Queen Elizabeth II.

After four years of official separation, Sarah and Andrew finalized their divorce in 1996. She retained her title as Duchess of York, but she lost the style "Her Royal Highness." In October 2025, following more scandal revelations, Sarah also lost her ability to use the title Duchess of York. The combination of financial struggles, marital turmoil, and tabloid controversies left her reputation battered — but also ensured she remained one of the most talked-about figures ever to marry into the royal family.

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Divorce Settlement

The collapse of Sarah Ferguson's marriage to Prince Andrew in the early 1990s came with significant personal and financial consequences. The infamous paparazzi photographs of her with American financial adviser John Bryan reportedly enraged Queen Elizabeth II, who had once considered Fergie a favored daughter-in-law. When the divorce was finalized in 1996, the settlement starkly highlighted her diminished standing within the royal family. Unlike Princess Diana, who received a settlement estimated at around $24 million, Fergie was given a far smaller package. Reports suggest she received approximately £900,000 (about $1.4 million at the time) to purchase a new home, £600,000 in cash, and a modest portion of Andrew's military pension. The limited settlement left her with a financial base but nowhere near the resources needed to sustain the lifestyle of a former royal living in the public eye.

Financial Problems

Life after Sarah Ferguson's divorce from Prince Andrew was dominated by recurring financial turmoil. Despite her high public profile and various ventures, she consistently struggled to manage her lifestyle and business affairs. In the late 2000s, her company Hartmoor, which handled her media, publishing, and licensing work in the U.S., collapsed with debts of around £650,000. By 2009, her financial situation had worsened significantly, and reports suggested she owed anywhere from £2 million to £5 million in combined personal and business debts.

The situation became so dire in 2010 that bankruptcy was openly discussed as a possibility. A spokesman confirmed that voluntary bankruptcy was one of the options on the table, though Ferguson was said to be reluctant to go down that path. According to press reports at the time, Queen Elizabeth II was "deeply concerned" about her former daughter-in-law's debts and even raised the issue with then–Prime Minister David Cameron. Behind the scenes, Prince Andrew was reportedly masterminding a "rescue plan" to shield the family from the humiliation of seeing a royal declared bankrupt.

Cash For Access Scandal

Adding to the crisis, Ferguson was caught in a now-notorious "cash-for-access" scandal in May 2010. She was secretly filmed by a News of the World reporter posing as a businessman, offering introductions to Prince Andrew in exchange for £500,000. The video caused international headlines and compounded her financial and reputational problems. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey soon after, Ferguson admitted she was "substantially" in debt and seriously considering bankruptcy. She declined to reveal the exact figure but acknowledged that more than half of her debts were tied to the United States, primarily legal fees.

That same year, she was also sued for hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid legal bills. Her reputation suffered further blows as critics pointed to her pattern of befriending wealthy but sometimes questionable individuals to sustain her lifestyle. Though she avoided formal bankruptcy, the episode cemented her image as a scandal-prone figure whose finances were perpetually in disarray.

Life After Divorce

Despite her personal challenges, Sarah Ferguson devoted much of her post-royal life to philanthropy and charitable causes. In 1993, she founded Children in Crisis, an organization focused on education and support for vulnerable children, which operated for over two decades before merging with another charity in 2018. She also launched the U.S.-based Chances for Children, supported Ronald McDonald House Charities as a global ambassador, and established the Sarah Ferguson Foundation in Toronto.

She was a longtime patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, opening many of its specialized hospital units, and also supported the Motor Neurone Disease Association. In June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she created a new initiative called Sarah's Trust, which delivered food, masks, scrubs, and toiletries to NHS staff, care homes, and hospices.

Even as she remained committed to charity work, her role within the royal family remained complicated. She was not invited to the 1999 wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones nor the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but she did attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. However, she was reportedly "deeply upset" not to receive an invitation to the evening reception at Frogmore House hosted by Prince Charles.

Throughout the 2010s, Ferguson gradually rebuilt her reputation and finances. She published several successful children's books and memoirs, worked as a producer on film and television projects, and resumed her public speaking career in both the UK and the United States. In 2022, she purchased a £5 million townhouse in London, reportedly financed through inheritance and private assistance from family. Despite renewed stability, her wealth remained limited, and she continued to rely on media projects and endorsements rather than large assets or investments.

Epstein Email and Fallout

In September 2025, Sarah Ferguson faced renewed scandal when a 2011 email she had written to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein resurfaced. The correspondence revealed that Ferguson had referred to Epstein as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend" and appeared to apologize for publicly distancing herself from him years earlier. In the message, she suggested that her previous denunciation had been misrepresented by the press and was driven by pressure to protect her public image and publishing career.

The revelations were particularly damaging because they directly contradicted Ferguson's own statements from 2011, when she had described her association with Epstein as a "gigantic error of judgment" and vowed to have "nothing ever to do with him again." At the time, she admitted to accepting a £15,000 payment from Epstein to help settle personal debts—a transaction she publicly regretted. The newly surfaced emails, however, suggested that her financial dealings with Epstein had been more extensive and that she continued communicating with him even after his 2009 release from prison.

The backlash was swift. Within days, at least seven charities—including the Teenage Cancer Trust, the British Heart Foundation, Julia's House, and Prevent Breast Cancer—ended their partnerships with Ferguson or quietly removed her as patron. The controversy also renewed scrutiny of her long history of financial troubles and her connections to Epstein's inner circle, including his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, with whom Ferguson had been photographed at multiple events in the early 2000s.

Ferguson's representatives responded by claiming that the emails were written under duress and that Epstein had made legal threats against her at the time, prompting her to write conciliatory messages to avoid being sued. They emphasized that she remained deeply remorseful about ever accepting his financial assistance and that she "stands by her public condemnation" of Epstein's crimes.

Even so, the scandal significantly damaged Ferguson's credibility, particularly given her decades of involvement with children's and youth charities. The episode also revived tensions within the royal family, with several reports suggesting that King Charles was considering additional steps to distance both Ferguson and Prince Andrew from official or semi-private royal engagements. For a public figure who had spent years carefully rebuilding her reputation, the resurfacing of her correspondence with Epstein marked a major setback—one that again tied her name to one of the most notorious scandals in modern royal history.

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