Before they hit the big time, these future hosts were just working to make a living in
real estate. When HGTV came calling, business exploded — and so did their wallets. But
who's breaking the bank at the top of the list? From renovations to riches, we've got
the scoop on the network's richest stars.
Growing up as aspiring actors, real estate became a way for Drew and Jonathan Scott to
make money to fund their movies. They paid only $250 for their first flip — and made
$50,000 on it. And as Jonathan told Smashing Interviews Magazine,
"That's when the light bulb went on saying, 'There's something here.'"
"This is gonna be good."
Following their initial flips, the duo we now know as the Property Brothers were tapped
to host several real estate shows because of their background.
"I started being pitched as a host, I'm like, 'That's lame, I wanna be an action superstar
like Tom Cruise.' You said being host of a TV show is lame? At the time."
But after considering the doors that hosting could open, the brothers took a risk that
really paid off. The Property Bros are reportedly worth a cool $200 million these days, with
Drew joking to Interviews,
"It all comes down to slow motion renovations and tight jeans. That's the winning recipe."
Even though Mike Holmes isn't currently appearing on HGTV, he still made a hefty fortune off
his shows Holmes on Homes and Holmes Makes It Right — an estimated $30 million, if
you're counting.
"Wires. Under a sink. Should water be close to electrical? No. No."
It all started with the launch of his own construction company. As a contractor, he
was consistently seeing the same renovation mistakes being made, and he knew he could
help homeowners "make it right." He told Working Real Estate,
"I appreciate being in the position to educate people on what's right, whether it's how a
home should be constructed or how it should be inspected."
"The bad odor smell. That's why there's a trap in the toilet, there's a trap in the
sink, a trap under the tup. Between Thomas Crapper and the trap, I've learned a lot in
this segment."
Holmes' can-do attitude and "make it right" motto are what cultivated real trust with
clients. In fact, he was named the third most trustworthy celebrity, by Forbes in 2012.
Still, he joked to the DIY Network,
"It amazes me, after doing my television show all these years, that I'm still seeing homeowners
making the same knucklehead mistakes over and over."
Somewhere in between their hit show Fixer Upper and their home decor lines, Chip and
Joanna Gaines became millionaires. But not too long ago, the couple was worried about
putting food on the table for their kids. Chip revealed to Success Magazine in 2017,
"We reached a certain point in our career to where we kind of felt like we could take
a breath for the first time."
"Don't ever quit. No matter what. There's always silver lining right around the corner."
According to CBS, it was while they were running their construction company that a producer
noticed them. But while they knew they'd spend their lives renovating houses, they never
thought they'd end up on air. In addition to dozens of renovations, the couple has constructed
themselves an estimated $20 million net worth. Joanna told Entertainment Tonight,
"It's a dream come true, because at the end of the day, what we're passionate about is
creating homes for families."
Bryan and Sarah Baeumler's series, Island of Bryan, quickly became HGTV Canada's most-watched
show on the network. It was so successful that it led to Bryan accruing a reported net
worth of $20 million. And thanks to those stellar ratings, the Baeumlers hit the U.S.
market in March 2020. Bryan joked to the Sun-Sentinel,
"If the show does as well in the U.S. as it has in Canada, it could just ruin our anonymity."
"Everything is starting to come together. We should probably deal with that."
With a name change from Island of Bryan to Renovation Island for U.S. audiences, the
series followed the family's move to the Bahamas, where they got busy renovating an entire oceanside
resort. And with an ever-increasing fanbase, it seems like the Baeumlers will just keep
raking in that cash.
"Things should go a lot smoothly. Smoother. Things should go smoothly."
Christina Anstead never imagined she would find a hosting home on HGTV. But it's given
her quite the career — leading to a net worth of roughly $12 million. While many fans
may know Anstead from Flip or Flop, she actually got her start as a judge on Brother vs. Brother,
thanks to her eye for design. She posted on Instagram,
"While I never wanted to be on TV, stepping out of my comfort zone and into the unknown
has always been my thing."
"I think this just might be my favorite flip we've ever done."
Despite enduring two public divorces, Anstead has kept her focus on house flips. Along with
launching her own show, Christina on the Coast, she's continued to work with her ex-husband,
Tarek El Moussa , telling Yahoo,
"I enjoyed every second of it. And I think in the end that's all that really matters."
"Hi my name is Tarek El Moussa, and I'm Christina El Moussa."
"We bought a dump in Santa Ana for $115,000 and we're hoping to at least make a couple
dollars."
Tarek El Moussa was just your typical real estate agent when the market crashed in 2008.
But in order to keep bringing home the bacon, he started flipping houses. He explained to
Business Insider,
"The market had obviously become very depressed and I started seeing all these different deals
coming across the table, and at the time I wasn't a house flipper so I wasn't buying
those properties, but I saw that the [potential] profit was huge."
With a new gig that was constantly making money, El Moussa invested in a camera crew
to document his flips — and his flops. HGTV eventually came calling, and Flip or Flop
propelled him to the top. Today, this host is worth a whopping $10 million. But starring
alongside his ex-wife, Christina, drew a lot of attention when the duo divorced in 2016.
Tarek admitted to USA Today,
"[It was] the absolute worst thing in the world. Now I embrace the fact that people
know all about me."
"Just make it happen. Give it everything we have."
His network success led to a spin-off series, Flipping 101 With Tarek El Moussa, where first-time
flippers learn the ropes from one of the best in the industry.
Hilary Farr famously wants homeowners to love her renovations — and it seems she's loving
her paycheck too. Reportedly, this Love It or List It star is worth a cool $8 million.
"And are you going to love it? Or are you going to list it? We are going to love it.
What?"
But this designer seems to have always been primed for show business. She was an actress
early on but she also had a knack for flipping houses. She explained to M.E.A. WorldWide,
"I loved redecorating and renovating houses I lived in and always sold for a profit. […] I
was in heaven doing what I realized I was really good at and loved, and making money
too."
HGTV provided the perfect opportunity for Farr to combine her calling for design, as
well as entertainment. She told the Baltimore Media Blog,
"I love the crew and I love my co-host, David. I'm doing what I love to do."
"Does he annoy the hell out of me? Yes. It's like being in a dog fight. Does he irritate
me? Yes. But I think we're a great team."
David Visentin was a working real estate agent when he got a call to audition for Love It
or List It. Though he was new to TV, Visentin seemed destined to star alongside designer
Hilary Farr. Though the two are known for their arguments — after all, it is a competition
— it sure looks like he's loving it after over a dozen seasons on air. There's also
the paycheck, of course — landing him at a net worth of roughly $6 million. But while
he has a full schedule with his various network duties, Visentin is pocketing even more cash,
off camera. Likely in high demand as an HGTV star, he revealed,
"I sell real estate for a living. […] I’ve got a pocket full of buyers and only a few
great places on the market."
Long before HGTV made a star out of Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis, she was hustling for
a paycheck in the real world. She told Country Living,
"There are people who think that all of this came easily. I want them to know I was working
for $9.75 an hour at Banana Republic, I was waiting tables, I was cleaning toilets."
"I'm like sixty days from being bankrupt."
Luckily, HGTV brought Curtis her big break. Though Season 1 of her hit series had her
dumpster diving for scraps to save money, she was busy carving out a serious fortune
— to the tune of $7 million.
Curtis was always a real estate agent with a love for renovation — especially houses
that no one else would ever take on. But since she isn't able to make any money from her
flips, she owns them — and lists them as Airbnb's. She told KTLA 5,
"I don't sell them, because otherwise I would lose money on every single one of them."
Real estate is in Egypt Sherrod's DNA. The Property Virgins host told Madame Noire ,
"I come from a family of real estate brokers, and so you can imagine Thanksgiving dinners."
Initially that was what deterred her from diving into the family biz as a young adult,
and instead, steered her toward radio. But she claimed,
"As I got older and wiser, I realized you have to do smarter things with that money,
and I grew up knowing that real estate was the foundation of wealth."
"This is living."
With a net worth of roughly $6 million, it's clear her strategy worked. Sherrod first flipped
her own houses, but after wasting cash on commissions for other real estate agents,
she decided to become an agent herself. Once she landed on HGTV, she was truly able to
showcase all of her talents. She said,
"I jumped at the opportunity and felt like it was a gift from God to finally have a platform
that shows all the different sides of me."
Life was hectic for hosts Cortney and Robert Novogratz back when they were deep in the
midst of filming HGTV's Home by Novogratz. About those first flips, Cortney admitted
to Forbes,
"We acted as the contractors, architects and designers. […] It was the beginning, although
in some ways I feel like I'm just getting started!"
"A lot of people think that he's more construction and I'm more design. He's more design and
I'm more construction."
Their hustle paid off, earning them an estimated $4 million fortune. Along with their seven
children, their own design line, and their role in managing their kids' acting careers,
this couple clearly likes to stay busy. But it's not all about the money. Cortney admitted,
"I'll never be the richest. It's about constantly seeking happiness for myself and for those
around me."
Renovating properties on his own is what has earned Scott McGillivray a tidy $4 million
net worth. It all started when he was in college and couldn't find a place to live. That's
when he had an epiphany, explaining to Hoss Magazine,
"If I lived in the house and rented it out to my friends, I would make money living here
versus paying rent every month. […] It just kind of spiraled from there."
"This reminds me a lot of the necklaces that you wear. You have a necklace like this, do
you not?"
By the time he was 25 years old, he was the proud owner of 25 properties. And when HGTV
came along, McGillivray was able to share his expertise with a wide audience. But while
the paycheck is pretty nice, he says that helping homeowners is the greatest reward,
adding,
"I love seeing people get a good return on their investment."
"Better be prepared to work hard."
At just 10 years old, Alison Victoria's parents let her redesign their basement, sparking
her lifelong passion for design. But while this Windy City Rehab host has since made
herself into a millionaire, the journey hasn't always been an easy one.
"We've done this a couple times where me and the entire team will walk back and kinda go
'what's this' and I'm like 'what's this' and they're always like, 'It's Donovan's.'"
Victoria made headlines after she cut ties with her business partner, Donovan Eckhardt,
during Season 2, after he mishandled their finances, according to People. Victoria told
the outlet,
"[It's] your reputation that you have built, really from the ground up, since you were
a little girl. And I'm not going to let one person destroy that."
Though fans were shocked, Victoria stayed focused. After all, she had created each of
her shows as a way to showcase the real side of renovations. Fortunately, Victoria's risk
taking has paid off…to the tune of $3 million.
"When people call me a star, I think it's weird. I go, no, I'm just a person with a
cool job."
When David Bromstad won Design Star Season One, he was pretty much set up for HGTV success
— not to mention that it also made him a millionaire. He said in a network promo,
"If this show didn't happen, then I don't know where I would be."
Growing up as an aspiring artist, Bromstad was previously barely scraping by. But once
he clinched the top spot on the network's design competition, he quickly gained notoriety,
as well as a net worth of $2 million. He told Adwerx,
"I'm completely blessed, you know? I went from starving artist to not-so-starving."
These days, Bromstad is best known as the effervescent host of My Lottery Dream Home,
where he helps newly minted millionaires land their ultimate digs.
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