If you’re an avid watcher of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, you probably know Mary Cosby. Mary stood out as a sore thumb on the show because of her position as First Lady of a Pentecostal church. Although she is active in the church, viewers often remember her for her statements and controversial moments. For example, according to Screen Rant, there was a leaked video of her berating her congregation for being stingy. But her controversy aside, she did well by reaching a net worth of $5 million. So how did she achieve this level of financial success? Here are five ways she achieved that success.
1. She inherited many businesses from her grandmother
Mary’s grandmother, Rosemary Cosby, first worked as a housekeeper. While working as a housekeeper, she gave sermons in her home. With the money she saved on housework, she used it to open The Southern Plantation restaurant and then her first church. With the income from the restaurant and church, she was able to establish many additional churches, a radio ministry, and a private school. Rosemary was willing to leave her fortune to Mary on the condition that she marry her husband, Robert Cosby Sr. Essentially, she was asked to marry her step-grandfather. At the time, Mary was in her twenties, while Robert was in his forties. Mary eventually agreed to the arrangement. By the time Rosemary died, her fortune was worth millions, which Mary inherited. However, it was not an easy decision for Mary. According to Distractify, despite Robert not being her grandfather, her fans and loved ones were shocked by her decision. Although she had doubts about the arrangement, she managed to resolve this situation with her husband.
2. She was a cast member of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Mary never needed this show to make money as she had already inherited a huge fortune from her grandmother. However, most people don’t believe in relying on a single income stream, which may be why Mary chose to be a part of this series. During the first season, she did not make much money. According to The Things, she would earn $2,000 per episode. However, the show agreed to raise his salary in successive seasons. During the show’s second season, she negotiated a higher salary. The show was in a sticky spot because she had already signed a contract agreeing to the upfront payment. In the end, the show agreed to raise his salary from $2,000 to $6,500. She was satisfied with the salary and signed the new contract. The show also planned to further increase her salary in Season 3. However, she didn’t show up for season 3. While she didn’t make an official statement, people concluded that she had left the show. Although she doesn’t appear in the third season, it’s safe to say that she made a lot of money from this show.
3. She has a collection of Chanel handbags
Most of the clothes Mary wears are from designer labels. However, she seems to have a preference for Chanel handbags. She once walked through her closet in a video posted by Bravo Insider. His closet is so large that it takes up several rooms in his mansion. With such a closet you would expect to find dresses or shoes, but instead the closet is mainly for her handbags. Chanel clothes are generally expensive. For example, according to Us Weekly, she owns Chanel handbags with a resale value of up to $26,900. So basically you could use that amount to buy a car. Although she stacks several Chanel handbags, she has one preference. She revealed in the video that she loves the Cuban cigar box. The Cuban cigar box wallet is made from the same material used to make Cuban cigars. Cuban cigars are generally used to represent a form of the high life. Instead of Cuban cigars, she depicts her luxurious lifestyle with the handbag. Since most men like Cuban cigars, she felt that most men would like this case too.
4. She has a perfume line
At one point, her congregation began to worry about her flashy lifestyle. Some members accused her of using church money to increase her wealth. To dismiss these accusations, she revealed that she has other sources of income and revealed that she runs her Mari Marta perfume line. She usually promotes her perfume line on Instagram. That alone would be proof that she didn’t need the church to make money. Mary even claimed that she was not making money from her church. She simply sees running the church as her calling. She revealed that she worked for her fragrance line as an event specialist.
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5. She started other businesses with her husband
Mary and Robert own five apartments and townhouses across the United States. For example, they have homes in Utah, New York, Florida, Nevada, and Indiana. In addition to the houses, they also have a printing press. The company makes billboards and also prints advertisements on shopping bags. So far, the houses and printing house are the only assets known to the public. In an interview, she revealed that she had other businesses but focused on the two assets instead.
Conclusion
Running multiple businesses is not easy. As a result, we have to give credit to Mary. Of all the businesses she inherited from her grandmother, none failed. In addition, she started other businesses with her husband. His ability to manage multiple companies simultaneously is admirable. A big lesson from his story is that trust is the key to running a business. It wasn’t easy for Mary to agree to the takeover terms of her companies. Plus, she probably didn’t know how to run some businesses. Fortunately, she believed in her abilities and decided to trust her grandmother. By trusting her grandmother, Mary kept her net worth of $5 million.
