Editing Sarah, Duchess of York (section)

===Debt problems===
In the mid-1990s, Sarah reportedly had a £4.2&nbsp;million deficit in her bank account which she paid off by going on "a four-year earning spree" in the United States.<ref name="settlement" /><ref name="divorced" />

In 2006, Sarah used the money she had earned from her career as a film producer and writer to found Hartmoor LLC in the US.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dorning|first=Ann-Marie|date=30 September 2009|title=Sarah Ferguson: Indebted Duchess Comes Clean|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/sarah-ferguson-duchess-debt/story?id=8925887|access-date=6 December 2020|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> A lifestyle company, it was set to help with her "career in publishing, media and public speaking".<ref name="Telegraph-debts">{{Cite web|last1=Mendick|first1=Robert|last2=Doran|first2=James|date=3 October 2009|title=Revealed: Duchess of York's US firm collapses with $1m debts|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6257686/Revealed-Duchess-of-Yorks-US-firm-collapses-with-1m-debts.html|access-date=6 December 2020|work=The Telegraph|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The company collapsed in 2009, leaving Sarah with a debt of £630,000.<ref name="Telegraph-debts" /> Later in the same year, it was revealed that she was in a financial dispute with three firms and in September she was summoned "to court in the UK for unpaid bills".<ref name="Telegraph-debts" /> It was reported in August 2010 that Sarah might declare voluntary bankruptcy with debts of £5&nbsp;million,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Alderson|first=Andrew|date=7 August 2010|title=The Duchess of York faces bankruptcy over her £5m debts|work=The Sunday Telegraph|location=UK|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/7932195/The-Duchess-of-York-faces-bankruptcy-over-her-5m-debts.html|url-status=dead|access-date=8 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812030849/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/7932195/The-Duchess-of-York-faces-bankruptcy-over-her-5m-debts.html|archive-date=12 August 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref> though other sources had suggested she owed about £2&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Percival|first=Jenny|date=8 August 2010|title=Sarah Ferguson faces bankruptcy after running up debts of millions|work=The Guardian|location=UK|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/08/sarah-ferguson-bankrupt-debts-millions|access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref>

In March 2011, it was reported that [[Jeffrey Epstein]] had helped Sarah avoid bankruptcy by paying off some of her debts. The payments were reportedly made after intervention from the Duke of York.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rayner|first=Gordon|date=6 March 2011|title=Duke of York 'appealed to Jeffrey Epstein to help Duchess pay debt'|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8365020/Duke-of-York-appealed-to-Jeffrey-Epstein-to-help-Duchess-pay-debt.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She later admitted getting money from Epstein and called it a "gigantic error".<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 July 2011|title=Prince Andrew: Envoy career plagued with controversy|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-12663378|access-date=5 March 2021|publisher=BBC}}</ref> In the summer of 2011, ''[[Finding Sarah]]'' aired on the OWN network. One episode of the U.S.-filmed reality series depicted Sarah meeting with [[Suze Orman]], the internationally known financial advisor, receiving from Orman a strict lecture and practical advice on how to resolve her financial issues.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stanley|first=Alessandra|date=9 June 2011|title=You Can Feel Her Pain|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/arts/television/finding-sarah-with-sarah-ferguson-on-own-review.html|access-date=30 September 2013|url-access=limited}}</ref> Juan Alessi, a staff member at Epstein's Florida residence for 12 years, said in an unsealed deposition that he believed Ferguson visited "only once and for a short time".<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2024 |first1=Alex |last1=Ross |first2=Io |last2=Dodds |title=The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records so far |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jeffrey-epstein-maxwell-prince-andrew-b2473096.html |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first1=Samantha |last1=Delouya |first2=Jeff |last2=Winter |first3=Lauren |last3=del |date=5 January 2024 |title=Third batch of Jeffrey Epstein documents unsealed |work=CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/05/business/jeffrey-epstein-documents-unsealed-part-three/index.html |access-date=6 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2024 |title=Prince Andrew had 'daily massages' when visiting Jeffrey Epstein's estate, according to housekeeper |url=https://news.sky.com/story/prince-andrew-had-daily-massages-when-visiting-jeffrey-epsteins-estate-according-to-housekeeper-13042871 |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>

In May 2020, it was reported that Andrew and Sarah were in a legal dispute over a debt from the 2014 purchase of their Swiss chalet.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=7 May 2020|title=Prince Andrew to face legal case over reported £5m ski chalet debt|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/08/prince-andrew-to-face-legal-case-over-reported-5m-ski-chalet-debt|access-date=9 May 2020|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> They had taken out a mortgage of £13.25 million and were expected to pay the remaining £5 million of the purchase price in cash instalments by the end of 2019;<ref name=":1" /> interest had increased this to £6.8 million.<ref name="Telegraph-Bodkin">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/08/07/sarah-fergusons-5m-mayfair-mews-purchase-outrages-chalet-owner/|title=Sarah Ferguson's £5m Mayfair mews purchase 'outrages' chalet owner burned by the Yorks|work=The Telegraph|first=Henry|last=Bodkin|date=7 August 2022|accessdate=8 August 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Despite reports that the Queen would assist them, a spokesperson for the Duke of York confirmed that she "will not be stepping in to settle the debt".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Badshah|first=Nadeem|date=1 June 2020|title=Queen will not pick up chalet debt, says Prince Andrew|work=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/queen-will-not-pick-up-andrews-chalet-debt-zpphcdvmk?region=global%2Cglobal|access-date=1 June 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' reported in September 2021 that Sarah and Andrew had reached a legal agreement with the property's previous owner, and would sell the house to pay back their debt.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Nicholl|first1=Katie|last2=Vanderhoof|first2=Erin|date=28 September 2021|title=Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Have Solved One Big Financial Woe|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/09/prince-andrew-and-sarah-ferguson-ski-chalet-sale|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> The owner agreed to receive £3.4 million, half of the amount that she was owed, as she had been under impression that Sarah and Andrew were dealing with financial troubles.<ref name="Telegraph-Bodkin"/> In August 2022, it was reported that Sarah had purchased a £5 million townhouse in Mayfair after the success of her novel ''[[Her Heart for a Compass]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/08/05/how-sarah-fergusons-romance-novel-transformed-fortunes/|title=How Sarah Ferguson's romance novel transformed her fortunes|work=The Telegraph|first=Hannah|last=Furness|date=5 August 2022|accessdate=8 August 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>