What is Diana Jenkins' net worth? RHOBH's richest housewife once did menial jobs to survive
Despite all the drama and scandals featured on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills', when fans think of the Bravo show, they immediately think of the lavish and extravagant lifestyle that all of the Beverly Hills housewives enjoy. From being born with a silver spoon (a la Sutton Stracke) to working their way to the top (like Garcelle Beauvais), all the ladies featured on the hit reality show have their own unique stories of how they managed to amass their massive fortune.
As Sanela Diana Jenkins is all set to make her big debut as the new housewife on Season 12 of 'RHOBH', fans are already beginning to speculate about her story. One glance at her social media accounts and it's clear as day that Diana loves the finer things in life. So how does she afford it all? Her $300 million net worth definitely allows Diana to enjoy the lifestyle that most of the world's population can only dream of. Though her hefty bank balance makes this newbie the richest Beverly Hills housewife, things weren't always this peachy for Diana. Read on to know all about her inspiring rags to riches story.
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Born Sanela Dijana Catic to middle-class Muslim parents in Bosnia, Diana enjoyed a simple life living with her parents and her bother. But when the ethnic war between Serbia and Bosnia broke out, a young Diana was forced to flee the country alone. In an interview with DailyMail, she shared, "We had no food and no electricity. My dad and my brother couldn’t get out and my mother wouldn’t leave without them. My dad was begging me to run for my life because I was a girl. War was raging and I was escaping through barricades, walking, buses, whatever I could find. I made it to Croatia and once I was there there were Bosnian refugees everywhere. I was living off charity, off any help I could get. Every day it seemed I would hear my friend had died, my uncle was dead, my first cousin was dead. I would just hear of people dying all the time. Then I lost contact with my parents. I was dead inside."
In 1993, Diana moved to London. Though she held a degree in economics and social engineering from the University of Sarajevo, it didn't help her much because she couldn't speak English. As a refugee from a war-torn country with barely any money to her name, Diana had no choice but to work for her survival. So she took up several menial jobs to support herself. "I was in Brixton but I went around looking for jobs everywhere. I was cleaning, I was selling jewelry, I was a sales assistant, I was working in restaurants. I did anything really just to survive and to work. I had a degree in Sarajevo but that was useless in London so I had to start all over again. But I was optimistic. I wanted to work hard. I wanted to get my parents and my brother out," she told the news outlet.
Her dream of helping her parents and brother pushed her to enroll herself at City University. She worked really hard and saved up every penny to earn her computer science degree. In 1995, when she learned of her brother's death in Bosnia, her world turned upside down. She was so affected by the painful loss that she didn't want to "exist anymore". So she changed her name to Sanela Diana.
While she was still grieving the loss of her brother, she stumbled upon Barclays banker Roger Jenkins. The banker was totally smitten with Diana and the couple got married in 1999. They went on to have two children together before divorcing in 2011. The couple had a very amicable divorce which has been described as the "happiest divorce ever" by DailyMail. At the time of their divorce, Roger was one of the wealthiest persons in Britain with a net worth of $500 million. As part of their divorce settlement, he gave half of it to Diana, making her one of the richest women in Britain with a net worth of $150 million. In an interview, Roger said, "Will she (Diana) take half my money? Of course. And quite rightly so. Without her, I would not have anything like the success I have had."
Following her divorce, Diana moved to America and got heavily involved in several philanthropic initiatives using her hefty divorce settlement money. She also bought a 3-acre clifftop property in Malibu, and launched her own health drinks brand called Neuro Drinks. In 2021, she sold her Malibu home for a whopping $100 million to WhatsApp founder Jan Koum. Her drinks company clubbed with the massive property sale income, Diana's net worth skyrocketed to a whopping $300 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. Diana's net worth will only continue to see an upward trajectory as she's all set to join the cast of 'RHOBH'.
'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Season 12 airs every Wednesday at 8/7c on Bravo.