Todd Chrisley once stood at the head of a reality TV show family, as the patriarch who allegedly knew best. Apparently, he did not know tax law. Todd and his wife Julie Chrisley have both been convicted of various tax evasion and financial fraud charges and sentenced to prison. The Chrisleys’ accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also convicted of filing fraudulent tax forms on their behalf.
Before this precipitous blow to the family’s net worth, Todd Chrisley had built quite the financial empire. The family had two reality shows—Chrisley Knows Best and spinoff series Growing Up Chrisley, with another in the offing. The Chrisleys also hosted multiple podcasts and had sponsorship deals, many of which have been canceled. But did it make him happy? On his podcast, Chrisley Confessions, Todd says no. “I got lost when I couldn’t tell the difference in my self-worth and my net worth,” he said after being convicted of fraud. “And the bigger my net worth became, the less I focused on my self-worth because everything was being built around that net worth. Around stuff.” Here’s what we know about Todd Chrisley’s net worth, and how much is going back to the government.
What is Todd Chrisley’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Todd Chrisley is worth just $1.5 million, but that hardly tells the whole story. The saga of the Chrisleys’ fluctuating funds starts in 2012, when he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. According to People, Todd listed $4.2 million in assets at that time—against $49.4 million of debt. That debt included $12 million in mortgages, $595,227 in back taxes, and a $4.4 million loan from wife Julie. Of the $4.2 million in assets, Chrisley claimed that only $55 of it was in his bank account.
Determining Todd Chrisley’s net worth took the Department of Justice quite some time. According to a DOJ press release, Todd Chrisley got into debt taking out fraudulent loans and spending the money on “on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel—and used new fraudulent loans to pay back old ones.” After filing for bankruptcy, the Chrisleys walked away from their financial failing with $20 million. Shortly thereafter, the Chrisleys became reality TV stars. And according to the DOJ, they hid that money from the IRS.
How did Todd Chrisley hide his money from the IRS?
The Department of Justice says the Chrisleys hid their reality TV money through a series of shell companies. “Throughout the conspiracy, the Chrisleys operated a loan-out company. To evade collection of half a million dollars in delinquent taxes owed by Todd Chrisley, the Chrisleys opened and kept the corporate bank accounts only in Julie Chrisley’s name,” the press release reads. “But after the IRS requested information about bank accounts in Julie Chrisley’s name, the Chrisleys transferred ownership of the corporate bank account to a relative to further conceal their income from the IRS.”
Beyond that, the Chrisleys paid no taxes from 2013-2016. Peter Tarantino filed two fraudulent tax returns, claiming that the Chrisleys’ corporate loan-out company made no money or distributions in 2015 or 2016.
What income streams do the Chrisleys have now?
Even after their convictions, the Chrisleys were still making episodes of their podcasts Chrisley Confessions, Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley and The Southern Tea. The last episode of Chrisley Confessions dropped Jan. 18, 2023, the day after the pair began their prison sentences on Jan. 17.
The Chrisleys are having a hard time adapting to living conditions behind bars so for now, it appears the podcast is on hold.
Whether the Chrisleys will try to make a podcast at some point while in prison is not known. It has been done before. Ear Hustle was the first podcast to be created entirely in a prison.
Todd Chrisley was listed as an executive producer on Chrisley Knows Best, which means he is probably getting residuals for the show’s rerun airings. The Chrisleys also still have considerable real estate holdings. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, the Chrisleys own mansions worth roughly $9 million. They may need to sell those homes, as a federal judge fined the family $17.2 million in restitution to the U.S. government.
