They live a life of privilege, they’re fabulously wealthy, but they’re also very close. The Bridgerton siblings are in Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) circle and they can afford long days of leisure and long nights at extravagent balls — but how rich are they, really? While their exact net worth is a mystery, one definitely doesn’t need Lady Whistledown to parse out the truth. The show doesn’t explain how much the estate is worth — but we do learn how much minor characters make, and from there we can calculate our way up to an actual total of dollars and cents that make sense to modern day eyes.
But there are many more pertinent questions that need to be asked first. Who are these dazzling siblings of the ton? Were they based on a real clan of society elites? And how much are they and their family worth in modern terms? Prepare your mallets and clear out the greenhouse; the answers may surprise you.
Who are the Bridgerton family in the show?
The Bridgertons are a large family of aristocratic siblings. The eldest sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) is the ninth viscount in the Bridgerton line — their mother, Violet (Ruth Gemmell) is the dowager Viscountess Bridgerton. Their father, Edmund passed away from a bee sting years earlier, so Anthony feels responsible for the rest of the family’s wellbeing.
The other Bridgertons are roguish bisexual artist Benedict (Luke Thompson); world-travelling journeyman writer Colin (Luke Newton); the romantic Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor); Eloise (Claudia Jessie) — blessed with a sharp tongue and planning on spinsterhood; sweet Francesca (Hannah Dodd), who may have a controversial future ahead of her; prankish Gregory (Will Tilston); and baby of the family, Hyacinth (Florence Hunt). The family generally lives in their ancestral seat, Aubrey Hall, when not in London, though by Season 3, Daphne and Francesca now break bread with their husband’s people; Daphne is the Duchess of Hastings and Francesca the Countess of Kilmartin.
Anthony has married Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Colin his close friend Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). Daphne is married to Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page, who left the show after Season 2 and might have to cope with his role being recast) and Francesca to John Stirling (Victor Alli). Flash-forwards show that Simon and Daphne and Colin and Penelope become parents, while Kate is pregnant onscreen as of Season 3.
Are the Bridgertons based on real people?
While their story might resemble the lives of nobles of the period, the Bridgertons were not real siblings living during the regency. They are fictional characters created by author Julia Quinn, whose series of romance novels chronicle each sibling’s courtship, engagement and marriage.
There have, however, been real-life families like theirs. The blog Find My Past notes a real family of nine siblings called the Bridgeman clan. They saw scandal (one son apparently lived with a mistress for some time) and both happy marriages and sad endings (two daughters died thanks to the effects of a tragic fire accident, which happened with frequency in the Regency era). Descendants of the Bridgemans lived into the 1900s, and one can assume that the many Bridgertons will produce children who will have descendants that shall live far into the program’s distant future.
How much money did the Bridgertons have and would they be rich today?
The Bridgerton family is born into aristocracy and wealth — Anthony is a conservative, contentious an careful manager of the family’s assets and property, which means whatever wealth his father has accrued has likely increased with interest over time. The series never directly says how much they’re worth, but between the world travel, fancy balls, and pretty clothing, no way on earth are they floating anywhere below the top one percent of earners. That would make them modern-day millionaires, perhaps even billionaires, with inflation calculated in. The book series describes even the youngest sons in the family — none of whom will inherit titles like Anthony — as being obscenely wealthy, pulling in as much as an earl. So they’d be considered just as rich in the modern world.
Penelope alone — thank to Lady Whistledown — is a self-made millionaire by modern means. We’re told during Season 3 she’s made less than £20,000 but more than £10,000, which would translate into the millions in modern terms. So they’re quite rich — but also kind, loyal, interested in the world around them, and generous, all of which is much more important.
