According to Celebrity Net Worth, Padma Lakshmi has a net worth of $40 million. For her appearances on Bravo's Top Chef, she makes $50,000 per episode. In 2020, she also began hosting her own Hulu series Taste the Nation, which was nominated for a 2021 Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series (per Lakshmi's website). The superstardom Lakshmi has achieved since Top Chef has allowed her to expand her own business portfolio beyond the food world.

Per her website bio, Lakshmi has created a luxury jewelry line sold at high-end retailers like Bergdorf Goodman, a home decor line, and a collaboration with MAC Cosmetics. She wrote two more cookbooks and a bestselling memoir, Love, Loss and What We Ate. She also wrote her first children's book, Tomatoes for Neela, which is slated to be released in August 2021.

Lakshmi also uses her platform for activism. She is the co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and is an ACLU Artist Ambassador for immigrants' and women's rights, as well as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. That's right — Lakshmi has more than earned her impressive wealth.

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