Highlights
- Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have a net worth of around $3.6 million, thanks to Jim Bob's real estate deals and other side jobs.
- The Duggar children did not benefit financially from the family's reality show, as Jim Bob allegedly pocketed all the money.
- Jill Dillard is estimated to be the richest Duggar, with a net worth of up to $7 million, likely due to her appearances on "Counting On" and social media sponsorships.
In the early days of the Duggar family's reality TV show, they lived very frugally, with everything from hand-me-downs to thrift shopping being discussed in the series. At the time, the family was building their massive home, but there was much discussion about how the Duggars apparently financed it themselves, plus received a free part that was damaged (which allowed them to expand the house even more).
Over time, the Duggars' money became a topic of interest for fans and critics. How did the Duggars manage to support their 19 (later 20) kids without public assistance, or were they secretly getting financial help? It has been alleged that Jim Bob and Michelle received tons of freebies, despite having multiple millions to their names.
When their kids began moving out, and Counting On, the family's last reality TV gig, was canceled, the cash stopped flowing in. Fortunately for the Duggar kids, they've found other ways to make money, but who is the richest of the Duggars today?
Do Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Have The Most Money?
After their successful run on reality TV, viewers might assume that the entire Duggar family is rolling in cash. Yet that isn't exactly the case. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar are said to have a net worth of around $3.6 million, thanks in part to Jim Bob's real estate deals and other side jobs.
As a whole, the family did make a ton of money on reality TV, but it's said that Jim Bob pocketed all the money, keeping his kids from earning their share of the income. This was revealed, in part, through Jill Dillard's court filing against her father, in which she alleged she was owed money from the family's reality show.
Thanks to Jim Bob's apparent hoarding of the family money, it seems that none of his adult children benefited financially from the reality show. Rather, they all set out on their own to begin building wealth for their own families.
Jim Bob and Michelle might have had the most money for a while, but now, their adult kids are becoming rich themselves.
The Duggars' Net Worths Are Hard To Come By
When it comes to conversations about net worth, it's important to recognize that no figure is necessarily exact. Since celebrities don't personally disclose their finances, it's up to internet sleuths to track down the information. However, some of the information could be inaccurate, so taking net worth records with a grain of salt is essential.
With the Duggars, there's another wrench in the works when calculating net worth, in part because the family appears to enjoy gifting land and homes to one another or selling them for far below market value through trusts.
That means that the properties Jim Bob has sold to his kids for mere dollars will skew their net worths lower. Plus, there's the possibility of overestimating someone's net worth due to a lack of information about their earnings.
Various sources also report the Duggars' net worths at vastly different amounts, so guessing a range is likely the safest bet.
Who Is The Richest Duggar?
According to multiple net worth estimates, the richest Duggar might be surprising. As of August 2023, the richest Duggar appears to be Jill Dillard, with anywhere up to $7 million to her name.
CAknowledge states that Jill's net worth is $7 million, as do a handful of other sites (though some suggest $400K is the current figure, and some say $1 million).
Jill Dillard's net worth guesstimate could very well be accurate; she appeared on Counting On and later filed court paperwork to try and get the money she was owed from filming. Then, she took on social media sponsorship deals.
Later, Jill gave an interview for Amazon's Shiny Happy People. And, she wrote a book, which could very well have come attached to a lucrative advance.
Of course, some other Duggars are also scaling up their earnings, like Joy-Anna Forsyth, Jessa Seewald, and Jinger Vuolo.
Joy-Anna is said to be worth anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars, ranging up to $5 million, the same as her sister Jessa. Jinger could be worth up to $2 million, based on estimates of her earnings.
Even after getting dropped by some brands because of her family's values, Jinger managed to garner social media traffic and earn sponsorships. Then, she signed a book deal, padding her net worth even more.
Clearly, though many people disagree with the Duggars' lifestyle choices and views, getting dropped by some brands hasn't hurt their ability to bank on their images. However, not all of the Duggars seem to be racking up the earnings, especially not the siblings who have seemingly settled into life out of the spotlight.
Some Duggars, like Anna, wife of disgraced (and imprisoned) Joshua Duggar, have a net worth that continues to drop. Some have regular jobs, like Justin Duggar, who was one of the few Duggars to leave Arkansas; he works for his father-in-law's construction company in Texas.
How Do The Duggars Make Money?
The Duggar family makes money in a variety of ways; most of the daughters appear to use social media, book deals, and other media gigs to earn money. Most of the Duggar boys hold regular jobs, such as in construction companies or in real estate.
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