Reality star and $120 million?…whatever! At least it’s not “The Situation.” Taking the opportunity to piggy back an actual marketable brand on a reality TV show seems a lot more productive than the hidden cheese prank. Don’t get me wrong, I watch every Jersey Shore episode and consider myself a fan, but compared to their area of expertise in tanning beds and exercise infomercials, I think Bethenny Frankel did it right and it was not in the least bit an easy task. I wouldn’t give all the credit to The Real Housewives series for making her what she is though, (even though it helped), but as portrayed below, I can imagine A LOT of long days and sleepless nights that got her to this point.
Bethenny’s path to her big payday…
Before this countdown..let me just mention that growing up, Bethenny’s life consisted of multiple divorces, childhood neglect, and numerous moves…(For all you NY housewife fans, you know the deal)
1. Attend NYU and a culinary school in New York
2. Create a party planning company in Beverly Hills; ‘In Any Event’..that soon fizzled..
3. Become Paris Hilton’s nanny and the Bruckheimer’s personal assistant
4. Create a baked goods company; ‘BethennyBakes’, that also soon fizzled…
5. Get cast on ‘The Apprentice: Martha Stewart’
6. Get picked up to star in ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ on Bravo. (She didn’t just do this for the fun of it…as she states very boldly, “What’s the point of being on TV if you don’t have something to sell?”…) 
7. Create a low calorie margarita line, ‘Skinnygirl Margarita’
8. Star in 2 spinoff series’ based on her personal life, ‘Bethenny Getting Married’ and ‘Bethenny Ever After’
9. Write some books; ‘Naturally Thin’, ‘Skinnygirl Dish’, and ‘A Place of Yes’ (all 3 are bestsellers)
10. Sell the Skinnygirl Spirits line for $120 million to Fortune Brands’ Beam Global. Just fyi – that’s 20 million more than rap mogul P. Diddy made off of his deal with Ciroc…
11. Get sued for $100 million! (mo’ money, mo’ problems)
12. Maybe get a development deal for a daytime talk show (Oprah’s out of the picture now…hmmm)
13. Debut at #42 on this year’s Forbes Celebrity 100 list ($55 million)
Woah!…Just writing all that stressed me out!..I can’t imagine being the face of it all!
Bethenny is now looking to use the Skinnygirl line to venture into other markets:
1. A lingerie line called ‘Skinnygirl Shapewear’
2. A nutritional supplement called ‘Skinnygirl Daily’
3. A skincare line called ‘Skinnygirl Face and Body’
I think it’s safe to say that Bethenny is living out her dreams. She has risen to the top of Hollywood’s entrepreneurial elite and has no plans of slowing down. With all this stress in her life, it’s a good thing she gets free alcohol whenever she wants.
