Kriti Mehrotra
As arguably one of the most controversial and polarizing figures in the world of reality television, Bravo’s ‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Mary Jefferson Cosby needs no introduction. That’s because her extravagant lifestyle, professional endeavors, and unorthodox relationship have been garnering headlines ever since she first stepped into the limelight in late 2020. She has responded to almost all rumors publicly, but her seemingly defensive tone has only raised more questions than answers, leaving many wondering about her overall career trajectory.
How Did Mary Cosby Earn Her Money?
Since Mary Jefferson Cosby was born as the youngest of her siblings in the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church, she was raised under the values of affection, community, as well as respect. The truth is that the church was established by her grandmother, Rosemary “Mama” Redmon Cosby, in 1968, following which she transformed it into an empire with the help of her congregation. The Bishop-Founder was determined to make her institution self-sustaining in every sense, so she invested in owning daycares, local restaurants, a mortgage company, and several properties.
Unfortunately, though, while Mama’s church was booming, she sadly died from heart failure in her St. Cloud, Florida, vacation home — it was January 4, 1997, and she was 65 years old. What ensued were complex legal battles over her estate, which even led to her remains being exhumed for an autopsy in 1999, confirming that she had passed away from natural causes. The primary conflict was reportedly between her widower, Bishop Robert Cosby Sr., who was roughly 20 years younger than her, and her daughter/Mary’s mother, Rosalind Cazares.
However, by the time early 1998 rolled around, Robert had continued to carry on his late wife’s legacy, which Mary essentially inherited by marrying her step-grandfather on September 27. She has since asserted on ‘The Real Housewives’ that it was Mama’s wish for her to take over the empire and care for not only the church as well as the businesses, but also her husband. She actually described their union as an “arranged marriage,” but one she is really happy with because it gave her their son Robert Jr., the community she grew up in, and a true fortune.
Mary Cosby’s Net Worth
Mary has been serving as the Bishop and First Lady of the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church since September 1998, all the while managing several companies with the support of her husband. They have a 20-year age gap too, but they seem perfectly in sync despite the outside noise over their complex bond from step-grandfather and step-granddaughter to husband and wife. It thus goes without saying that they have managed to earn significant wealth for themselves, especially considering the inherited “empire” and her newfound career as a reality star.
From what we can tell, based on the success of ‘The Real Housewives,’ the screentime Mary gets, and the conversations she ignites, she reportedly earns approximately $40,000 per episode. Apart from this, she has the church and the businesses she inherited from her grandmother, including a beauty salon, daycares, a mortgage company, a printing company, a record store, restaurants, and a gospel radio station. Therefore, taking all these into account, along with her properties across Salt Lake City in Utah, Orlando in Florida, Las Vegas in Nevada, New York in New York, and Carmel in Indiana, her investments, her returns, and her expenses as a mother of one, we estimate her net worth to be $10 million.
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