What Is Danielle Steel’s Net Worth?

Danielle Steel is a renowned American novelist with a net worth of $600 million. Known for her prolific writing career, Steel has authored over 190 books, making her one of the world’s bestselling authors with more than 800 million copies sold. While she is best known for her romance novels like “The Promise” (1979), “Once in a Lifetime” (1982), and “Until the End of Time” (2013), she has also written poetry, picture books, and children’s series. Her books have been translated into multiple languages, and over 20 of her novels have been adapted into films or miniseries. In 1989, Steel was featured in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for having one of her books spend 381 consecutive weeks on “The New York Times” Bestseller List.

Early Life

Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel was born on August 14, 1947, in New York City. Raised by her German father, John, and Portuguese mother, Norma, Danielle spent much of her childhood in France, attending her parents’ glamorous parties. Her father was a descendant of Löwenbräu beer’s owner, and her mother was the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat. After her parents divorced when she was eight, Danielle was primarily raised by her father in New York. She graduated from the Lycée Français de New York in 1965 and briefly attended Parsons School of Design and New York University, studying fashion design and literature, before dropping out due to health issues.

Danielle began writing stories as a child and penned her first manuscript at 19. After her first child was born, she worked at Supergirls, a New York advertising agency, where she was encouraged to write a book by John Mack Carter, the editor of “Ladies’ Home Journal.” In the early 1970s, she moved to San Francisco, took a copywriting job at Grey Advertising Agency, and published her first novel, “Going Home,” in 1973.

Danielle Steel Career

Despite early rejections, Steel persevered and published several novels by the end of the 1970s, including “Passion’s Promise” (1977) and “Now and Forever” (1978). Her novel “The Promise” was adapted into a film in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, she released 20 novels and the non-fiction books “Love: Poems” (1984) and “Having a Baby” (1984). The 1990s saw 20 of her novels adapted into films or miniseries, with “Jewels” (1992) receiving Golden Globe nominations. Twelve of her novels reached #1 on “The New York Times” Bestseller List during that decade.

Since 2000, Steel has published over 70 novels, along with several non-fiction books and picture books. In 2013, she released the album “Love Notes,” featuring tracks written by Steel with French composers. In 2020 alone, she published six novels, and more releases were scheduled for 2021.

Personal Life

Danielle has been married and divorced five times. Her first marriage to banker Claude-Eric Lazard lasted from 1965 to 1974, producing a daughter, Beatrix. She then married Danny Zugelder, whom she met while he was incarcerated, but they divorced in 1978. Her third marriage to heroin addict William Toth, with whom she had a son, Nick, ended in 1981. Tragically, Nick died by suicide in 1997, and Steel wrote “His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina” in his memory, donating the proceeds to the Nick Traina Foundation.

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In 1981, she married vintner John Traina, with whom she had five children: Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa, Maximilian, and Zara. Traina also adopted Nick. They divorced in 1996, and Steel’s fifth marriage to financier Thomas J. Perkins ended in 2002. In 2003, she opened the Steel Gallery in San Francisco, which closed in 2007.

Danielle Steel Awards and Honors

Steel was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2009 and named an Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2002. She has received numerous awards for her charity work, including the “Distinguished Service in Mental Health Award” from New York Presbyterian Hospital and a “Distinguished Service Award” from the American Psychiatric Association.

Danielle Steel Spreckels Mansion

In 2014, Danielle sold her Stinson Beach, California, home for $8 million. She also owns a home in Paris and the historic 55-room Spreckels Mansion in San Francisco. Built between 1912 and 1913 by Adolph B. Spreckels, the mansion is worth over $100 million, possibly as much as $200 million. Steel restored the mansion and added a 30-foot high privacy hedge, affectionately known as “Danielle Steel’s bush” by her neighbors.

Danielle Steel Net Worth

Danielle Steel net worth is $600 million.