Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are under 'major' financial pressure to maintain their Montecito lifestyle, according to aStar Magazinereport claiming the couple now need around $6 million a year just to cover their basic outgoings.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whoquit royal duties and relocated to California in 2020, are said to be watching 'every dollar' as high living costs collide with a series of underperforming media deals.
For context, Harry and Meghan arrived in the US as arguably the hottest property in global celebrity. They landed headline-making multiyear contracts with Netflix and Spotify, gave a blockbuster interview to Oprah Winfrey, and published a best-selling memoir in Harry'sSpare.The promise at the time was clear: freedom from the constraints of the Palace, funded by a lucrative, values-driven media empire.
The reality, if these latest claims are accurate, looks rather less glossy.
The new claims centre on the couple's vast costs in Montecito, the ultra-affluent enclave north of Los Angeles, where they bought a nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion in 2020 for a reported $14.65 million.
A source quoted byStar Magazinesays their core expenses now sit at 'at least $6 million annually' just to break even, a figure that allegedly includes a security bill of around $3 million a year, along with mortgage and interest payments on the 7.4-acre estate.
'Harry and Meghan are watching every dollar right now. Their cash flow, or lack of it, is a major concern, and it's been that way for a while,' the unnamed insider told the outlet, adding that 'their outgoings are absolutely huge' despite the couple still being 'multi-millionaires' with savings.
The same source paintsMeghan Markle as effectively the family's main earner. HerAs Everlifestyle venture, together with a constellation of investments and brand alignments, is described as providing 'the bulk of their earnings' at a time when Prince Harry's work is said to be focused on philanthropy rather than profit.
None of these financial figures has been confirmed by the Sussexes or by independent documentation, so all such estimates should be treated with caution. The couple does not publicly disclose their income or exact costs, and their representatives have not commented on the specific numbers.
Some of the pressure appears to stem from the softening of the media gold rush that followed their royal exit. Their Spotify contract, reported at around $20 million, ended early in 2023. A larger five-year Netflix deal, valued at $60 million in trade reports, was reshaped into a less lucrative first-look agreement last year.
Source: International Business Times UK
