What is Gisele Bündchen's net worth?
Gisele Bündchen is a Brazilian supermodel who has a net worth of $400 million. That fortune is separate and independent from her former husband Tom Brady's $250 million fortune. When they were married, Bundchen-Bradys had a combined net worth of $650 million. How is Gisele so much richer than Tom? Consider this: In his first 20 years in the NFL, between 2000 and 2020, Tom Brady earned $330 million between salary and endorsements. In the same time period, Gisele earned over $500 million.
Gisele was one of the first wave of ultra-popular, ultra-intelligent models from Brazil. She set the standard for all Brazilian models who came after her, and she is a good deal of the reason models from that region of the world have the stellar reputation they do. They are known for being intelligent, patient, professional at all times, and excellent business people. She blazed the way for them all. Over the years, she has built an impressive empire and is considered by many to be the last great "supermodel."
She has worked with multiple high-profile designers, pioneered a new style of runway walk, single-handedly brought back the idea of the "curvy" model when the emaciated, skinny look had been the norm for years, became one of Victoria's Secret's most famous faces, launched her own line of flip flops, appeared in film and video projects, and produced her own show. She is a Goodwill Ambassador and owns real estate in multiple countries.
Early Life
Gisele Bündchen was born on July 20, 1980, in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is of German descent. Gisele was raised in Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil with her twin sister Patricia and their four other sisters, Raquel, Graziela, Gabriela, and Rafaela. Gisele is fluent in Portuguese, English, Italian, Spanish, and French. As a young girl, she was an avid volleyball player and, at one point, intended to make that her career. In 1993, Gisele, Patricia, and Gabriela took a modeling course to correct their bad posture. The following year, Gisele was discovered in a mall in Sao Paulo by Elite Model Management. She placed second in the Elite Model Look contest. In early 1995, 14-year-old Gisele moved to Sao Paulo to launch her modeling career.
Career
Bündchen got her first big break at New York Fashion Week in 1996. In 1997, she auditioned for 43 shows but was only chosen for two international shows. She was chosen to walk the runway in "Rain," Alexander McQueen's Spring 1998 ready-to-wear show, simply because she could walk on the slippery runway in very high heels. That same year, she posed for ad campaigns for Missoni, Chloe, Dolce and Gabbana, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Ralph Lauren, and Versace. She appeared on the cover of Vogue Paris, British Vogue, and i-D. In July 1999, she appeared on her first cover of American Vogue. She graced the cover of Vogue again in December 1999. In 2000, Rolling Stone named then-20-year-old Gisele "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and put her on the cover of the magazine. She is largely credited with creating a whole new category of models: the Brazillian bombshell.
Bündchen was on the cover of 37 international editions of Vogue, including three of the American edition in the year 2000. In January 2000, she was on the cover of both the U.S. and British editions of Vogue. During Fashion Week in the Spring of 2000, Gisele was a busy gal. She opened shows for Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Valentino, Dolce and Gabbana, and Christian Dior in New York, Paris, and Milan. Bündchen appeared in every ad campaign for Dolce and Gabbana from 1993 to 2003.
(Photo by Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images)
Bündchen signed a $25 million contract with Victoria's Secret in 2000 and officially retired from Fashion Week runway shows. That same year, she wore the $15 million Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra, the Red Hot Fantasy Bra, which is listed in Guinness World Records as the most expensive lingerie ever created. In 2005 Bündchen modeled the $12.5 million Sexy Splendor Fantasy Bra, the second-most expensive bra ever made. Bündchen ended her contract with Victoria's Secret in May 2007.
In April 2010, Bündchen appeared on the cover of American Vogue for the 11th time. She appeared on eight Vogue covers in 2011. Her July 2011 Vogue Brasil was the magazine's highest-selling issue, with 70,743 copies sold.
Gisele became the spokeswoman for Chanel No. 5 in May 2014. In 2014 and 2015, she appeared in more television commercials in Brazil than any other Brazilian celebrity. By 2015, Bündchen racked up more than 500 ad campaigns, 800 fashion shows, 2,000 magazine covers, and 3,500 magazine editorials.
Bündchen launched a line of designer sandals, Impanema, under the Brazilian footwear company Grendene. She also owns a Brazilian hotel called Palladium Executive.
Gisele released her book called Lessons: "My Path to a Meaningful Life" in 2018. Her book was a New York Times bestseller in the U.S. and was the best-selling book for more than six months in Brazil. The proceeds from her book went to support social and environmental causes.
FTX Collapse
In June of 2021, Gisele and Tom revealed that they had signed an endorsement contract to become "Brand Ambassadors" for the crypto exchange FTX. They appeared in a number of commercials for the exchange.
As you likely know, in November 2022, FTX collapsed into bankruptcy. The company's CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was subsequently arrested and extricated to the United States from the Bahamas to face charges of money laundering and wire fraud.
On January 10, 2023, a bankruptcy court filing revealed a full list of FTX's inside equity holders. Listed on that document were Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady. According to the filing, Gisele received 686,761 common shares of FTX. Tom received 1,144,861 common shares.
Television personality Kevin O'Leary was shown to have received 32,000 shares. In an interview with CNBC and Senate testimony, Kevin claimed his FTX stake was worth $1 million at its peak. Using these numbers, we can calculate that at some point, the private market price for a single share of FTX was $31.25. That would mean combined, Tom and Gisele's 1.8 million shares were at one point worth around $57 million. They likely also received tens of millions in additional compensation. For example, Kevin O'Leary received approximately $14 million in other compensation.
Tom and Gisele, and every other celebrity endorser, will very likely receive nothing in return for their equity stakes.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Acting Career
Bündchen co-starred with Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon in the 2004 remake of "Taxi." In 2006, Bündchen played Serena in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Personal Life
Bündchen dated model Scott Barnhill and actor Josh Hartnett. She was in a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio from 2000 to 2005. She dated surfer Kelly Slater for six months in 2005-2006.
Bündchen began dating New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in late 2006. They were introduced by a mutual friend on a blind date. Bündchen and Brady married on February 26, 2009, in a small ceremony at St. Monica's Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California. In April 2009, the couple had a second ceremony in Costa Rica. Their son was born in 2009, and their daughter was born in 2012. Bündchen is also a stepmother to Brady's son with actress Bridget Moynahan.
In October 2022, after months of rumors, Tom and Gisele officially divorced.
Bündchen has also contributed to many humanitarian causes, including the I am African campaign, (Product) Red, and Zero Hunger, as well as raising money for St. Jude Children's Hospital Research and Hurricane Katrina relief. For her efforts to preserve the rainforests and promote reforestation, Bündchen has been dubbed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.
Career Modeling Earnings
Bündchen was the highest-paid model in the world from 2002–2017. As of this writing, Gisele Bundchen has earned $500 million from her modeling and endorsement career alone. That figure does not include real estate assets and various other non-liquid investments.
Bündchen was featured in the 2015 Guinness World Record book as the model who earned the most money from June 2014 to June 2015.
Real Estate
Massachusetts:
In May 2013, Tom and Gisele paid $4.5 million for a lot in a gated community in Brookline, Massachusetts. They proceeded to custom-build a 10,000-square-foot mansion. In August 2019, they listed this home for $39.5 million. As of this writing it has not sold yet. Here's a video tour:
In 2006, Tom paid $6.24 million for a building in Boston. He then spent $11.5 million converting the building from nine condos into four condos. In 2011, he sold the penthouse for $9.3 million. He sold three of the remaining units for a combined $8 million.
Brentwood:
In 2009, Tom and Gisele bought an undeveloped plot of land in LA's Brentwood neighborhood for $9 million. Over the next three years, they spent an additional $20 million constructing a 14,000-square-foot home, which they ended up living in for less than a year. The mansion, which was built from scratch out of acid-washed limestone, sits on a parcel of land overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The home features hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, open-beamed ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a state-of-the-art kitchen, a large gym, airy, marble-tiled bathrooms, and multiple large closets. Outside of the house, there is a moat filled with koi, a large pool, a motor court constructed out of reclaimed stones that can only be reached by driving over a small bridge, and beautifully landscaped grounds. The entire home is eco-friendly and uses solar power and grey-water technology. It was also constructed out of eco-friendly reclaimed materials.
In May 2014, Dr. Dre bought the property from them for $50 million. Not a bad way to make $21 million. Here's a drone video tour of their former Brentwood mansion:
New York City:
In 2018, Tom and Gisele paid $25.5 million for a 12th-floor unit in a New York City building. They sold this unit in December 2020 for $40 million. They still own a smaller unit in the same building, which has 4,300 square feet of living space overlooking the Hudson River.
Florida:
In late 2020, Tom and Gisele paid $17 million for a two-acre estate on Miami's ultra-exclusive Indian Creek island, which is also known as Billionaire Bunker. The 300-acre island has just 34 total lots and is accessible only by a single guarded bridge. A private police force patrols the island 24/7. Tom and Gisele tore down the existing 5,700-square-foot mansion so they could build a new, much larger mansion in its place. Close neighbors include Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Before buying their Indian Creek property, Tom and Gisele rented Derek Jeter's Tampa mansion for a reported $75,000 per month.
Montana:
Tom and Gisele own a property at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana. It's unclear what type of property they own. Condos in the property go for $6 million, homes go for $30 million+.
