Summary
- The wealth of Gossip Girl characters is largely based on old family money and their own earnings. They live in luxurious penthouses and are obsessed with money.
- Some characters, like Dorota and Vanessa, have comfortable financial situations but aren't the wealthiest on the show. They still have disposable income and can afford to travel and attend galas.
- Characters like Ivy and Dan start out with less wealth but have opportunities to increase their financial status. Dan, in particular, gains money from publishing his expose and selling film rights, while Ivy receives a nest egg and a lucrative contract.
It’s tough to compare the wealth of the Gossip Girl characters, mainly because almost everyone on the show is New York royalty, but the richest Gossip Girl characters appear to have a combination of old family money and their own new earnings at their disposal. There are certain things that can help fans determine the personal finances of each character, especially since everybody is so obsessed with money and trust funds. The Archibalds, Basses, van der Woodsens, and Waldorfs are some of the richest people in New York. The series is filled with luxurious penthouses and glam suites with nary a Lower East Side walkup in sight. It takes a little deep diving to understand exactly who's the richest in Gossip Girl.
In the world of Gossip Girl, the focus might be on social power, but that power is largely a result of family money and the ability to have the best of the best at all times. That’s true even in the reboot series. Wealth is able to help determine who appears to have the most power in the series. Of course, there are some surprising people holding the cards who don’t rely on the money at their disposal to get things done, like the titular Gossip Girl, and it’s interesting to see that play out in the original series and in the reboot.
Dorota
Dorota is one of the most beloved characters on the show, but she's certainly not the richest Gossip Girl character. The patient and kind housekeeper is a fixture at the Waldorf household and is basically Blair’s nanny. Dorota is originally from Poland and comes to the US after her marriage ends.
Although Dorota’s personal wealth is not explicitly mentioned, she never really complains about her financial situation, which might mean that the Waldorfs pay her nicely. She is married to Vanya, the doorman at the van der Woodsen’s plush apartment building. Considering the circumstances, they are both quite comfortably set up.
Vanessa Abrams
Vanessa hated the wealth and privilege of the Upper East Side. As someone who spent most of her formative years living on a commune where everyone pooled their resources, that makes a lot of sense. Vanessa is very vocal throughout her time on the show about her own lack of money and resources compared to Dan’s new friends when she emerges on the scene.
Of course, Vanessa also spends a lot of time in wealthy social circles and wears expensive clothes, so it’s pretty clear she’s not completely broke. She might not have as much money as the Humphreys, but she’s still able to find a way to travel, attend galas, and spend a lot of time not working, so she has to have some disposable income.
Ivy Dickens
Ivy is a struggling actress when she’s approached to take on a real-life role among the Upper East Siders. She pretends to be a cousin of the Van der Woodsens, and when that avenue is exhausted, she still manages to form romantic relationships among the wealthy to maintain her lifestyle.
Ivy herself isn’t wealthy. She doesn’t even have the money that the Humphreys might have saved up from Rufus Humphrey’s time as a musician. When Ivy leaves the Upper East Side, she would essentially be left with nothing, but she’s got a little help. Charlie Rhodes, the person Ivy was hired to pretend to be, signs over her shares of the Rhodes estate to Ivy, giving her a nest egg to allow her time to write her autobiography, which also nets her a lucrative contract. Her exact worth isn’t known as her time in the show comes to an end, but her own wealth is likely on par with at least Dan’s as he makes his own contracts.
Dan Humphrey
Though Dan Humphrey’s bank balance is not big on family money, he’s never shown to be flat-out broke. His musician dad Rufus had done quite well for himself, and his mom was an artist. The Humphries are not vicious about money and have very different priorities than the van der Woodsens or the Waldorfs, making Dan's entry into the UES world something that keeps getting better over time.
Dan does acquire quite a bit of money after he starts publishing his serialized expose of the Upper East Side and even talks about how he could afford a new apartment in the West Village. Plus, he is also selling the film rights to his work which could make him a lot richer. Dan is initially the least well-off of the main characters, and he does a great job at hiding behind his supposed lack of wealth to make sure he has all the power of Gossip Girl at his disposal.
Rufus Humphrey
Rufus Humphrey is one of the breeziest and the most grounded people on the show and is quite unbothered by the financial anxieties that bother the people around him, including his ex Lily. Rufus is a musician who has found moderate stardom with his band Lincoln Hawks, and they get together to perform occasionally. Rufus may not be totally washed up, but he is not at the peak of his career either.
Though Rufus is never depicted as acutely ambitious, he does have a comfortable living and lives in an artsy Brooklyn loft. Plus, he does not get any kind of support from Lily, despite the fact she’s one of the richest people in NYC, which implies that Rufus is quite well-off himself. He and his kids might not actually be the richest Gossip Girl characters, but they are clearly comfortable.
Georgina Sparks
Despite being the best villain in the original Gossip Girl, there are certain aspects of Georgina Sparks' background that are still unclear, even after she makes her reboot appearance. She comes from a superbly wealthy family, her dad owns a jet, and she parties with the elites, including Serena in Switzerland, and she has even toured the equestrian circuit. She married a man named Philip Becker who she met at a fundraiser. However, it’s revealed that she married for money, which would imply that he is richer than she is.
Georgina works as Dan’s book agent and also helps him write the scathing expose of the Upper East Side, but she obviously did not take that job for money. At the end of the final season, she starts dating Jack Bass, and if they ever made it official, Georgina would only get richer.
Luna La
It’s not entirely clear how wealthy Luna is compared to the other wealthy characters in the Gossip Girl reboot. For one thing, there are no glimpses at her family estate or loft like there are for her peers. But on the other hand, she’s left to her own devices in New York by her parents.
Her father is a Mexican film director and her mother is an acclaimed film actress in Mexico. While they’re busy fueling their career flames and building their wealth as they travel and film around the world, Luna is allowed to live and attend an elite private school in New York on her own. She has a pretty luxurious apartment to herself, but she’s not someone with the run of an entire hotel or who has an entire household staff.
Serena van der Woodsen
Serena’s trust fund is obviously an envious one, what with the old shipping magnate money from her dad’s side, and her mom Lily is, of course, part of a famous music producer’s estate, which would explain why she never needed a job. There’s been a lot of debate between fans over whether Serena or Blair is the richer friend.
Technically speaking, Blair is a tad wealthier than Serena, thanks to her family’s incredible connections, but Serena’s inheritance from her father’s side, which is the larger portion of her trust fund, is never fully explored, likely because she is not particularly close with her father.
Julien Calloway
Julien is interesting because not only does she have a hefty amount of wealth from her father’s career as a music producer, but she also pursues her own avenues of earning money. Julien is the biggest social media influencer in the Gossip Girl reboot, and one of the wealthiest Gossip Girl teens as a result.
Julien combines her father’s Grammy-winning earnings with her own. She’s able to utilize her father’s celebrity connections to start looking into her own sponsorship deals and monetizing her social media. She’s not just rich, but also relatively savvy compared to her peers.
Nate Archibald
Nate Archibald is the son of Howard Archibald, a successful business magnate, and Anne Archibald, who’s a member of the iconic Vanderbilt family, who are basically New York royalty. In the show, Nate’s grandfather, William Vanderbilt, is quite miffed with his mom for his involvement with his dad and even threatens to cut her off. But Nate patches things up with his granddad, which would mean that he’s a major contender to be his successor and one of the wealthiest Gossip Girl teens.
Plus, William grooms Nate for a political career and even actively takes an interest in his career. At the end of Gossip Girl, Nate is considering a mayoral run, and his grandfather would obviously be thrilled at this, which could only make Nate richer.
Max Wolfe
Max Wolfe’s wealth, like most of the richest Gossip Girl teens, really comes from his parents. He essentially has a disposable bank account thanks to his parents being heavily involved in the arts. While the theater can see someone suffer as many losses as gains, the Wolfes appear to have done incredibly well for themselves.
Max’s closet is full of expensive fashion labels, and when not donning a school uniform, fans can spot Gucci and more in his wardrobe. He’s also got a penchant for partying hard, which is an expensive lifestyle to keep up, but he manages to without breaking a sweat.
Blair Waldorf
Blair's family’s legacy is intertwined with New York’s history itself, which would explain why she’s so sentimental about NYC, and why she's one of the most socially powerful characters in the entire show. According to the book series, her family was the original owner of the famous Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
So, it’s safe to say her father’s side is very old money. This would explain how her father can afford to own a chateau and a vineyard in Lyon. Blair’s mother is a successful fashion designer, and her stepfather is a very wealthy lawyer. So, Blair’s bank account is pretty gigantic. Blair knows exactly how to use all of that wealth and status to her advantage. She can be ruthless with it when necessary. Privileged, yes, but Blair Waldorf is still gritty enough to survive the apocalypse.
Monet De Haan
Monet and Blair actually have a very similar sense of style and pride in their connections to the classics. They both have a flair for vintage pieces by famous designers. While Blair’s wealth is a result of old money and her mother’s fashion empire, Monet’s is a combination of old money and her parents being in the pharmaceutical business.
Monet’s parents are big donors to her high school, allowing her to get away with a lot more than the average student, and she dons vintage Versace for Upper East Side parties. If she and Blair had been at school at the same time, they would have undoubtedly tried to one-up one another in everything from party guests to ballgowns, sparing no expense.
Lily van der Woodsen
Serena’s mom, Lily, is the very definition of elite and has never not been rich. She’s the daughter of a wealthy record label owner. Lily marries William van der Woodsen who’s apparently a very successful doctor and incredulously enough, also owns a shipping firm that his great-great-grandfather founded in the 18th century.
This would explain how she can afford to be an art collector and also own a 14-room penthouse suite directly across the Met. After Lily's marriage to Bart Bass, she becomes significantly richer as she owns a 20% stake at Bass Industries. Other than Rufus, Lily has always married wealthy and ended up with even more money in her divorces.
Otto "Obie" Bergmann IV
When it comes to the richest Gossip Girl reboot characters, Obie is at the top. His accumulated wealth is most similar to that of Chuck Bass in the original series since both young men are born into a family that focuses on real estate development and property management.
In fact, Obie spends most of his time alone with nearly unlimited wealth at his disposal because both of his parents are traveling all over the world so often for work. Of course, most of his parents’ business dealings involve scooping up property and displacing those already residing there to develop new businesses. Obie might not have the full wealth of his parents at his disposal, but it certainly seems like it when he lives in a multi-storied loft and has a full staff to cater to him.
Chuck Bass
After Bart’s (first) death, the problematic Chuck Bass becomes the majority shareholder in his father’s company. Chuck owns 51% of the company since he is Bart’s only son. In season three, Chuck runs the Bass empire and also buys the Empire Hotel but only after he sells off a lot of his inherited properties.
Chuck does very little to actually expand his company, which is why he couldn't even back Nate in Spectator. He had lost all of his liquidity in buying out Blair's dowry. This would make sense because, unlike Serena, Chuck isn’t old money. His father is a self-made billionaire. In spite of his financial stresses that lead to some of the most unexpected things to happen in Gossip Girl, Chuck is easily the wealthiest of the young crop.
Bart Bass
Bartholomew Bass is the big, bald wolf of New York. He owns Bass Industries, which is one of the biggest international real estate and construction companies in the US. The company is worth billions and has also branched out across the world in Beijing, Sidney, Monaco, and Mexico.
It is also implied on the show that Bart owns quite a few elite A-lister properties in New York, the New York Palace Hotel, being the most noteworthy. In fact, it was reported that Bart’s wealth is modeled upon Donald Trump’s entrepreneurial success. Of course, following the death of Bart Bass in Gossip Girl's final season, it's unclear just which of his relatives (or ex-wives) might have ended up with his money. He was the richest of the main Gossip Girl characters, but quite a bit of his holdings and properties could have passed to Chuck, making Chuck potentially the richest Gossip Girl character in the end.