Alex Jones Likely Doesn’t Have $1 Billion. He Does Own Five Homes In Texas, Though.
Alex Jones #AlexJones
The far-right radio host Alex Jones was handed a staggering punishment on Wednesday when he was ordered by a Connecticut court to pay $965 million to families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre for a years-long misinformation campaign centered around a lie that the deadly elementary school shooting was an elaborate hoax.
CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC.
It’s very unlikely that Jones, who runs the conspiracy-theory riddled website InfoWars, has a ten-figure fortune to spare. In fact, while reacting to the verdict on his radio show on Wednesday, Jones claimed he’s worth no more than $2 million and quipped, “That’s hilarious… Do these people really think they’re getting their money?” Because Jones lacks the funds to pay his fine, legal experts say his personal assets could be on the line, including a significant real estate portfolio owned by the InfoWars host in Texas.
Forbes identified five homes collectively worth an estimated $7.5 million linked to Jones in Austin, including two condos in the downtown-adjacent South Lamar neighborhood; a luxurious waterfront property overlooking the Colorado river with a private boat dock, sauna and basketball court; a four-bedroom home just outside the city; and an almost 5,500 square foot Spanish villa style home overlooking Austin’s famous Barton Creek Greenbelt.
As The New York Post first reported in August, Jones transferred ownership of the most valuable of these properties, the Spanish-style estate by Barton Creek, which is worth an estimated $3.5 million, to his wife Erika Wulff Jones, in February as multiple defamation cases against him neared trial. One of the two condos in South Lamar has Jones’ father, David Jones, listed as a beneficiary. (Neither Jones’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, nor InfoWars, responded to requests for comments from Forbes.)
Outside of his real estate, it’s not clear how much Jones’ other assets are worth. Bernard Pettingill, Jr., a forensic economist who testified in a separate defamation case against Jones earlier this year in Texas, estimated Jones’ net worth to be between $135 million and $270 million due to the strong financial performance of InfoWars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems. According to Pettingill, InfoWars averaged $53.2 million in annual revenue between September 2015 and December 2018, and brought in $64 million in 2021. The economist said Jones was at one point paying himself $6 million a year.
Forbes was not able to independently verify these numbers as Jones has not made his financial information public. Jones, for his part, claims that InfoWars is far from the financial position claimed by Pettingill. Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July, claiming $14.3 million in assets as of May 31, $11 million in product sales and $79.2 million in debts. Mediation is set to begin in the coming weeks.
Even if his company isn’t as broke as he claims, it’s very unlikely Jones has even close to the sum he’s supposed to cough up: He owes $965 million in damages to the families involved in the Connecticut case, and another $49 million to two other Sandy Hook parents in the Texas case, which concluded in August.
Without that cash, Jones will be forced to hand over his personal assets, according to bankruptcy attorney Brian Davidoff, who notes that there are some state exemptions. For example, in Texas, creditors are not allowed to seize any home where a business is being run. “If he’s got five homes, not all of them are going to qualify [for an exemption],” says Davidoff, adding that “maybe one” of Jones’ homes could be protected by this rule. Apart from the exemption law, “all the other assets will be available for the judgment.” As for the home Jones transferred to his wife, that too could be seized by creditors if a court decides that it was a “fraudulent” transfer made intentionally to avoid creditors.
Jones can slow the process if he files for personal bankruptcy–in addition to the bankruptcy filing by Free Speech Systems. However, a bankruptcy court will deny Jones’ appeal for debt forgiveness if they find that Jones’ actions were both “willful” and “malicious” enough, which “they probably will,” says Davidoff. The same is true of Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy proceedings.
There’s not really anywhere to turn for Jones unless his appeal against the verdict is successful, says Davidoff. This judgment is “something that will be there for the rest of his life,” says the attorney, who estimates that much of the $965 million judgment likely won’t be paid. Nonetheless, “It’s going to impact his livelihood indefinitely.”