Joe Francis is an American businessman and movie producer. He is well-known for his "Girls Gone Wild" and "Banned from Television" projects. Despite having many legal and financial problems for almost ten years, he still has a net worth of $25 million. Since 2015, has been living in Mexico as an exiled American.
| Full Name | Joseph R. Francis |
| Date of Birth | April 1, 1973 |
| Place of Birth | Georgia, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.87m) |
| Net Worth | $25 Million |
Joe Francis Early Life
Joe Francis (Joseph R. Francis) was born to Raymond and Maria Francis on April 1, 1973, in Atlanta, Georgia. After he moved to Newport Beach, California, and then Laguna Beach, he went to a few boarding schools.
He went to the University of Southern California to study Business Administration. Before getting his bachelor’s degree in 1995 from the USC Entrepreneurial Program, he also took a number of classes in film and television.
Career
Joe Francis came up with the idea for Banned from Television when he was working as a production assistant for Real TV. Real TV shows videos of strange events that were rarely covered by other news outlets. Francis got the material through a licensing deal, and then he sold it again through infomercials.
The first Banned from Television video came out in 1998, and the same year there were two more. Among other things, the series showed the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio, the rampage of the circus elephant Tyke, and the executions of Roberto Giron and Pedro Castillo.
The idea for Girls Gone Wild came to Francis after seeing footage of college women showing off their breasts during Mardi Gras and spring break while making Banned from Television. Francis stopped making more episodes of Banned from Television after the third one because he found them too disturbing to watch back-to-back.
Joe Francis started the Girls Gone Wild business in 1997. He sold DVDs he had made through direct-response marketing, such as infomercials. Girls Gone Wild made almost $20 million in its first two years and showed women in provocative situations who were barely dressed.
The company also gave all the money made from their Mardi Gras-themed DVDs to the Red Cross to help the people who were hurt by Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to its constant stream of late-night infomercials, the company made many millions of dollars over the course of its existence.
Girls Gone Wild Exposed was the name of an episode of the TNT true crime series Rich & Shameless that came out in 2022. It has statements from people who say they were hurt by Joe Francis and a recording of a fight between Francis and his wife.
Civil and Criminal Court Cases Against Girls Gone Wild
Ashley Alexandra Dupre sued Francis and his company in 2007, saying that they had filmed her without her permission. She dropped the case when Francis showed her footage that showed she had given permission.
The next year, Francis was sued by four women who said he had filmed them when they were young. Francis was his own lawyer for part of the trial, until he asked a plaintiff if she was a prostitute, which was against the law and got him a $2,500 fine.
In 2003, the filming of Girls Gone Wild was stopped by officials in Panama City Beach, Florida. Francis had to sue them for violating his First Amendment rights.
Francis admitted that he had broken the rules regarding keeping records, and he was given community service and a $1.6 million fine.
Girls Gone Wild Bankruptcy
Francis was issued an arrest order in 2015 by a judge in the United States District Court because he didn’t follow the terms of his bankruptcy deal.
Francis’s company, GGW Brands, which owns the Girls Gone Wild brand of entertainment, went bankrupt in 2013. The bankruptcy was filed to stop Wynn Resorts from taking the company’s assets to pay Francis’ gambling debts.
Defamation
Joe Francis lost more than $2 million in a Las Vegas casino while playing blackjack in 2007. When Francis said he had no plans to pay the bill, Steve Wynn, the owner of the casino, got worried. When Francis forced Wynn to sue him, things started to get out of hand.
In 2012, Steve Wynn won $20 million in a defamation case against Francis. Francis had said that Wynn had threatened to kill him over a gambling debt.
In 2012, Judge Joanne O’Donnell lowered Wynn’s judgement to $19 million, saying that the jury’s decision was “speculative” and based on the jury’s dislike for Francis. Steve Wynn said in a statement after he won in court that he would give all the money he got from the court to help hurt warriors and women who had been mistreated.
Federal Problems
In 2007, a grand jury charged Joe Francis with two counts of tax evasion. His lawyer said that a former accountant made and filed tax returns for the businesses but did not give them to Francis. Francis pleaded guilty in 2009 to filing a false tax return and bribery charges. He got credit for the time he had already spent in jail and was told to pay the IRS $250,000.
Other Criminal Issues
Francis was charged with five misdemeanor counts of false detention, one act of assault causing substantial bodily injury, and one count of trying to persuade a witness after he brought three women to his home in 2011.
He could get up to five years in prison or a fine of $13,000, or both. Francis was given 270 days in county jail, 36 months of probation, and the requirement that he take a Level 3 Anger Management course.
Francis was given 336 days in prison in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of child abuse and prostitution.
Blackmail Attempt
Darnel Riley, a known con artist, took Joe Francis from his home in Bel-Air and filmed him in 2004. When Paris Hilton heard about what was going on, she helped get Riley arrested. All of these things were part of Riley’s plan to get Francis to pay him $500,000.
Joe Francis Net Worth
As you may have guessed, the bulk of Joe Francis’ net worth comes from his Girls Gone Wild company. In its first 2 years, the company received around $20 million. In the many years that followed it is hard to calculate just how much money this endeavor has produced but it is substantial.
However, one of the keys factors when talking about Joe Francis, is his numerous lawsuits and criminal convictions. These certainly put a large dent in the amount of money he had made.
Taking everything into account, we estimate Joe Francis’ net worth is in the region of $25 million.
Real Estate
Joe Francis bought a house in Bel-Air for $6 million in the year 2002. The property was sold at auction to Steve Wynn in 2019 after being taken away from Francis for a number of years because of his legal problems. When Francis lost the house to Wynn, it was worth $6.7 million.
On the other hand, the IRS quickly stepped in and bought the land from Wynn for $9 million. Later, the IRS sold the property to Bassam Alghanim, who used to live next door to Francis.
Social Media
Joe Francis still has a significant social media presence despite his infamy, or maybe because of it! His is active on many platforms and followed by a substantial number of people all over the world.
His Instagram account is followed by 674,000 people and can be found by clicking here.
His Twitter account is followed by 280,000 people and can be found by clicking here.
His Facebook account is followed by 219,000 people and can be found by clicking here.
Personal Life
One of the girls in Girls Gone Wild videos was Abbey Wilson, who became Francis’ girlfriend in the end. Abbey Wilson and Francis used IVF to have twins in 2014. In 2013, Wilson’s iPad was stolen, and it was said that sex tapes of her and Francis were on the device.
At one point, it was said that Abbey was being charged with kidnapping, and an amber warning was almost put out. Abbey’s lawyer said that for the time being, Abbey had sole custody of the twins. Joe said in 2021 that he hadn’t seen his twin daughters in over a week because Abbey didn’t follow a court order that said she had to let him see them.
Summary
At the moment, Joe Francis is thought to have a net worth of about $25 million. His business and producer work bring in the most money for him. He had been in trouble with the law and money for almost a decade.
To be more specific, he has been convicted of assault causing serious bodily injury, tax evasion, false imprisonment, witness dissuasion, bribery, and record-keeping offenses. He has also pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution at different times. He makes more than $5 million a year right now.