Louis Farrakhan Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

Louis Farrakhan is an American religious leader who has a net worth of $5 million. Farrakhan earned his net worth through his leadership and brief musical career. He made a name for himself as the leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI) movement. Louis joined the organization in 1955, and he was instrumental in preserving the original teachings of the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad. Farrakhan’s controversial political views and outspoken rhetorical style have been either praised or widely criticized, and the Southern Poverty Law Center branded him an anti-Semite. Louis led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., in 1995 and the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March: Justice or Else in 2015. Today, Farrakhan continues to be active in the NOI, but he has dramatically reduced his responsibilities due to health issues.

Early Life: Louis Farrakhan was born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933, in New York City. He was raised by his mother, Sarah, and didn’t know his biological father, Percival, who left the family before he was born. Sarah began living with Louis Walcott as her relationship with Percival was ending, and he became stepfather to Louis and his older brother. The family moved to Boston after Walcott passed away in 1936. Louis began playing violin when he was five years old and toured with the Boston College Orchestra by the age of 12. He also won national competitions and performed on the “Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour.” Louis studied at Boston Latin School and the English High School, and he won a track scholarship to Winston-Salem Teachers College. He got married while attending college and dropped out after his junior year to spend more time with his new wife and baby.

Career: In the 1950s, Louis began touring the United States as a singer, calling himself “The Charmer” and “Calypso Gene,” and recorded several calypso tracks. He first became aware of the Nation of Islam in 1955 through his friend Rodney Smith and was invited to the group’s Saviours’ Day address, which was given by Elijah Muhammad. In July of that year, Louis became a member (also known as a “registered Muslim/registered believer/registered laborer”) of the NOI, and he was called Louis X until he received his Islamic name, Farrakhan. The following summer, Louis gave up his lifelong passion after Muhammad made all of the group’s musicians choose between NOI and music. Farrakhan became a member of Boston’s Temple of Islam and soon was appointed Malcom X’s assistant minister; he became the temple’s minister after Malcolm X was transferred to a temple in New York City. After Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, Louis was appointed to a few of his former positions and became minister at the influential Harlem Mosque (serving until 1975) as well as the NOI’s national representative and spokesman.

Muhammad died in 1975, and his son, Warith Deen Mohammed, became the Nation of Islam’s new leader. He brought the group closer to orthodox Islam and renamed the NOI World Community of Islam in the West, then the American Society of Muslims. Farrakhan joined the movement and briefly became a Sunni Imam, and Mohammed began calling him Abdul-Haleem. In 1978, Louis left the American Society of Muslims and decided to rebuild the original NOI. Farrakhan’s new group held a Saviours’ Day convention in 1982 and reclaimed the Nation of Islam name. In 1995, Louis organized the Million Man March, which was attended by approximately 440,000 people and included speeches from Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson, and other esteemed African-Americans.

Controversy: Farrakhan’s critics have said that his beliefs are anti-Semitic and racist. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified the Nation of Islam as a hate group, and Louis has said that whites are a “race of devils” and that they “deserve to die.” The Chair of the Anti-Defamation League, Nathan Pearlmutter, called Farrakhan “Black Hitler,” and Louis later said that “Hitler was a very great man.” In 2019, Farrakhan was banned from Facebook for life due to his anti-Semitic statements on the social media platform. The family of Malcolm X accused Louis of being involved in his assassination; Farrakhan stated that he didn’t order the murder but admitted that he “created the atmosphere that ultimately led to Malcolm X’s assassination.”

Personal Life: Louis married Betsy Ross (now known as Khadijah Farrakhan) in 1953, and they welcomed 9 children together: Louis Jr., Mustapha, Donna, Abnar, Joshua, Betsy-Jean, Maria, Khallada, and Fatimah, Sadly, Louis Jr., who suffered from a heart condition, passed away in 2018 at the age of 60. Farrakhan has been publicly endorsing Dianetics since 2010 and has urged NOI members to take part in the Church of Scientology’s auditing process; the NOI also hosts Dianetic courses and graduation ceremonies.

In 1991, Farrakhan was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it was treated with hormones. When the cancer reoccurred in 1994, it was treated with brachytherapy seed implants, and in 1999, he had emergency surgery due to complications from another reoccurrence of the cancer. In September 2006, Louis announced that he had a peptic ulcer and lost 35 pounds due to multiple infections. He stayed in the hospital for five weeks and had abdominal surgery to correct the damage that the brachytherapy seed implants had caused. In October 2013, Farrakhan had a heart attack and received stent implants.

Real Estate: In the 1970s, Egyptian architect M. Momen designed five homes for Elijah Muhammad in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. Farrakhan now owns one of these homes, a mansion that reportedly has 21 rooms.