As Ever Sales Estimate Sparks Shocking Claims Over Sussex Living Costs

A fresh set of numbers has put Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s money back under the microscope, and the comparison at the heart of it is the reason this story is spreading so fast. A new financial analysis, first reported by news.com.au and covered widely since, estimates that the yearly sales of Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever may be far smaller than the reported cost of the couple’s life in California. The As Ever sales estimate has now collided head-on with claims about the Sussexes’ yearly bills, and the gap between the two numbers is what has everyone talking about whether their standard of living is taking a hit.

According to the analysis, As Ever’s potential annual sales are estimated at between $1.1 million and $1.9 million. Some coverage of the same analysis puts the likely figure at around $1.7 million a year. That is the money the brand is estimated to take in from selling its fruit spreads, honey, teas, candles and seasonal collections, the products Meghan has been building the business on since its launch in 2025.

On the other side of the ledger, the same coverage estimates that Harry and Meghan’s annual expenses could reach approximately $4 million to $6 million a year. Those reported costs are said to include private security, household staff, property-related bills for their Montecito home, travel and the other commitments that come with the couple’s life and work. Put the two estimates side by side, and the headline writes itself: the brand’s estimated sales would cover only part of the couple’s estimated yearly spending.

But this is exactly the point where the story needs a calm head, because both of those numbers are estimates. Neither figure comes from the couple, and neither figure comes from As Ever. The brand is a private business and, as has been pointed out many times before, it does not disclose any financial information at all. That means every number attached to it, whether it sounds big or small, is outside guesswork built on online shopping data and assumptions.

There is another basic point that often gets lost when these stories travel. Sales are not profit, and profit is not personal income. Even if the top estimate of $1.9 million in annual sales turned out to be accurate, that money would be revenue before the costs of making the products, packaging them, shipping them, staffing the business and marketing it are taken out. It would be misleading to say Meghan personally earns $1.9 million a year from As Ever, just as it would be misleading to treat the spending estimate as a confirmed list of the couple’s real bills.

The new analysis is not the first time the couple’s cash flow has been questioned in print. Back in May, an unnamed insider was quoted claiming that Harry and Meghan were “watching every dollar” and that “their cash flow, or lack of it, is a major concern.” That claim, reported at the time via Star Magazine, was never confirmed by the couple, it did not specifically refer to As Ever, and the pair’s private financial records are not public. It is context for why money stories about the Sussexes travel so fast, but it is not proof of anything.

The picture gets even murkier because the estimates do not all point in the same direction. Earlier this year, a glitch on the As Ever website sparked calculations suggesting that more than 862,000 boxes of fruit spread had been purchased, which some worked out could represent tens of millions in sales. A source close to the business defended that reading at the time, saying it did not take a genius to work out that 87 per cent of what had been ordered had been sold. Those calculations rested on assumptions about stock levels and were never independently verified as real revenue, which shows how the same brand can be painted as struggling in one report and booming in another.

People defending the business have made that exact point. A source speaking in response to earlier market-intelligence reporting said plainly: “As Ever does not disclose any (financial) information so NONE of this can be based in fact.” That remark was about earlier figures, not this week’s analysis, but it describes the problem at the centre of every one of these stories. Without official sales or profit figures, nobody outside the business actually knows what it earns.

It is also worth remembering that As Ever is only one stream of income in the Sussex household. Since stepping back from royal duties, Harry and Meghan have pursued several commercial and charitable projects and partnerships, and the financial terms of most of those arrangements have never been disclosed. Comparing one brand’s estimated sales with the household’s estimated total costs therefore cannot, on its own, establish that the couple cannot afford their lifestyle, however dramatic the comparison looks in a headline.

What is not in doubt is that the business keeps moving. As Ever has expanded well beyond its original fruit spreads into honey, tea, candles and seasonal ranges, and its holiday collection has just launched its second chapter this week. Meghan has also spoken about ambitions to reach customers outside the United States. Only recently, a separate podcast discussion about the brand’s estimated daily takings caused a similar stir, which shows how regularly new numbers appear, and how each one arrives with the same warning attached: estimated, not confirmed.

So has the couple’s standard of living really taken a hit? On the evidence available, that is a claim, not a fact. The honest summary is narrower and less dramatic: a new As Ever sales estimate has renewed questions about how much the brand contributes to a household with reportedly large running costs, while the couple’s actual finances remain private and unproven either way. Until real figures exist, and private companies are under no obligation to publish them, every fresh number will say as much about the guessing game around Meghan’s business as it does about the business itself.

Key Takeaways

• A new analysis estimates As Ever’s annual sales at $1.1 million to $1.9 million, with the likely figure put at around $1.7 million.
• The same coverage estimates Harry and Meghan’s yearly expenses at roughly $4 million to $6 million, including security, staff, property and travel.
• Sales are not profit and not personal income, and neither estimate has been confirmed by the couple or the brand.
• As Ever publishes no financial information, and conflicting glitch-based claims have previously suggested far bigger sales, so the true figures remain unknown.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much does As Ever make in a year?
A: Nobody outside the business knows. A new financial analysis estimates annual sales of between $1.1 million and $1.9 million, but As Ever has never confirmed any sales or profit figure.

Q: Do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle really spend $6 million a year?
A: That figure is an estimate reported in the same coverage, given as a range of about $4 million to $6 million for security, staffing, property and travel. It is not a confirmed statement of their actual bills.

Q: Are Harry and Meghan in financial trouble?
A: There is no verified evidence that they are. An unnamed insider previously described their cash flow as a “major concern”, but the couple have never confirmed any financial difficulty, and the new estimates alone do not prove one.

Q: Why do the figures for Meghan’s business keep changing?
A: Because As Ever is a private company that discloses no financial information, every published number, from podcast estimates to website-glitch calculations to analyst ranges, is outside guesswork rather than an official result.