Candace Nelson Net Worth 2024: How Rich is the Pastry Chef?

Candace Nelson is an American pastry chef, serial entrepreneur, and author. She is the co-founder of the world’s first cupcake bakery, Sprinkles. Nelson has been the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author and also appeared as a Shark Tank guest shark. As of 2024, Candace Nelson net worth is estimated to be around $15 million.

Early Life

Candace Nelson was born in May 1974 in Jakarta, Indonesia. She has not unveiled enough details about her parents. Her grandmother, originally from France owned a restaurant in San Francisco. Candace was famous for the desserts that she served in the restaurant. Regarding her education, she studied at Groton School, Wesleyan University. Later, she joined the Professional Pastry Program run by Tante Marie in San Francisco.

Candace Nelson Net Worth & Career

 

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Nelson initially worked as an investment banker. Then, she shifted her focus to making pastries after the dot-com bubble effect during the 1990s. Nelson eventually started a custom cake business in San Francisco. She used to make and run her business from her home.

Later, she and her husband, Charles, shifted their business in Los Angeles by taking over an old-fashioned sandwich shop. At that time, she used to make only cupcakes. In April 2005, Candace and Charles started the world’s first cupcake bakery named Sprinkles Cupcakes.

The pair ran the bakery business in a 600-square-foot shop based in Beverly Hills. Interestingly, they were able to sell 2,000 cupcakes in the first week. Her classic cupcake includes the finest quality ingredients such as Callebaut chocolate, sweet cream butter, and pure Bourbon vanilla.

Nelson also made cupcakes for dogs, and surprised people by making offbeat offerings such as gluten-free, and vegan cupcakes. As of now, the Nelsons operate their cupcake business in 22 locations throughout the U. S. They are also planning to expand their business in big cities like Tokyo and London. In 2007, Candace came up with a new line of cupcake mixes. Alongside her store, the new cupcake mix was sold in the William Sonoma stores in Canada and the U.S.

Sprinkles has been receiving amazing feedback from people. Many renowned celebrities including Tom Cruise, Serena Williams, Kati Holmes, Oprah Winfrey, and Ryan Seacrest are fans of Sprinkles. After running Sprinkles for nearly a decade, Nelsons sold the majority of the stakes to a private equity group.

Candace came into the limelight after she appeared as a judge on the reality competition series, Cupcake Wars. Then, in 2018, she appeared as a judge on Netflix’s reality series, Sugar Rush. She was also the executive producer of the reality series. In addition to that, she has been a judge on the Food Network TV show, Throwdown.

After that, she co-created and became an executive producer of the pizza cooking competition Best in Dough. In January 2024, Nelson appeared as the guest speaker on the Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series at Stephen F. Austin State University. The lecture series was created to honor A. Nelson Rusche in 2016.

Rusche provided scholarships to students and endowed the University with a $5 million gift. Nelson’s first book, The Sprinkles Baking Book was listed as a New York Times bestseller. In November 2022, her book titled Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe for Turning Your Passing Into Profit hit Number 4 on the list of the Wall Street Journal.

Personal Life

Candace Nelson is married to Charles, who worked as an investment banker in the 1990s. Charles is originally from Oklahoma and started working as a corporate finance after he graduated from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.  They initially started as a good friend, and later the pair got into a romantic relationship. The pair eventually tied the knot on a picturesque ranch in 2001.

From the beginning, Charles has been an equivalent partner in Candace’s cupcake business. In fact, both founded and embarked on a joint business venture, Sprinkles Cupcakes. Charles and Candace share two sons and a Norwegian Terrier dog, Willy.

Candace Nelson Net Worth

As of 2024, Candace Nelson’s total net worth is estimated to be around $15 million. In 2014, Candace and Charles sold the majority of the shares for Sprinkles Cupcakes. It was a hard decision for both of them, but, they continued exploring various business ventures. The Nelsons eventually cemented their status as a successful, dynamic, entrepreneurial couple. Their collaborative ventures include Willy California, CN2 Ventures, and Pizzana.