Kriti Mehrotra
Although Joseph “Joe” Francis was born on April 1, 1973, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Austria native Maria Francis and Marketing business owner Raymond, he primarily grew up in California. He was actually just 7 years old when the family relocated, following which he attended a local elementary school in Newport Beach before heading to a series of boarding schools. However, he eventually graduated from Laguna Beach High School, shortly after which he enrolled at the University of Southern California for a business degree, utterly unaware he would one day be arguably the most infamous entrepreneur across America.
How Did Joe Francis Earn His Money?
Although Joe Francis has often claimed his father had such financial troubles when he was a kid that he had to attain a special license to begin working at age 13, Peacock’s ‘Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story’ actually alleges he hails from a rather affluent household. We couldn’t verify either of these assertions, yet we do know his first job while he was in junior high was as a server as well as a sweeper for $3.35 an hour at a local place called Gelato Classic. He then traded up whenever he got an opportunity to do so, which is how he ended up working at a computer and video store across various ranks by the time he graduated college.
That’s how Joe learned a few integral skills of engineering and sales, just for it all combined to soon land him a stable, secure, well-paying job as a production assistant for Real TV. Little did anybody know it would be here that he would come up with the idea for ‘Banned from Television’ upon seeing all the censored/cut bits from submitted videos right in front of him. Thus, he essentially created a platform for much more explicit as well as graphic audio-video footage to be shared with the public, involving not only sexual acts but also terrible accidents and abusive attacks.
According to records, the first ‘Banned from Television’ paid tape was released in 1998, followed by two others in the same year, which turned Joe’s entire world upside down for good. That’s because he reportedly made his first million before 1999 even came to an end, all the while establishing his Girls Gone Wild franchise, too – this made $20 million within two years. The truth is that while the latter was marketed in infomercials as just a business selling tapes of college-aged girls willingly exposing their bodies on camera while on vacation, each one of their titles also had full-fledged pornographic content in the same style.
This resulted in the business earning such demand and success that Joe ended up producing 83 videos by 2002, just to then face one legal trouble after another on a myriad of levels. Nevertheless, he simply modified his model at every turn, cleaned up the processes, and finally began ensuring no minors would be filmed before continuing down the path he had paved. This meant listening to the market, too, which is how he later came up with ideas like the ‘Search for the Hottest Girl in America’ contest, Girls Gone Wild Magazine, and exploiting his own brand/image.
Joe Francis’ Net Worth
While it’s true that Joe was a multi-millionaire with an empire of his own by the time he turned 27, things began changing for him a mere three years later owing to legal issues. It was in 2003 when officials in Panama City Beach, Florida, attempted to stop the Girls Gone Wild production team from filming, driving the founder to sue them for violating his First Amendment rights. His case didn’t really lead anywhere, but it did give him time to continue filming as well as authorities ammunition to bring him down, especially as they had received reports of minors being involved too.
In the end, although a judge dismissed most of the charges against Joe owing to most of the seized evidence needing to be thrown out because of investigative issues, he did face some repercussions. Since he pleaded guilty to record-keeping violations as well as having contraband in his cell when he was initially arrested in 2004 before making his $50,000 bail, he was given a hefty sentence. However, instead of jail time, this hefty term involved community service with $1.6 million and $60,000 in fines. He has since stated he spent between $100 million and $350 million on all his legal expenses related to this Florida ordeal, and it’s imperative to note his later issues have all followed this similar pattern.
Joe has actually been convicted of assault causing bodily injury, bribery, dissuading a witness, false imprisonment, record-keeping violations, and tax evasion at various points, all the while having pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution. However, it wasn’t until the civil cases against him began piling up that his financial standing changed, causing him to have the parent company of Girls Gone Wild, GGW Brands, file for bankruptcy before he fled the nation. These cases included those by victims hoping unsuccessfully to attain justice and one defamatory suit by businessman Steve Wynn that concluded with a jury awarding him $20 million.
Therefore, considering Joe’s remarkable success over two decades, his legal downfall, his assets (such as his current 45,000 sq. ft. home in Punta Mita, Mexico), his possible savings, investments, and expenses, as well as his alleged significant yet similar troubles in Mexico, we believe his net worth is currently in the range of $20 million.
Read More: Mark Schmitz: What Happened to the Former Cameraman of Girls Gone Wild?
