Ina Garten Says Husband Jeffrey ‘Would Have Been a Great Parent’ but ‘He Wanted Me to Be Happy’ (2024)

FAQs

What ethnicity is Jeffrey Garten? ›

Garten was born to a Jewish family. He is the son of Ruth (née Engelman) and Melvin Garten. His father fought in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam; and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1953 for his heroism in Korea's Battle of Pork Chop Hill.

Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, Garten was one of two children born to Charles H. Rosenberg, a surgeon specializing in otolaryngology, and his wife, Florence (née Rich), a dietitian.

Ina husband, Jeffrey, is also a financial powerhouse. According to Celebritynetworth.com, Jeffrey is worth $100 million, mostly thanks to his former jobs as managing director of Lehman Brothers and Blackstone Group.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ina Garten's net worth in 2024 is estimated at $60 million. When combined with that of her husband Jeffrey, that amount is estimated at a whopping $120 million.

Ina and Jeffrey Garten have been married for over 50 years, having tied the knot in 1968. Throughout their marriage, the couple have lived in many places together including Paris, Washington, D.C., Manhattan and East Hampton, New York.

Garten is Jewish by birth and heritage, as is her husband, but rarely refers to her religion and ethnicity, though they are showcased through the inclusion of classic Jewish cooking in her television show and cookbooks, when she makes such dishes as rugelach, challah, and brisket.

The one meal Ina simply couldn't live without is roast chicken. She even cites it as one of the reasons her husband, Jeffrey, proposed marriage in 1968.

In a new interview for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast, Wiser Than Me, Garten admitted that it "wasn't a struggle at all" to decide against having children. "I had no interest in having children," she told Louis-Dreyfus. "I had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate.

Ina Garten once worked in the White House and worked her way up, which eventually put her in charge of writing the nuclear budget for the United States. She also managed to earn her MBA from George Washington University at the same time. Despite her success, she decided she wanted a different life.

Several years ago, Garten built a second kitchen in a barn on her property so she could have somewhere to film episodes of Barefoot Contessa (she told Oprah Daily all about it in 2021). But Garten's home kitchen, where she still cooks meals for friends and family, has remained untouched for 25 years—at least until now.

How much does Ina Garten's house cost? ›

Garten and her husband Jeffrey paid $4.65 million for the stunning home, located at the corner of Park Avenue and 62nd Street in Manhattan.

Currently, Jeffrey serves as the Dean Emeritus at the Yale School of Management and teaches courses on the global economy. According to his faculty page, prior to joining Yale, he worked for multiple White House administrations, served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and was a managing director on Wall Street.

Alan Wong takes the top spot as the world's wealthiest chef by a long shot, with a jaw-dropping estimated net worth of $1.1 billion (£870m). Wong is best known as the co-founder of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, a company set up to showcase Hawaii's locally grown ingredients and diverse culinary styles.

Her fame may be relatively quiet — she doesn't have a line of cookware, there isn't a namesake restaurant — but make no mistake: Ina Garten is a powerhouse celeb chef. Fans know her story well: From a White House budget analyst to specialty food-store owner, her path to stardom has been slow and steady.

Ms. Garten, 72, has published 12 cookbooks in 18 years, produced 18 seasons of her show on Food Network, and steadily built up a following that puts her among the most popular culinary figures of the last two decades. Her official fan club's page on Facebook is not a group that just anyone can join.

For over 20 years, Ina Garten has shared her comforting and foolproof recipes with the world through her beloved cookbooks and "Barefoot Contessa" show. But before becoming a Food Network star, Garten wrote budgets at the White House and ran a Hamptons grocery store.

She says it's just in her DNA. The rest is history: She didn't attend cooking school or learn from a grandmother, but she picked up skills out of necessity while running her specialty food store, Barefoot Contessa.