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Now that “Tiger King 2” is out, viewers have been wondering how much money Joe “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage has today.
Netflix released the follow-up to the pandemic phenomenon which was “Tiger King” on November 16, 2021, hoping to find the same viral success that the first documentary had.
The update on Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin and their zoos are covered in the five-episode docuseries and yes, Joe is still in prison despite hopes that former President Donald Trump might pardon him ahead of the end of his Presidency. That didn’t end up happening and Joe was left off Trump’s pardon list in January 2021, the Associated Press reported.
Joe is serving a 22-year sentence in Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX on “two counts of hiring someone for murder, eight counts of falsifying wildlife records and thereby violating the Lacey Act, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act,” according to Decider.
Here’s everything you need to know about how much money Joe Exotic has today:
At the High Point of Joe Exotic’s Career He Was Worth Between $10 & $15 Million
At one point in time, Joe Exotic was worth a lot of money. Yahoo! News reported that his net worth reached a high point of $10 to $15 million. Joe was the longtime owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park which raked in money with admission fees, merchandise and concessions and even had a traveling show.
Joe charged $25 to hold a baby tiger and $25 more for a photo on the traveling tour and he claimed to have made $23,697 in five days, according to New York Magazine.
Additionally, InTouch Weekly reported that Joe inherited around $250,000 and also received $140,000 from a lawsuit stemming from the 1997 death of his brother. The outlet also reported the sale of tiger cubs at $2,000 each.
All of that has changed now that Joe is in prison.
Joe Exotic’s 2021 Net Worth ‘Appears to Be Less Than Zero’ as He Begs ‘Please Don’t Let Me Die in Here’
Joe is no longer a rich man.
According to Cosmopolitan, Joe’s net worth today “appears to be less than zero.”
A lot of Joe’s money was spent fighting Carole’s many lawsuits. Joe said she “cost us almost three-quarter of a million dollars in lawyers already,” according to New York Magazine. He lost an additional $1 million when he was forced to pay Big Cat Rescue in 2013, according to The Daily Beast.
Joe filed for bankruptcy and would eventually lose everything, including his zoo to Carole, according to Cosmopolitan.
But then Joe was jailed in 2019 and his ability to make income came to a screeching halt. He did briefly (pun intended) sell underwear with his face on the crotch and reportedly made $20,000 while behind bars, according to TMZ.
Cosmopolitan reported that Joe was still $1 million in the hole.
Joe took to Instagram to beg his fans for help on October 1, 2021, writing “my life couldn’t get any worse then it does.” He says there’s evidence to prove his innocence and called for fans to write letters to support his cause.
“You all over the world are the Army For Justice in my case,” he wrote. “And I need you to rise up and be my voice. Once you see the evidence, you will be as shocked as my attorneys to finally see the real truth. 8 people in my life have died during this game of Federal Perjury, Erik died at 53. Please don’t let me die in here.”
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