Sonia Gardner Net Worth

Sonia Gardner has an estimated net worth of $410 million, according to Forbes America's Richest Self-Made Women 2025, Sonia Gardner profile (figures as of Forbes America's Richest Self-Made Women 2025). That is up from $320 million in 2017.

Sonia Gardner is an American businesswoman and hedge fund manager best known as the cofounder and president of Avenue Capital Group. She started out as an attorney in the bankruptcy and corporate reorganization group at Cowen and Company. That work put her close to distressed companies and debt markets early in her career. Over time, she built a name in finance by focusing on investing and firm building with her brother, Marc Lasry.

Her path to wealth came through a series of finance ventures. In 1989, she and Marc Lasry founded the debt brokerage firm Amroc Investments. In 1990, they began another debt brokerage business, where she served as senior portfolio manager. In 1995, they formed Avenue Capital Group. Forbes says her net worth is $410 million in 2025. The firm manages more than $12 billion in assets and has offices in New York, Europe, and Asia.

How Sonia Gardner built her fortune

Gardner made her money in finance and investments. Her early legal work at Cowen and Company focused on bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, a useful base for later investing in distressed debt and related areas. She then moved from legal work into building firms. The first big step came in 1989 with Amroc Investments, followed by another debt brokerage business in 1990. Those ventures helped set up the larger company that followed.

The biggest source of her wealth is Avenue Capital Group, the private equity firm she cofounded in 1995 and leads as president. She has run it with Marc Lasry for decades. Forbes notes that Avenue Capital manages more than $12 billion in assets. The company is based in New York and also operates in Europe and Asia. Alongside her finance career, she has also served as a United Nations Capital Development Fund goodwill ambassador for gender equality in access to finance.

Forbes net worth trend

Forbes began listing Gardner among America's Richest Self-Made Women at $320 million in 2017. Its estimate later moved to $310 million in 2019, then rose to $330 million in 2020, $370 million in 2021, and $380 million in 2022. Those changes tracked her long-standing role in finance and investments, with Avenue Capital remaining the core business behind her wealth.

The estimate kept moving in recent years. Forbes put her at $420 million in 2023, then $390 million in 2024. In its latest published ranking for 2025, Forbes estimates her net worth at $410 million. The available details point back to the same main engine: her leadership stake in Avenue Capital, a firm with more than $12 billion under management and an international office footprint.