If you're an avid watcher of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, you probably know Mary Cosby. Mary stood out like a sore thumb in the show due to her position as First Lady of a Pentecostal church. Although she is active in the church, viewers tend to 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. Still, putting aside her controversy, she did well by achieving 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 led 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 restaurant and church income, she was able to establish many additional churches, a radio ministry, and a private school. Rosemary was willing to bequeath her fortune to Mary on the condition that she marry her husband, Robert Cosby Sr. Essentially, she was being asked to marry her step-grandfather. At this 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, her fans and loved ones were appalled by her decision despite Robert not being her blood grandfather. Although she had doubts about the arrangement, she was able 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 earn money since she had already inherited a huge fortune from her grandmother. However, most people don't believe in relying on a single stream of income, which is why Mary may have chosen to be part of this series. During the first season, she didn't make much money. According to The Things, she would earn $2 per episode. However, the show agreed to increase his salary in consecutive seasons. During the show's second season, she negotiated a higher salary. The show was in a sticky spot since she had already signed a contract agreeing to the upfront payment. In the end, the show agreed to raise his salary from $000 to $2. She was satisfied with the salary and signed the new contract. The show was also planning to further increase her salary in season 000. However, she did not show up for season 6. Although she did not make an official statement, people concluded that she left the show. Although she does not appear in the third season, you can safely conclude that she has made a lot of money from this show.
3. She has a collection of Chanel handbags
Most of the clothes Mary wears are designer brands. However, she seems to have a preference for Chanel handbags. She once walked around her closet in a video posted by Bravo Insider. His closet is so big 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 mostly for her handbags. Chanel clothes are generally expensive. For example, according to Us Weekly, she owns Chanel handbags that have a resale value of up to $26. So basically you could use that amount to buy a car. Although she stacks a variety of Chanel handbags, she has one preference. She revealed in the video that she loves the Cuban cigar box purse. The Cuban cigar box purse 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 purse as well.
4. She has a line of perfumes
At one point, her congregation grew concerned about her flashy lifestyle. Some members accused her of using church money to increase her wealth. To dismiss these allegations, she revealed that she has other sources of income and revealed that she runs her perfume line called Mari Marta. She usually promotes her perfume line on Instagram. That alone would be proof that she didn't need the church to make money. In fact, Mary claimed that she was not earning money with her church. She simply sees the running of the church as her calling. She revealed that she worked for her fragrance line as an event specialist.
5. Together with her husband, she started other businesses
Mary and Robert own five apartments and mansions across the United States. For example, they have homes in Utah, New York, Florida, Nevada, and Indiana. Apart from the houses, they also own a printing press. The company creates billboards and also prints advertisements on shopping bags. So far, the houses and the printing house are the only assets known to the public. In an interview, she revealed that she had other businesses but instead focused on the two assets.
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 businesses simultaneously is admirable. A big lesson from his story is that trust is key to running businesses. It was not easy for Mary to agree to the terms of acquisition of her businesses. 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 maintained her net worth of $5 million.