Vogue has built a multi-million pound media empire. So why does the internet still assume Spencer is picking up the tab?
When Vogue Williams sat down with Katherine Ryan on What’s My Age Again?, the conversation quickly turned to one of the most persistent misconceptions that follows her online. Despite building a multi-million pound media empire of her own, the public’s perception is that she lives off her husband Spencer Matthews’ considerable family wealth.
Spencer’s family net worth
Spencer Matthews comes from serious money. His family’s estimated net worth is rumoured to exceed £2 billion, and the Matthews family owns a luxury resort in St Barts, frequented by the rich and famous .
Online comments directed at Vogue are a familiar jibe: She doesn’t need to work, Spencer pays for everything, and that she’s living off his family’s wealth. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, as Vogue shared openly in the podcast claiming “I pay for half of everything…I like to pay for half”.
What Vogue’s actually built
Vogue’s media company, Howth Media Ltd, reported that its cash funds more than doubled from £1.29m to £3.22m in the 12 months to July 2024 alone.
From co-hosting multiple podcasts, launching her own tanning brand, tv appearances, books and brand deals Vogue isn’t short of generating her own wealth across multiple revenue streams and she holds two degrees in Construction Design and Management, and Quantity Surveying.
She shares in the podcast that she actually grew up in a wealthy part of Ireland and that her stepdad made a lot of money. Vogue didn’t come from ‘nothing’.
Young women don’t pay
During the podcast appearance, Katherine Ryan made an observation about the generation around her. There’s a new cohort of women, Katherine noted, who generate their own income, make their own money, but simply won’t split the bill. Whether it’s in dating, or in marriage, there’s a growing contingent who earn well and choose not to contribute financially to shared life.
It’s a fascinating dynamic. For generations, women weren’t paying because they couldn’t. Financially dependent on fathers, then husbands, by design and by law. Now, some women who absolutely can pay are choosing not to, reframing it as a kind of reclamation.
Vogue sits at the other end of that spectrum entirely. She’s a successful business woman who wants to pay her share and who takes pride in it but the outdated public perception presumes differently.
Featured image: Vogue’s Instagram