What Is Joe Francis's Net Worth After 'Girls Gone Wild'?

The current news surrounding Joe Francis is a messy situation with his ex-girlfriend Abbey Wilson who he’s claimed kidnapped their two young daughters in Mexico. Before his current family drama started making headlines, Joe was mostly recognized for being the founder and creator of the Girls Gone Wild entertainment brand.

The company was founded in 1997 and lasted until 2011, featuring attractive young women (who were usually college-aged) flashing their intimate body parts on camera.

Here’s where Joe’s net worth stands.

Even though Girls Gone Wild has become a distant memory to many, having ended in 2011, it’s still had a hugely positive impact on Joe’s net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the entrepreneur and film producer is worth $25 million. He dealt with nearly a decade of legal issues and financial woes, but at this point, he seems to be doing just fine in the money department.

Joe was facing an endless list of lawsuits and negative judgments in the United States, so he reportedly fled to Mexico to avoid the consequences of his actions. Since 2015, he’s apparently been living life as an exiled American on Mexican land. Since his involvement with Girls Gone Wild led him down the path of one too many controversies, some of the other illegal activities he reportedly participated in were also put under a microscope before he fled from the United States.

For more clarity, we’re referring to his alleged tax evasion, bribery, and excessive gambling. In court, he pleaded no contest to charges of child abuse and prostitution.

Within the first two years of Joe’s Girls Gone Wild career, he generated $20 million because the first few projects he worked on turned out to be huge successes.

Before making his great escape to Mexico, Joe did spend 339 days in jail and paid $60,000 in fines while living in Florida. He filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Before Joe was inspired to become the creator and founder of the Girls Gone Wild franchise, he was a student at a multitude of boarding schools in the California area. When it came time to enroll in college, he chose to go to USC, aka the University of Southern California, where he studied film and television. He got his first taste of reality TV work when he landed a job as a production assistant on a show called Real TV.

The company he was dealing with forced him to lay eyes on video footage that most people would consider shocking, from executions to real-life fatal accidents. He found the work to be quite disturbing and decided to shift his focus toward creating the Girls Gone Wild franchise instead. Joe has a large fortune to his name, but he still faces legal issues in the United States and now he’s facing current issues with his ex-girlfriend and two missing daughters.