Monica Lewinsky Net Worth: A Journey of Resilience and Reinvention

Monica Lewinsky is an American author, public speaker, and anti-bullying activist who has a net worth of $1.5 million. Monica Lewinsky’s life was changed forever after news of her affair with then-President Bill Clinton became public. The affair occurred while Monica was working as a White House intern between 1995 and 1997. The scandal resulted in Clinton’s impeachment, though he was not convicted.

Who is Monica Lewinsky?

Monica Samille Lewinsky is a American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern between 1995 and 1997. The affair and its repercussions (which included Clinton’s impeachment) became known as the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.

Monica Lewinsky Early Life 

Monica Lewinsky was born Monica Samille Lewinsky on July 23, 1973, in San Francisco, California. She grew up in a Jewish household in Los Angeles with mother Marcia (an author), father Bernard (an oncologist), and brother Michael. Monica’s parents split up in 1987, and they both remarried after their bitter divorce. Lewinsky attended Sinai Temple’s school, Sinai Akiba Academy, as well as the John Thomas Dye School, Beverly Hills High School, and Bel Air Prep, graduating in 1991.

Monica Lewinsky Education

She then enrolled at Santa Monica College and worked in the Beverly Hills High School drama department before transferring to Portland’s Lewis & Clark College, where she earned a psychology degree in 1995. In July 1995, Monica started working as an unpaid White House intern in Chief of Staff Leon Panetta’s office, and in December of that year, she earned a paid position in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. A decade later, she went back to school and studied social psychology at the London School of Economics, graduating with a master’s degree in 2006.

Monica Lewinsky Presidential Scandal

Lewinsky has said that between November 1995 and March 1997, Monica was transferred to the Pentagon in April 1996 because her superiors thought she was spending too much of her time around the president. She confided in co-worker Linda Tripp, admitting that she had a relationship with the commander-in-chief, and in September 1997, Tripp began secretly recording her phone conversations with Lewinsky. Monica stayed at the Pentagon until December 1997, and the following month, she denied a relationship with Clinton in an affidavit submitted in the Paula Jones case. She tried to convince Linda to lie under oath, but Tripp gave her tapes to Kenneth Starr, who served as independent counsel during Clinton’s presidency and was investigating the Clintons’ Whitewater real estate investments.

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Monica Lewinsky Business Career

In March 1999, Monica was interviewed by Barbara Walters on “20/20,” drawing an audience of 70 million viewers; as of this writing, it is still the second most-watched interview in television history (behind Oprah Winfrey’s 1993 interview with Michael Jackson), and the international rights earned Lewinsky $1 million. Monica guest-starred on “Saturday Night Live” on May 8, 1999, appearing in two sketches. In January 2000, she started doing commercials for Jenny Craig, Inc.; the diet company entered into a $1 million endorsement deal with Lewinsky that required her to lose at least 40 pounds in a six-month period. The company caused controversy by choosing Monica as their spokeswoman, and they ended her campaign in April of that year, only paying her $300,000 of the $1 million they promised. Also in 2000, Monica appeared on “The Tom Green Show” and had her own show, “Monica’s Postcards,” on Channel 5 in the U.K.

Monica Lewinsky TV Shows Appearances

In 2002, Lewinsky appeared on HBO’s “Monica in Black and White,” which gave her the chance to tell her side of the story and take questions from an audience. In 2003, she hosted the reality show “Mr. Personality” and appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “The View,” and “V Graham Norton.” In 2005, Monica moved to London and stayed out of the public eye for nearly a decade, but in 2014, she began writing for “Vanity Fair,” appeared in the National Geographic Channel special “The 90s: The Last Great Decade,” and spoke out against cyberbullying at “Forbes” magazine’s “30 Under 30” event. Lewinsky gave a TED talk on the subject in March 2015, and three months later, she joined the Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization, as an ambassador and strategic advisor and spoke about bullying at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In 2017, Monica wrote the foreword to “Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate,” a book by Sue Scheff and Melissa Schorr, and in 2019, she discussed public shaming on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

Monica Lewinsky Public re-emergence

In May 2014, Lewinsky wrote an essay for Vanity Fair magazine titled “Shame and Survival”, wherein she discussed her life and the scandal. She continued to maintain that the relationship was mutual and wrote that while Clinton took advantage of her, it was a consensual relationship.She added: “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.” However, she said it was now time to “stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past.”The magazine later announced her as a Vanity Fair contributor, stating she would “contribute to their website on an ongoing basis, on the lookout for relevant topics of interest”.

Monica Lewinsky Activism

Since her reappearance in the public eye, Lewinsky has been vocal about cyberbullying and PTSD. She has been talking about cyberbullying on various public platforms. Later, Monica was named the brand ambassador and strategic advisor for an anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution.

Monica Lewinsky Personal Life

Monica has said that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the scandal and that knitting helped her cope with the unwanted media attention. That hobby led her to create The Real Monica, Inc. in 1999 and design handbags that were sold in stores such as Fred Segal and Henri Bendel. Since the scandal, Lewinsky has lived in New York City, London, Portland, and Los Angeles and largely stayed out of the spotlight from 2005 until 2014, when she wrote an essay, “Shame and Survival,” for “Vanity Fair” and became an ongoing contributor to the magazine’s website.

FAQs

What is Monica Lewinsky’s net worth?
Monica Lewinsky’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, largely accumulated from public appearances, writing, and speaking engagements.

What is Monica Lewinsky known for?
She is known for her involvement in the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal during her time as a White House intern from 1995 to 1997, as well as her subsequent advocacy work against bullying and cyberbullying.

What degrees does Monica Lewinsky hold?
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lewis & Clark College in 1995 and later received a master’s degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics in 2006.

What has Monica Lewinsky done since the scandal?
Monica Lewinsky has focused on activism, particularly in the areas of cyberbullying and online harassment. She has written for Vanity Fair, delivered a TED Talk on public shaming, and served as a strategic advisor for the anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution.

Conclusion

Monica Lewinsky’s life trajectory has been shaped by her early involvement in one of the most talked-about scandals of the 1990s. Despite the public scrutiny and personal challenges she faced, Monica has reinvented herself as an advocate for mental health and online safety. 

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