Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. popularly known as Al Sharpton has an estimated net worth of $500,000. He is believed to have earned the bulk of this amount through salaries he receives from his non-profit organizations.
The Baptist minister who is known as a civil rights activist and a TV personality has drawn questions to himself as a result of how wealthy he is, the non-profit and the for-profit businesses that earned him his money, and also how he has been meeting up to his tax obligations to the government. Below is a breakdown of how Al Sharpton made his money.
Al Sharpton’s Net Worth is Estimated to be at least $500,000
As of this writing, Al Sharpton has a net worth estimate of about $500,000. However, before now, he was projected to be worth as much as $2 million which he is believed to have earned hugely from the salaries he receives from his non-profit organizations. Though the preacher has for-profit businesses, his wealth has been attributed mainly to his non-profit organizations and this has raised some criticism about his wealth, how much further it can grow, and how he is being taxed.
He got Wealthy with Salaries from Non-Profit Organizations
To get a better picture of how Sharpton accumulated his wealth, it is important to understand how he started. As an activist, Al Sharpton established the National Youth Movement (NYM), in 1971. This body is a non-profit organization charged with the task of raising funds through donations and self-fund for impoverished youths.
After 20 years, the activist formed another group, National Action Network (NAN). It was charged with the responsibility of supporting small businesses, educating voters to increase awareness, and also rendering services to the poor. The organization was later renamed United African Movement.
These two bodies are non-profit organizations that have chapters and affiliates in different parts of the United States of America. Also, they receive help in the form of donations from companies and other individuals. It is known that a plethora of companies like Home Depot, McDonald’s, Walmart, and Fort have donated and still donate to these bodies.
Politicians Donate to Al’ Sharpton’s Non-Profit Organizations
Asides from these companies, the organizations have also received help from Al Sharpton’s friends in the government. It is a known fact that Al Sharpton and the ex-president of the United States of America, Barack Obama are good friends and the preacher leveraged on his friendship with the then-president while he was in power.
It was noted that the ex-president attended NAN’s annual convention two times and the convention is said to be their biggest fundraising party. The activist doesn’t only receive donations during fundraising events of the non-profit organizations. His personal celebration has also been noted to have yielded massive donations. On his 60th birthday, Al Sharpton received a donation of $1 million.
It has been asserted that NAN is Al Sharpton’s major source of income. This non-profit receives about $5 million dollars in donations every year. It also pays him a salary of $241,000. Some years back, reports have it that he had increased his pay to more than $412,000 with an added bonus of $64,000. The bonus according to sources was an accumulation of past salaries he didn’t receive.
Other Sources that Contribute to Al Sharpton’s Net Worth
TV and Radio Show
Apart from being a preacher and a civil rights activist, Al Sharpton is also a TV and radio personality who has appeared on different TV shows and news channels. For TV, some of these channels include Fox News, CNN, MSNBC (where he anchors a show titled PoliticsNation, he gets paid $500,000 per season of the show), and others. These appearances have affected his bank account positively. He also makes regular appearances on cable news television. He also has a radio program named Keepin’ it Real.
For-Profit Making Businesses
Also, Al Sharpton has his businesses which he manages. These businesses are Raw Talent and Reveal Communication. As earlier mentioned, part of the money he currently owes the government as tax are unpaid taxes these companies accumulated.
Public Speaking
Aside from his businesses and NGO, the preacher is a public speaker who has been invited to different occasions and events to speak. He is also believed to earn from this.
Book Sale
Al Sharpton also happens to be the author of some famous books. His books are mostly centered on his personal life, fight against social injustice and racism. Some of his popular books are Man Behind the Sound Bite (1991), Go and tell Pharaoh (1996), Al on America (2002), The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership (2013), Untitled – Killing Martin (2014), Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads (2020) and Righteous Troublemakers: Untold Stories of the Social Justice Movement in America which he is set to release in 2022.
Movie Appearance
Al Sharpton is not only a famous activist and a preacher, he is also popular in the entertainment world. He appeared in movies like ‘MalcomX’, ‘Legal’ (a Tv show), and ‘Law and Order’. Though the exact amount he earned from these acting gigs are not yet known, it is believed that they have in one or various ways contributed to his net worth.
Back in 2018, the reverend was reported to have sold the right to his life story to his charity (NAN) for the sum of $531,000 for a 10 year period. The document which cited this sale revealed that NAN can decide to re-sell the right to making a story of Al Sharpton to producers in Hollywood.
What Affected Al Sharpton’s Net Worth?
As of 2014, the civil rights activist and Tv personality was reported to be facing some financial issues. And as of 2020, sources have it that he owed around $4.5 million in state and federal back tax. Also, it was noted that Sharpton had an estimate of $3.7 million as his personal tax debt.
Rumors recently went round that the clergy has said that he has finally cleared his debt. This perhaps could be the reason behind Al Sharpton’s current net worth. However, an independent fact-check conducted by USA Today has reported that the good clergyman still owes the government, at least no less than $700,000.
Some of Al Sharpton’s Financial Scandals
For a man with his kind of level of reputation, he has had some financial scandals in the past. Below is a list of them
- He was charged with income fraud and stealing from charitable donors in 1989, but he was discharged on trials
- He pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to file a tax return of 1886.
- Also, it was earlier discovered that his company had no official documents and records with the state.
- FEC charged him $285000 on the 23rd of April 2009 for allegedly receiving huge money in private funds. It was however discovered that it was NAN that gave Al Sharpton hundreds of thousands of money.
How Al Sharpton Spends His Money
According to New York Times, the teacher once stated that he owns no suits, but has access to a dozen. He had once asserted on live television that he has no credit card, no debit card, no checking bank account, no stock, no paintings, and no antiques. He, however, has only accepted that his wristwatch which is worth $300 and his 20-year-old wedding ring (as of then) are his. As for the other properties that he uses, the preacher noted that they were given to him by the companies he runs.
Also, one can not point out the number of cars belonging to the civil rights activist. This is because there are contradictions in the available information concerning his cars. However, it is public knowledge that he owns a Rolls Royce. The roll Royce was formerly owned by the king of pop, Michael Jackson. Also as for his house, there is contradictory information about them. What is known about his residence is that he has access to luxury homes but according to him, he owns none.
