Billy Graham Dies, Leaving Astounding Wealth, Net Worth

Billy Graham, who was affectionately known as "America's pastor", passed away this week, at the age of 99.

Graham had a following of hundreds of millions of people all around the world, including several former US presidents, and a huge TV and radio following.

With all of that following comes a significant amount of money.

And Billy Graham's vast wealth reflects that. In fact, Graham made millions from his television and radio broadcasts, as well as from his large local events and books and other materials that he sold.

Billy Graham net worth

Billy Graham had a half-century career in the church.

He got started in ministry when he was in college, and continued his work throughout his life.

He started as a local pastor in the United Gospel Tabernacle, from which he moved to a large Illinois church, and later to the radio.

As a radio preacher, Graham quickly gained popularity for his uplifting message and soothing tone. After several years, Graham moved on and became a college president.

Graham started creating what he called "crusade events", in which he traveled across the country and around the world and promoted his worldview.

He traveled almost 200 countries and thousands of towns and cities, and priest to thousands of people at each one.

Graham got people to follow his teachings, and quickly developed a giant following. That following allowed him to sign a large contract in the 1950s on TV. From there, he made nearly $1 million.

Over the next several years, Graham continued on and started many different organizations.

He created a student ministry, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which help promote his message. The organization ran radio and TV broadcasts, newspapers and other publications, including a magazine and a website, and even a motion picture arm.

Graham did not hide his wealth, but he also continued to do a lot of work in the ministry and promote causes like civil rights.

He ran huge conferences in the 80s and 90s including an event that had 250,000 people in 1991.

Graham has written around 30 books, some of which sold hundreds of thousands of copies at release.

Most of his books went on to be major sellers, with some surpassing 1 million copies. Each of those major book releases would have earned him $500,000 or more.

He has received many awards an honors, including a Hollywood walk of fame star, as well as a library named after him.  He also has many state honors and church honors.

Still, Graham left behind much controversy. He has made questionable statements about different ethnic and religious groups, and he promoted killing in the Vietnam War. He also has some extreme views on women. 

In total, Billy Graham's net worth was estimated to be around $25-30 million when he died.  

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: Louise Slaughter's Net Worth Was Very High (more); Craig Mack dies at 46: What was his net worth? (more); Famous Designer Hubert de Givenchy Dies: What Was His Net Worth? (more); Who is PraCh Ly: Rappers Bio, Wiki, Net Worth, More (more).

And here are some more related articles: Who is Patty Jenkins? Job, Facebook, Twitter, Net Worth, And More (more); Jim Nabors Dies At 87: What Was His Net Worth? (more); Matt Lauer Net Worth: What Could He Lose From Being Fired Over Alleged Sexual Misconduct (more).

A few more: Mark Halperin Fired For Alleged Sexual Harassment: What Was His Net Worth and Salary? (more); Music Legend Fats Domino Passes Away; What Was His Real Net Worth? (more).