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Monica Lewinsky’s Net Worth: From White House Intern To Cyberbullying Activist

Monica Lewinsky, a name quite familiar to the boomer generation. In the early years, the present-day author received quite a lot of attention from the media and the public when her affair with the former U.S. president Bill Clinton hit headlines. Lewinsky used all the publicity to her advantage and now works as a successful author, public speaker, and anti-bullying activist. She even had her very own handbag line. All her efforts have earned her a net worth of around $1.5 million today.

Monica Lewinsky’s Family

Monica Samille Lewinsky was born on 23rd July 1973, in San Francisco, California. She was born to the family of Marcia Kaye Vilensky and Bernard Lewinsky. Her mother was also an author while her father was an oncologist. Monica has an elder brother named Michael. Both the kids had to see their parents part ways when they opted for divorce in 1987. However, the couple eventually decided to remarry.

Monica Lewinsky’s Education

The activist had spent considerable time focusing on her studies. For her education, Monica attended Sinai Temple’s school, Sinai Akiba Academy, and John Thomas Dye School. Sinai Temple was frequently visited by the whole family since it was a conservative Judaist temple.

For senior school, Lewinsky went to Beverly Hills High School. She joined Santa Monica College and joined the Beverly Hills High School drama department for work. The author eventually transferred to Portland’s Lewis & Clark College to get her psychology degree.

Career

Joining The White House

It was in 1995 when she graduated with her psychology degree and joined the White House to work as an unpaid intern in the Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta‘s, office. Later in December, Lewinsky secured herself a paid position in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

The writer once again returned to school a decade later in 2006, this time to pursue a master’s degree in social psychology at the London School of Economics. However, Monica’s life had changed completely during the decade.

The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

During her time at the White House from 1995 to 1997, Monica Lewinsky had been engaged in an illicit affair with former President Bill Clinton. Both continued to deny the accusations but when the evidence was presented, they had to give in. The whole situation obviously resulted in plenty of negative publicity for the two. All the notoriety led to Monica being interviewed by numerous TV shows.

Interviews, Books, & More

In 1999, the former White House intern joined author Andrew Morton to publish her first book, “Monica’s Story”. In the same year, she also started designing handbags under the label “ The Real Monica” for a new career.

She was also interviewed by Barbara Walters on “20/20” in March 1999. The interview got record-setting viewers and remains the second most-watched interview in television history to date with a whopping 70 million viewers. In May of the same year, Lewinsky was invited as a guest star on “Saturday Night Live” and showed up on two sketches.

In January 2000, the 47-year old took part in commercials for the weight loss company, Jenny Craig. The deal bound her to lose at least 40 pounds within six months. Unfortunately for Monica, due to controversies, her deal ended in April. Yet there were other opportunities waiting for her that year. She came on the “The Tom Green Show” and even launched her own show, “Monica’s Postcards”, on Channel 5 in the U.K.

She finally got an opportunity to express her side of the story while interacting with an audience when she appeared on HBO’s “Monica in Black and White” in 2002. The next year, she hosted the reality television show, “Mr. Personality” while also appearing on shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, “The View”, and “V Graham Norton”. The host then moved to London to live a private life away from the public for a decade. It was during this time that she earned her master’s degree.

Speaking Against Bullying

In 2014, she started writing for “Vanity Fair”. In the same year, she spoke up against cyberbullying in Forbes “30 under 30” magazine. The activist also appeared on National Geographic Channel’s special, “The 90s: The Last Great Decade”.

Continuing her work as an activist, Lewinsky delivered a TED talk on cyberbullying in March 2015. She became part of an anti-bullying organization, Bystander Revolution as an ambassador and strategic advisor in the same year. She spoke once again at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

A couple of years down the line, Monica worked on the foreword of the book, “Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate” written by Sue Scheff and Melissa Schorr. In 2019, she talked about public shaming on the TV program, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”.

Currently, Monica is working as a producer for the third season of “American Crime Story” which will zoom in on Lewinsky’s past scandal with Bill Clinton.

Monica Lewinsky’s Net Worth

Monica Lewinsky utilized the negative situation she had to go through and made much of her money by talking about her side of the past scandal. As of 2020, her net worth is around $1.5 million.

Writings

When she cooperated with Andrew Morton in 1999 to publish “Monica’s Story”, she was paid around a million with $500,000 paid in advance. In 2012, the New York Post revealed that the author received a $12 million payday for a memoir that discussed details of her relationship with Clinton. In 2014, she wrote a column for Vanity Fair named, “Shame and Survival” where the author explained how she suffered post the scandal. The column was a hit and must have earned the writer a considerable amount.

The Real Monica Inc

Monica Lewinsky started designing handbags and selling them in 1999. Being an amateur knitter, Lewinsky wanted to earn to help her get out of debt. Following the scandal, the legal fees had cost her around $1.5 million. Back in those days, the handbags used to be sold for around $80 to $170.

Speeches

Ever since she started speaking up against cyberbullying, Monica Lewinsky has made numerous speeches on various platforms. She joined the voices of thousands when she spoke out about what she had suffered through. Today she delivers speeches about shame and bullying all around the world and earns more than $50,000 for each of them.

 

Monica Lewinsky is a woman who knows how to benefit from every hardship that comes her way. Learning from her own case, she now stands up to give a helping hand to others by advocating against bullying and shame. With her story being produced through “American Crime Story”, she will be earning more, leading to an increase in her existing net worth of $1.5 million.

 

Disclaimer: All of the information mentioned above has been gathered from the sources mentioned below:

Forbes

Business Insider

The Daily Beast

New York Post

Money Inc

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