What was Lucille Ball’s net worth at the time of her death? Fortune explored amid longtime secretary Wanda Clark's death at 87

Lucille Ball passed away at the age of 77 in 1989 after undergoing a 7-hour surgery for an aortic valve replacement. Today, her name is back in the headlines as Wanda Clark, her secretary for 26 years, passed away at 87. At the time of Lucille's death, her net worth was estimated to be around $60 million. In today's amount, according to Celebrity Net Worth, her net worth would amount to $125 million, after considering inflation.

Ball's impressive net worth came from almost six decades of her work in the film industry. While she began as a chorus girl, she grew and developed herself as an actress, and appeared in some of her most well-known shows, including I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and Life With Lucy.

Lucille was not just an actress, but a part of her wealth also comes from her career as a producer. She was the first woman to run a major television studio. It was called Desilu Productions and released shows such as Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.

Breakdown of Lucille Ball's career earnings

Here is a brief breakdown of what Lucille Ball earned from a few of her shows and films. The earnings mentioned below were reported by Celebrity Net Worth.

Beginning with Life With Lucy, the actress earned around $150 thousand per episode. In Mame, one of her last feature films, she received 10% of the profit ($250 thousand).

Yours, Mine and Ours is another of Ball's feature films. She received 50% of the profits. For A Guide for the Married Man, she earned $10 thousand for every episode.

In The Lucy Show, Ball made $15 thousand per episode. Her earnings increased with The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball. She received $100 thousand for her work. She also received $125 thousand for her appearance in The Long, Long Trailer.

Lucille Ball earned around $3.5 thousand per episode for I Love Lucy. For The Magic Carpet, she received $85 thousand, while in Two Smart People, her pay was $1.8 thousand per week. During The Big Street, she made $3.5 thousand per week, and for A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob, she earned $12.5 thousand.

In Too Many Girls, her salary was $1.5 thousand per week, and for Dance, Girl, Dance, she received $3.5 thousand per week. She earned $2 thousand per week for both Go Chase Yourself and Don’t Tell the Wife, while her earliest role in Top Hat paid just $50 per week.

These are some of Lucille Ball's earnings from her roles as an actress in a few of the shows and featured films she appeared in.

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From earning just $50 a week in her early days to building a fortune worth about $125 million today, she proved what passion and perseverance can achieve. As fans remember her and mourn the passing of her loyal secretary, Wanda Clark, Lucille's influence on television and her trailblazing legacy continue to live on.

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