A reality show that exhibits the benefits and pitfalls of a polygamous marital relationship, Sister Wives features the unconventional Brown family, who live in a shared commune in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Brown family has become a household name after featuring in their reality TV show, which has earned them tremendous fame and recognition — or in several cases, infamy and criticism.
The TLC reality series revolves around Christine, Janelle, Meri, and Robyn Brown, who share a common husband — the family patriarch, Kody Brown.
As of November 2023, Kody only has one wife, Robyn Brown, after separating from Christine, Janelle, and Meri in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. However, Sister Wives still lives on as a TV series with its original cast, and is currently eyeing a nineteenth season, even without the core polygamy storyline.
Besides being involved in the televised family drama, the members reportedly engage in various work and creative endeavors to earn their respective livings, as the families live rather separately, in non-adjoining homes. While a TLC paycheck certainly goes a long way, the cast still rely on their year-round jobs as their main source of income.
Meri Brown, Kody’s former longest-serving wife, sells LuLaRoe clothing, and is known for providing advice about successful business ventures, similar to Robyn, who is the owner of a family boutique named My Sister Wife’s Closet.
There are others like Janelle, who owns a health and lifestyle business called Strive with Janelle, and Christine, who has gone solo with her TLC cooking show, Cooking with Just Christine. While the women of the household have ventured beyond their reliance on the show and proved their economic productivity, their husband’s source of livelihood is still shrouded in relative mystery in comparison. Let’s shine some light on it.
What does Kody Brown do?
The Brown family patriarch is believed to have earned a significant proportion of his income through the show. However, he has maintained his reticence on his other sources of income, leading the media and the internet to try and glean information about his alternative profession(s).
Undoubtedly, the only profession Kody is clearly associated with is his role as a reality TV star, along with his then-sister wives. They are reported to earn around ten percent of the show’s budget, which is approximately between $25,000 to $40,000 per episode for the Browns, with Kody likely taking the lion’s share of the pay packet.
While not confirmed by the man himself, Kody reportedly worked in the online advertising industry before his television debut. According to Radar, Brown worked as a salesman and earned $4000 per month prior to Sister Wives. Before working as an ad salesman, he served as the President of Das Hundhaus Firearms and Accessories.
Certain controversial information regarding his profession had also been disclosed. In April, his son Paedon revealed via TikTok that his father worked at a booth at a gun show. Kody’s photo on social media that showed him standing at a table with guns seemingly confirmed Paedon’s claims, alarming skeptical viewers who believe his role as a reality star could encourage gun violence to potentially vulnerable viewers.
Meanwhile, Brown has significantly contributed to strengthening the family brand and authored a book called Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, which has garnered massive fame and recognition by providing a first-hand account of the ways by which a polygamous relationship can be made more successful — at least, at the time of publication.
Kody and his wives are believed to have an estimated net worth of around $4 million with, Kody individually possessing a total of $800,000, as per Celebrity Net Worth. However, net worth does not equal money in the bank, so his earnings still remain very much unclear.