How Rich Was Benjamin Franklin When He Died? The Surprisingly Large Fortune of a Founding Father
When Benjamin Franklin passed away in 1790 at the age of 84, he was lauded as one of the wealthiest Americans of his era. But estimates of his exact net worth vary widely from around $350,000 on the low end to over $780,000 based on more recent analysis. With no official records of his wealth, we can only speculate that he was worth somewhere between those figures based on historical sources. Adjusted for inflation, that range equates to about $10.7 million to $23.9 million in today‘s dollars – clearly placing Franklin among the richest founding fathers and most prosperous Americans of the late 1700s.
This is all the more impressive when you consider Franklin‘s humble origins. Born in Boston in 1706 as the 15th child of a candlemaker, a teenaged Franklin ran away from his apprenticeship and arrived in Philadelphia with just a few coins in his pocket. Through sheer determination and business savvy, he would rise from these poor beginnings to become a printing mogul, prolific inventor, and sagacious founding father who defied the odds and became the most financially successful American of his generation.
From Impoverished Youth to Printing Empire
Franklin‘s rags-to-riches story epitomized the opportunities possible in the colonies at the time. As a young journeyman printer, he worked tirelessly to build his own printing shop into a prolific business empire. By 1757, this shop was generating over £6,700 in revenue annually, or around $500,000 in today‘s dollars. He owned franchises and partnerships across colonies from New England to the Carolinas. His Philadelphia print shop would ultimately publish one-third of all books in British North America by the 1760s through shrewd business practices.
Despite these immense profits, Franklin adhered to a frugal, modest lifestyle. As he wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” While other Philadelphia printers flaunted their wealth, he reinvested earnings and lived simply. A man of simple tastes himself, he believed in thrift as a virtue.
Lucrative Inventions, Writings, and Land Speculation
In addition to his printing empire, Franklin generated wealth in land speculation. He bought vast tracts of undeveloped land in Philadelphia and even purchased Ohio lands from Loyalists. He also profited from loans, bonds, positions in government, and other prudent investments.
Many of Franklin’s writings and inventions also produced lasting income streams long after his death. Poor Richard’s Almanack sold over 10,000 copies annually, earning him over £350 annually in royalties. The lightning rod surged in sales after he declined to patent it. His writings on finance and self-improvement are early predecessors to works by modern finance gurus like Dave Ramsey.
Bequests in His Will – and the Ensuing Controversies
In his will written in 1788, Franklin left modest sums of cash to friends, relatives, and even his household staff. Small bequests of several hundred or thousand pounds went to his daughter, grandchildren, niece, sister, daughter-in-law and others.
The bulk of his estate was left to his only living child, Sarah, with the rest going to her children. But his daughter later claimed the will was mishandled. She sued executors for losses exceeding £15,000, stating the estate‘s true value was over 90% higher before alleged mismanagement of assets.
Franklin also left civic bequests of £1,000 (around $100,000 today) each to his native Boston and beloved Philadelphia, to be paid with interest in 100 and 200 years respectively. But controversies have swirled over these civic bequests as well. By 1990, Philadelphia‘s had grown to $2 million and Boston‘s to $5 million, prompting legal spats over how the funds can be used. Despite these complexities after his death, Franklin‘s fortune still ultimately ranked him as one of the richest men in the colonies or early America.
The Scale of His Riches, in Context
Adjusting for inflation, Franklin‘s estimated $350,000 to $780,000 fortune at death equates to around $10.7 million to $23.9 million in today‘s dollars. For context, the average free white male in the American colonies at the time held total wealth of just $125 on average. Franklin‘s fortune vastly exceeded most of his fellow Founders. George Washington, one of the wealthiest, was worth around $580 million today – far below the high-end estimate of Franklin‘s net worth. Even European nobles did not match Franklin‘s riches in relative terms. His fortune exceeded that of most British earls or dukes when adjusted to today‘s equivalents.
Franklin could have lived lavishly with this wealth, but he continued residing modestly in a small rented room above a Philadelphia printing shop he once worked at. Though he died an immensely wealthy man, his middle-class tastes and ethics around money are a core part of his legacy. Franklin saw prosperity not as an end itself but as a means to do good. His rise from penniless youth to richest American exemplified the possibilities in the emerging nation he helped create.