Michaele Salahi was born as Michaele Ann Holt on 1 October 1965, in Virginia USA, to Rosemary and Howard Holt. She is a model and television personality, best known for starring in the reality television show “The Real Housewives of D.C.” as the wife of former vintner Tareq Salahi, and also for gate-crashing a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009.
So just how rich is Michaele Salahi? Sources state that Salahi has amassed a wealth of over $500,000, as of early 2017, accumulated through her involvement in her ex-husband’s business, as well as through her appearance in “The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C.” show.
Michaele Salahi Net Worth $500,000
Salahi grew up mostly in Florida with her three siblings, before her family moved to Northern Virginia, where she attended Oakton High School in Fairfax County. In 1989 she enrolled at King’s College, in Wilkes-Barre, Pensylvania, but soon dropped out to pursue a modeling career.
However, in the late ’80s she worked at the radio station WKRZ in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and in the mid-’90s moved to the Washington, D.C., being hired at a make-up counter in McLean, Virginia. She appeared as a make-up artist on the set of the PBS documentary series “American Experience”, meanwhile taking various small modeling jobs, which all added to her net worth.
Although Salahi has claimed that she was involved in things like being a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, appearing in various television spots and magazines, being the face of Virginia.org’s Wine Getaways ad campaign as well as being a former miss USA, those claims have been questioned and mostly disproved. However, Salahi did enter the world of high society in the early 2000s, marrying Tareq Salahi, then known for being involved in his family’s business, the Oasis Winery, and his own company Oasis Enterprises, which ran a limousine and an events-and-catering business, as well as wine country tours. Michaele herself soon became involved, known for holding charity galas and polo-oriented events, which enabled her to earn good money. However, as Tareq and his parents got into conflict and large lawsuit over the winery, both enterprises eventually filed for bankruptcy.
In 2009 the couple made headlines by attending a White House state dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, without invitation. Although they claimed to be invited, the Secret Service stated the opposite. The incident involved many legal inquiries, as well as a threat of criminal charges, but it made the Salahis instant celebrities. The whole event was covered by the Bravo reality television show “The Real Housewives of D.C.”, in which Salahi appeared asone of the housewives. The show portrayed their entrance into the White House and the whole situation after it was revealed that they hadn’t been invited, including their legal troubles, which significantly contributed to Salahi’s publicity, and so the show also added to her wealth.
Salahi continued to be involved in controversies. Reportedly, in 2011 two clients filed suit against her for fraudulently taking money for wine tours that were never conducted. The same year she made headlines again, when her husband reported her missing, speculating that she was kidnapped. However, it was soon revealed that she was accompanying Journey guitarist Neal Schon. Her subsequent divorce from Tareq brought various lawsuits.
Salahi got herself into another scandal in 2015. After her 2013 wedding to Schon was broadcast on Pay-Per-View from the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, the couple sued the city-county government for allegedly permitting the wedding’s organizers to raise their fees once the pay-per-view arrangements were known. The case was settled for $290,000, additionally improving Salahi’s net worth.
Speaking about other aspects of Salahi’s personal life, aside from two marriages, she has been active in philanthropy, however, even then her involvement in charities has attracted controversy, with accusations of dubious financial irregularities.
