The porn star at the center of Donald Trump’s criminal case has earned far more after her secret hush-money deal slipped out, although it’s not as much as the former president’s lawyers suggested.
By Zach Everson, Forbes Staff
Donald Trump would not be facing 34 criminal counts in New York if not for an adult-film actress named Stormy Daniels, who claims she had sex with the real-estate mogul. Trump denies the allegation, and his lawyers are working to undermine Daniels’ credibility in his ongoing trial, painting her as an opportunist. “That story has made you a lot of money, right?” one of Trump’s attorneys asked Daniels on May 7.
“It has also cost me a lot of money,” Daniels replied.
Indeed, the story has led to quite a saga, complete with massive swings in Daniels’ finances. There was the initial payoff, then the fame, the strip-club tour, the lawsuits, books, theft and more lawsuits. It’s difficult to get a precise figure for how much Daniels has made off the scandal, but Forbes put together a ballpark tally, excluding tax payments and lots of legal expenses.
The conclusion: Daniels likely bolstered her earnings by several hundred thousand dollars. A nice sum, but a long way from the “millions of dollars” Trump’s attorney suggested Daniels made.
Part I: Selling the Story
+Roughly $100,000
Ballpark tally: $100,000
The alleged incident happened in 2006, in a Nevada hotel. Five years later, Daniels told her story to In Touch, expecting to receive $15,000 when the article ran. But it never did. Daniels testified that she heard Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, threatened to sue the magazine.
In 2016, with Trump running for president, Daniels had another chance to cash in. Trump, using Cohen as a middleman, bought her silence for $130,000. After paying an attorney and publicist, she walked away with $96,000.
There could have been a bit more, too. Daniels sued her attorney, Keith Davidson, for allegedly breaching his fiduciary duty and Cohen, for aiding and abetting the attorney. Daniels dropped the Davidson case but reached an undisclosed settlement with Cohen in May 2019, according to the Los Angeles Times. Daniels declined to answer most of Forbes questions, stating she’s not doing interviews until after Trump’s trial concludes.
Part II: Fame Is Fortune
+Roughly $20,000
Ballpark tally: +$120,000
The Wall Street Journal broke news of the payoff in 2018, making Stormy Daniels a household name. Despite the hush-money deal, she sensed a chance to capitalize. “She wanted to talk about her life and reinvigorate her career,” Davidson testified on May 2.
Attention led to opportunities. Daniels signed a more-lucrative deal to direct and perform in adult films. She embarked on a “Make America Horny Again” tour of the nation’s strip clubs, with appearance fees reportedly doubling and bookings tripling. Industry experts told Forbes at the time that the scandal would likely double Daniels’ annual income, estimated to previously be in the low six figures.
Michael Avenatti, her attorney back then, said at the time that the extra publicity added less than $20,000 to her net income, with higher earnings offset by more expensive security costs.
Daniels also hawks merchandise tied to the encounter, such as Stormy Saint of Indictments candles ($40) and “Stormy 202Whore” t-shirts ($25).
Fame, of course, can come with a cost. In addition to the security expenses, Daniels testified that the newfound attention led her to hire tutors for her daughter and move to a safer place to live.
Part III: Courtroom Costs
-$560,000
Ballpark tally: -$440,000
In March 2018, Daniels sued Trump and Cohen for defamation while attempting to get out of her nondisclosure agreement. She later dropped the defamation claim. Trump and Cohen agreed not to enforce their agreement, and the judge ordered them to pay her legal fees of $44,000. Trump appealed, lost again and was ordered to cover an additional $54,000 of legal expenses. Neither Daniels nor her attorneys have seen the money, though.
In April 2018, Avenatti released a sketch of a man who allegedly had threatened Daniels in a Las Vegas parking lot. Trump tweeted that the drawing was “a total con job.” Avenatti sued for defamation on behalf of Daniels, who testified on May 7 that she did not want to file the case. “It just seemed really risky,” she said.
It was. A judge tossed the suit and ordered Daniels to pay Trump’s legal fees of $293,000. She appealed twice, lost both times and ended up on the hook for $660,000 of Trump’s legal fees. “I will go to jail before I pay a penny,” she tweeted in March 2022, a statement she stood by on the stand last week. Trump is currently suing in Florida to recoup the money.
Part IV: Media Money
Roughly +$980,000
Ballpark tally: $540,000
Around April 2018, Daniels signed a book deal with St. Martin’s Press that included an $800,000 advance. Her agent took the standard 15%, but Avenatti stole about $300,000. He had only repaid half by the time he was indicted in May 2019 on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was convicted, sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay Daniels $149,000 of restitution. He’s in jail through 2035, though, and is on the hook for $11 million in restitution to other victims, so it may be a while before Daniels gets her money.
“I haven’t received anything from Avenatti,” Daniels told Forbes. “And he stole even more from me than what was covered in the book trial.”
Daniels also sued her literary agent, Lucas Janklow, in 2022 for allegedly failing to pay her $175,000. Daniels sought an additional $150,000 for punitive damages and emotional distress. She dropped her suit in October 2023, though, and any settlement terms were not made public.
In 2018, Daniels sold the rights to her book and other materials for $125,000 to the creators of a documentary named Stormy, which is currently available on Peacock. Daniels testified Tuesday that she only received $100,000 and does not expect to get the rest. She’s also been selling tickets to viewing parties at bars, but she testified on Thursday that the proceeds just cover her travel, security and other expenses.
Daniels claims Trump promised her a part in The Celebrity Apprentice, which she never got, but she did star in a 2022 season of The Surreal Life, a reality show on VH1 that gets eight celebrities to live together. The gig paid her $200,000, she testified on Thursday. While she had made appearances in mainstream media before her alleged affair became public, such as in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, it seems unlikely she would have commanded a fee that high without the fame she picked up in connection with Trump.
Part V: Police Payout
+$450,000
Ballpark tally: $990,000
Daniels took to the courts again in January 2019, accusing members of the Columbus, Ohio police department of violating her civil rights the previous year when they set up a sting to bust her for allegedly violating a state law banning strippers from touching patrons. The city approved a $450,000 settlement with Daniels in November 2019.
Does Daniels think it was all worth it? She didn’t sound like she did on the stand, when she pined for the days when fewer people knew her name. “I was writing and directing very successful films,” she said. “I wrote and directed one of the most expensive adult movies ever.”
“My horse that I purchased in Ireland was ranked eighth in the country,” she added. “That was a dream of mine. My daughter was a straight-A student. I owned a house in Texas with really wonderful friends. My neighbors in my neighborhood, they had no idea that they lived next door to Stormy Daniels. They just knew that they lived next to—I won’t say my daughter’s name—mom. And it was really good, actually.”
