Judge Judy Opens Up About Humble Beginnings, How Savvy Spending Led To Fortune

Dec 17, 2021 by apost team

Few reality TV shows have achieved the fame that "Judge Judy" has. For more than two decades, this show has been one of the most viewed and one of the longest-running reality television programs and propelled its namesake, Judy Sheidlin’s career to new heights. 

Known for her no-nonsense personality and harsh but fair judgments, Sheidlin has come a long way in her career. Today, she is not only embedded into the culture as a household name, but she also enjoys the abundance her show brought to her. 

She has consistently been on the list of the most wealthy women in America, and has used her wealth to amass a significant number of estates, yachts and even a private jet! However, her career began humbly before her firecracker personality was recognized and made into the distinguished name it is today. 

The judge was born Judith Susan Blum on October 21, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. She said she comes from a “meat and potatoes” type of family and she thought very highly of her parents. After her father died in 1990, she said her mother kept the family together. 

Sheindlin graduated from American University in 1963, and stayed on to continue her studies at American University Washington College of Law. After a year, she continued her studies at New York Law School. By the following year, Judy had earned her law degree, passed the bar exam, and was hired as a corporate lawyer with a cosmetic firm. 

Keep reading to learn more about Sheindlin’s rise to fame and her impressive net worth.

In 1972, Sheindlin took a job as a prosecutor in the family court system. Her success and reputation for being assertive and no-nonsense prosecutor led New York Mayor Ed Koch to appoint her to be a judge in family court in 1982. Now a judge and married to attorney Jerry Sheindlin, she had seemingly made it in life. 

In February 1993, Sheindlin became a national figure when the Los Angeles Times featured her in their newspaper. She was approached to run a courtroom program to which she agreed. In 1996, she retired from the bench to star in her courtroom program, "Judge Judy." 

When the program first made its way to daytime television in 1996, it had to square against heavyweights such as the iconic "Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Jerry Springer Show." 

By its third season, "Judge Judy" had vaulted past the morning titans and took the gold as the highest viewed daytime program. 

By the turn of the century, “Judge Judy” had become a staple of American television, and Sheindlin had become an A-List celebrity, and it has been only up and beyond since then. In 2007, Forbes listed her as the 13th richest woman in entertainment. 

A 2013 Parade article on the judge found she was the highest-paid person on television, earning $47 million a year, or $900,000 per workday, as she worked for only 52 days a year.  

The significant wealth has led to some considerable properties as well. E!Online reports that Sheindlin owns at least six luxury properties across America: two in Naples, Florida, and one each in Greenwich, Connecticut, Newport, Rhode Island, Manhattan, Los Angeles. Each of these estates is worth upwards of $10 million each.

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Sheindlin also doesn’t need to fly commercial as she has her own private jet that ferries her from the east to the west coast as per her filming schedule. She also used to own a mammoth 152-foot-long yacht named “Triumphant Lady,” but she ended up selling the $6.9 million vessel. This is quite an impressive array of luxuries! 

How is it that Sheindlin amassed her $460 Million wealth? The New York Times reported in 2019 that Sheindlin approaches the president of CBS Television Distribution and negotiates a contract in the same no-nonsense personality she reserves for her show. 

She reportedly “writes down the salary she wants, seals it in an envelope and presents it at the end of the meal,” and does not entertain any counter-offers by responding, “This isn't a negotiation.” 

Sheindlin also stayed out of debt by spending within her means for the many years of her life she was working as a civil servant. "The majority of my life, I spent buying on the sale rack," she told People. "I didn't bother going into (Neiman Marcus), (Bergdorf Goodman) and Saks (Fifth Avenue) because I couldn't afford it."

The judge never set out to become rich. "I was hoping we would have a three- or four-year run and that my husband and I would be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment one block off the beach in Florida as a retirement place," she recalled. "We were civil servants. We had five kids that were all educated, most went to graduate school. We tried to see to it they weren't burdened with a lot of debt."

This just goes to show that Sheindlin is a self-made woman whose personality continues to be celebrated even today.

Are you a fan of Judge Judy? What is your favorite moment from the show? We would love to know your thoughts, and be sure to tell the Judge Judy fans in your life about her journey towards fame and fortune.