If you're a cast member on one of The Real Housewives series, chances are you've got a bit of money. Some Real Housewives earned it all themselves, while others had a little help from the likes of their parents or their spouses. It's a little bit of both for The Real Housewives of New York City star Dorinda Medley, who started a successful cashmere company but also likely came into some money when her husband Richard suddenly passed away in 2011. Seeing as how Dorinda lives a pretty fabulous life these days, I can't help but wonder how much Richard Medley's net worth was when he was alive, which later allowed him to support his family long after he was gone.

There is no official figure available for Richard's net worth, so the amount of wealth he had during his lifetime is unclear. However, Celebrity Net Worth estimates Dorinda's net worth to be $20 million. That's just an estimate and not an official figure, but it's likely that, like her fellow Real Housewives, Dorinda is also worth millions, and some of that was probably left to her from Richard.

There's also the fact that throughout his life, Richard was also kind of a big deal in business who had several different seemingly high-paying sources of income. Before his death, Richard was the founder and CEO of his own geopolitical and economic intelligence firm called RHM Global. Prior to that, Richard was a partner, managing director, and chief political adviser at Soros Fund Management. He also started his own hedge fund advisory firm called Medley Global Advisors in 1995, which was later sold to private-equity firms Boston Ventures Management Inc. and Castanea Partners a decade later, according to Bloomberg Business. All of those are pretty high-paying gigs, so it's likely that Richard did quite well for himself monetarily during his career.

Richard also served as chief economist for the House Banking Committee and chief of staff for the Democratic leadership in the U.S. Senate under Robert Byrd, according to his obituary in The Berkshire Eagle. He was also on the boards of Yale University and California's Claremont Graduate University. All of these positions probably weren't particularly high-paying, but they were worth a lot in prestige, so there's definitely some bonus life points there.

These days on RHONY, Dorinda certainly seems to have a pretty fabulous lifestyle, so I can only guess that part of Richard's net worth helped contribute to that. She lives on the Upper East Side, one of the most expensive places to live in the country. She also has a palatial home in the Berkshires. Plus, she's well-dressed and goes out on the town a lot, which must fetch a pretty penny in New York.

From what I can tell from watching RHONY every week, it certainly seems like Dorinda is living like a millionaire. And, if Richard left her any of those millions, it's nice that even though he can't be with her in person, he was able to help provide her with a pretty fabulous life.

Image: Heidi Gutman/Bravo

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