Characters on Grey’s Anatomy are financially secure, focusing on their personal and professional struggles without money worries.
Surgeons like Bailey and Cristina accumulate wealth through various sources like hospital shares and inventions beyond their salaries.
Top surgeons like Derek and Cristina earn well over a million dollars annually, with some owning hospitals or inheriting millions.
Characters on the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy remain relatable, but thanks to things like Derek Shepherd’s salary, these characters never have to worry about their financial situations. These characters are often flawed, and their lives are messy, but they don’t have the money worries that regular people have in their everyday lives. These are surgeons who are, almost without exception, great at what they do, and their income is generated not only from their work as physicians.
The Grey’s Anatomy characters also make money from various other sources, such as the foundations they run or the shares they own at the hospital. While some of Grey’s Anatomy’s very best characters, such as Maggie Pierce or Owen Hunt, have not been shown to have their fingers in too many pies and probably rely solely on their salaries, others like Miranda Bailey and Cristina Yang accumulated a large amount of money alongside the various hats they wear in their authoritative roles as surgeons.
Grey’s Anatomy image with medical anatomy pic
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10 Richard Webber
$522,073-$596,909 A Year
James Pickens Jr. As Richard Webber In Grey’s Anatomy.jpg
Overrated to some and underrated to others, Richard Webber is a respected member of the medical fraternity and was Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace/Seattle Grace-Mercy West for many years before stepping down. He is an original cast member, debuting in the first episode of Grey’s Anatomy and had worked at the hospital for 12 years at that point. He gave up his position in season 8 to protect Meredith Grey, returning to general surgery, before mentoring the residents in later seasons.
As a surgeon in Seattle, Richard pulls in a respectable annual salary that falls somewhere between $522,073 and $596,909 (via Salary.com). Given his seniority and the many positions of authority he had held during his hay days, one is inclined to believe he would be one of the top-earning surgeons in Seattle. As for his level of wealth, as the Chief of Surgery (between $366,603 and $726,414) for 12 years, if he saved his money properly, Richard is likely a millionaire depending on his spending habits.
9 Owen Hunt
$537,574-$614,824 A Year
An image of Owen about to go into surgery in Grey’s Anatotmy
Owen Hunt joined the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital in season 5 after serving as a U.S. Army trauma surgeon who served in Iraq. He got the job as the head of trauma surgery and eventually became the Chief of Surgery at the hospital during his time there. This means that he is one of the highest-paid staff members at the hospital. As the Chief of Surgery, Owen would make a salary between $366,603 and $726,414 (via Salary.com).
Even before his stint as the Chief of Surgery, he was making great money as a top trauma surgeon in Seattle, earning upwards of $500,000, with average salaries somewhere between $537,574 and $614,824. He has never been shown to lead a very extravagant life, though, at first living in the firehouse with Cristina and then buying Derek’s trailer that had changed hands several times throughout the years. Because of this, there is no reason not to think that he is a millionaire, especially if he invested his money well.
8 Maggie Pierce
$661,684-$783,524 A Year
Meredith’s half-sister Maggie on Grey’s Anatomy.
Maggie Pierce started her job at the hospital when she arrived as Meredith’s half-sister, the daughter of Richard Webber and Ellis Grey. She was a prodigy, graduating from medical school at 19 and becoming head of her department when she was 27. When she first appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, she was a bit irritating and bewildered but quickly grew into a fan favorite until Maggie finally left the series after season 19. Maggie is clearly an overachiever, the youngest Co-Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the country.
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Maggie makes up with sheer talent what she lacks in years, and while at the hospital, she makes something in the neighborhood of $661,684-783,524 annually as a Surgeon – Cardiothoracic in Seattle. However, she was yet to catch up financially with many of the others who are senior surgeons and veterans in their respective fields. Maggie was financially well off enough that she was able to quit her job and move to Chicago to work on her research with no worries.
7 Atticus Lincoln
$704,554-$850.191 A Year
Link working on Grey’s Anatomy.
The departure of fan-favorite Callie Torres saw the entrance of “Ortho God” Atticus Lincoln. Link, as his friends call him, worked with the Seattle Mariners before joining Grey Sloan Memorial as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery. Link most likely makes a pretty massive amount, upwards of $700,000, possibly somewhere between $704,554 and $850.191 as an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle (via Salary.com).
The season 17 finale demonstrated that he didn’t mind splurging when it came to things that mattered to him; he had purchased four different types of engagement rings for Amelia, not knowing which she would be most likely to choose, which was one of several nonsensical moments in Link and Amelia’s slightly odd relationship on Grey’s Anatomy. There is a chance he has a lot of money because of his time working for an MLB baseball team, so he is likely set up well, unless he spends a lot of money regularly, like he did with Amelia.
6 Amelia Shepherd
$862,401 A Year
Amelia looking at her own brain tumor on Grey’s Anatomy.
Amelia Shepherd is a neurosurgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial, and she, like her brother Derek, has dabbled in some rather curious cases. Although she lacks the years of experience her brother had in the field, she is extremely good at what she does, having been mentored by the brilliant Tom Koracick. She first appeared in the franchise in season 3 of Private Practice before moving over as a regular cast member on Grey’s Anatomy in season 11. She remains on staff and is one of the top surgeons in the hospital.
As a neurosurgeon, Amelia would be making upwards of $862,401 a year (via Salary.com). Unlike her brother, who likely made about a million dollars a year, she still has a few years and a few more scary surgeries to go before she can quite match up to his pay grade. Still, Amelia has endured enough heartbreak throughout Grey’s Anatomy to measure up to any other character. She is also likely a millionaire if she saves her money and doesn’t spend it too extravagantly.
5 Meredith Grey
Meredith looking unimpressed
Constantly improving throughout the Grey’s Anatomy series, Meredith Grey is a Harper Avery winner, one of the top general surgeons in the country, and eventually the Chief of General Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. In later seasons, she added another feather to her cap, as she became the Director of the Surgical Residency Program. Given her tremendous credentials, Meredith was within the top-earning percentile of surgeons in Seattle.
Maggie Meredith and Amelia laughing and Derek standing with his hand on Meredith’s shoulder Grey’s Anatomy featured image
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Her salary would be somewhere around $658,581 per year (via Salary.com). On top of that, she owns a share in the hospital, thus making her one of its owners. The full returns from her own shares, along with those that her late husband would have drawn that would most probably be drawn by her at the moment, would bring her annual earnings and entire wealth to over a million a year. This allowed her to leave her position and work in Boston at the Fox Foundation to research Alzheimer’s disease.
4 Cristina Yang
$1 Million Plus A Year
Cristina Yang on a hospital ward in Grey’s Anatomy
The brilliant Cristina Yang is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Klausman Institute of Medical Research in Switzerland. Yang belongs to the créme-de-la-créme of surgeons, among the best in the world. She is also a much sought-after cardiothoracic surgeon, with a long career at Grey Sloan Memorial and a brief stint at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. As a surgeon, Cristina would be amassing upwards of 553000 CHF, approximately around $600,000 in American dollars.
Add to that her coveted position at a prestigious research institute known for world-class innovation, and she would be hovering right around the million-dollar mark. Cristina left her job in Seattle at the end of season 10 and went to Switzerland for her new opportunity. It worked out very well because she not only worked with the best of the best there, but she actually owns a research hospital in Switzerland, making her one of the wealthiest people to ever appear on Grey’s Anatomy.
3 Derek Shepherd
$2 Million Plus A Year
Derek Shepherd in Greys Anatomy.
Derek Shepherd is one of the original cast members on Grey’s Anatomy, and while most of the main cast were interns, Derek was the new Head of Neurosurgery, moving to Seattle from New York City to take over the job. He was easily one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, and patients consulted him from far and wide with the most difficult of cases. Shepherd was known for being a risk-taker and treating cases most neurosurgeons wouldn’t touch. Given his fame, the White House contacted him to be on a prestigious panel that was mapping the human brain.
Richard Webber had mentioned that Derek’s hands made the hospital at least two million a year, so it is easy to believe that Derek was easily making over $1 million in salary, likely as high as about $1,027,101 a year (via Salary.com). Also, like Meredith, Derek was part owner of the hospital, and the shares from that would bring his total annual income to well over $2 million a year.
2 Miranda Bailey
$663,666 To $797,922 Plus Her Invention Money
Miranda Bailey smiling in Grey’s Anatomy
Miranda Bailey was making around $596,909 a year, if not more, as a general surgeon. However, she is currently Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial and likely makes a massive compensation of $663,666 to $797,922 for that job (via Salary.com). Bailey had been Chief of General Surgery for several years before finally accomplishing the extraordinary feat of becoming the first female Chief of the hospital.
Arizona, Bailey, and Cristina wearing white doctor coats at the hospital Grey’s Anatomy featured image
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She definitely enjoys a much higher pay package than her husband, Ben Warren, who is a firefighter with Station 19. Her wealth comes not just from what she makes at her workplace, though. Miranda also made a lot of money thanks to a device she created for the Grey Sloan Surgical Innovation Contest. This was the Trail Blazer, a Rectal Access Port for hydro colonoscopy. Miranda sold her invention to a sex toy company for a massive sum of money, which likely made her a millionaire on top of her surgical income.
1 Jackson Avery
$250 million In Inheritance
Avery looking serious in Greys Anatomy
Plastic surgeons are known to make a lot of money, and Jackson Avery is among the top tier in that field. He specializes as a plastic surgeon and an ENT, and his yearly income from his two specialties would be over a million. However, that is far from all. Jackson comes from a hugely affluent family. He had been left a staggering $250 million after the passing of his grandfather, Harper Avery.
He gave much of it away, although one assumes he wouldn’t have been left broke even if he gave away a lot. In season 17, Grey’s Anatomy said goodbye to this beloved character, and he now runs the Catherine Fox Foundation in Boston. As the top man at a top charitable foundation, he would still be drawing something around another $900,000 (via Cause IQ). His entire wealth, from his inheritance to his money as a surgeon and charity CEO, would make him one of the wealthiest young surgeons in the country.