Today, Mike Lindell’s name is synonymous with conspiracy theories and the Trump administration. Yet, before he lost his fortune trying to defend Trump, he was a multi-million dollar CEO responsible for the success of MyPillow.
So, how did Mike Lindell go from a $300 million to $0 net worth? In this article, I explain his background and discuss some of his most popular lawsuits.
Let’s dive into the crazy story behind Mike Lindell’s net worth!
What Is Mike Lindell’s Net Worth?
At the height of his MyPillow business, Mike Lindell had a net worth of $200 to $300 million. However, his wealth quickly plummeted after Trump lost the elections in 2020.
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During that year, Mike Lindell lost his entire fortune, resulting in a $0 net worth as per Celebrity Net Worth. That said, his net worth once again rose to $174 million in 2023, according to the International Business Times.
So, how did such a drastic change happen?
To understand the rise and fall of his net worth, let’s first look at Mike Lindell’s backstory!
Who Is Mike Lindell?
Mike Lindell is an author, entrepreneur, and the CEO of the bedding manufacturer MyPillow. That said, people know him most as a conspiracy theorist and an avid supporter of Donald Trump.
During the 2016 Trump administration, Mike Lindell became part of the then-president’s inner circle. He gets to sit beside Trump at events at the White House, personally advising the president on various matters.
Moreover, Mike Lindell attends and supports Trump at his political rallies. At these rallies, you may notice Lindell shouting more fervently than Trump’s wife.
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Of course, Mike Lindell’s position didn’t come without setbacks. He lost his fortune mainly to support Trump in 2020.
Still, it’s mind-blowing to think that a pillow manufacturer can have such a strong influence on the United States!
Mike Lindell’s Early Beginnings
To his credit, Mike Lindell’s success story exemplifies perseverance. Despite his bad image today, he’s a self-made millionaire who built his empire from scratch while struggling with drug addiction.
Mike Lindell was born on June 28, 1961, in Mankato, Minnesota, where life wasn’t easy. His parents divorced when he was only seven, and he often acted out at school to avoid getting picked on.
To make matters worse, Lindell developed an alcohol and gambling addiction when he was 17, and he had to work two jobs to make ends meet.
In college, Mike Lindell also became addicted to substances, causing him to accumulate a debt of $20,000 to $50,000. He ultimately had to drop out of school and learn card counting to repay his debts!
Image source: Thebluemagazine
The Start of MyPillow – How Mike Lindell Earned His Net Worth
One day, while traveling home from the casino, Mike Lindell suddenly had an epiphany.
You see, the young entrepreneur had trouble sleeping ever since he was a child. Because of this, he had the brilliant idea of developing a pillow with interlocking foam.
His company, MyPillow, promised customers that it could provide better support when sleeping.
Mike Lindell spent the next year improving his product and the two years after trying to sell it. Through these years, he ran out of money and borrowed some more to keep the business afloat.
Fortunately, Lindell got his big break in 2007 when a man from a local home show loved his pillows. This man invited Mike Lindell and his wife to present the pillows on TV, and sales slowly went up!
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Mike Lindell’s Net Worth Reaches Its Peak
By 2017, the MyPillow brand was earning $100 million a year. Mike Lindell invested a large sum into infomercials, which further boosted his sales.
The pillows became a bestseller at various retailers in 2019, earning upwards of $500 million a year. By this time, you couldn’t watch TV without seeing one of Mike Lindell’s commercials.
As per Newsweek, this catapulted Mike Lindell’s net worth to a peak of $200 to $300 million!
What Else Did Mike Lindell Own?
Aside from MyPillow, Mike Lindell diversified his income streams. He started new businesses and bought luxury properties with the money he earned.
Here’s what Mike Lindell did with his extra cash.
Mike Lindell’s Other Businesses
Mike Lindell has always been the type of man who wasn’t afraid of trying new businesses. Perhaps this is why he went left field and decided to start the Frank brand.
FrankSpeech, as he called it, is a video streaming platform. Meanwhile, FrankSocial is a social networking platform that focuses on free speech.
According to Mike Lindell, he spent $1 million a month developing these websites, hoping they rival YouTube and Facebook!
Mike Lindell’s Properties
On top of his businesses, Mike Lindell also bought properties and vehicles with his freshly earned cash. Here are some of his extravagant purchases.
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- Lakefront House: Mike Lindell bought a luxury mansion in Chaska, Minnesota, worth nearly $1 million. The house has six bedrooms and sits on 2.5 acres of waterfront land.
- Florida Home: In 2021, Mike Lindell says he spent millions of dollars on “white-hat hackers” to prove his conspiracy theories. However, $1.5 million of the money actually went to a luxury home in Naples, Florida.
- Luxury Jets: Mike Lindell also sold a 1993 Dassault-Breguet Falcon 50 aircraft worth $2.5 million in 2021. He says he owns a second jet, so he could afford to sell this one for extra funds.
How Did Mike Lindell Lose His $300 Million Net Worth?
It’s no secret that Mike Lindell lost his fortune because of an obsession. He became convinced that the 2020 elections were rigged against Donald Trump, and he held onto this belief with extreme loyalty.
Let’s discuss everything that went down.
1. Lindell Meets and Supports Trump
Mike Lindell and Donald Trump met in 2017 in a private meeting at the Trump Tower Office. The two discussed Made in America, and Lindell left the office transformed.
Image source: CNN
According to him, meeting Trump was like a religious experience, and he decided to use his money to help Trump win the elections.
Pretty soon, Mike Lindell was in all of Trump’s rallies. He appeared at political fundraisers and panhandled thousands of pillows to hurricane survivors.
2. Trump Loses the 2020 Elections
After Trump lost the 2020 elections against Biden, Mike Lindell became convinced the voting was rigged. He spun wild conspiracy theories and drained his accounts to prove these theories.
First, Mike Lindell funded and produced a two-hour film called Absolute Proof. He wanted to use the film to push a theory that China’s cyberattacks were behind the rigged elections.
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Following this, he funded another film called Selection Code, which claimed voting machines were to blame for the loss.
Overall, Mike Lindell says he spent over $25 million to prove voting fraud. Still, all of his efforts came up short, and he was never able to prove anything.
3. Dominion Sues Mike Lindell
Lawsuits definitely took the most toll on Mike Lindell’s net worth. To prove his point, he often accused electronic voting companies of tampering with the votes. As a result, electronic voting companies sued him for damages.
For instance, Dominion Voting Systems alone sued Lindell for $1.3 billion. It claims that Lindell threatened employee safety and destroyed its public image.
According to Lindell, he was paying $2 million a month to fight the lawsuits from Smartmatic and Dominion. His lawyers say he owes them millions in legal fees. Lindell had to find cheaper lawyers because of his debt!
4. Mike Lindell Runs the “Prove Me Wrong” Contest
Mike Lindell’s “Prove Me Wrong” challenge was the cherry on top of everything he had to pay during his legal battles.
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You see, Mike Lindell claimed he had hard evidence that China rigged the 2020 elections. He even ran a contest that challenged experts to prove his data was incorrect.
Unfortunately for Lindell, a man named Robert Zeidman did just that.
Zeidman discovered that Lindell’s data was a random set of numbers and IP addresses that weren’t from the 2020 elections.
In the end, a judge ruled that Mike Lindell must pay $5 million to Robert Zeidman for winning his “Prove Me Wrong” contest!
5. Retailers Remove MyPillow From Stores
To add to Lindell’s financial problems, retailers began pulling his products off shelves. Lindell estimates he lost $100 million after retailers like Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Walmart stopped stocking MyPillow.
Consumers also started questioning Lindell’s health claims. The company lost its accreditation from the Better Business Bureau for this reason.
Unsurprisingly, MyPillows had to pay nearly $1 million in damages for misleading advertising!
6. Banks Label Lindell a Reputational Risk
Coincidentally, Mike Lindell’s banks cut ties with the MyPillow CEO because they say he’s a reputational risk.
The Minnesota Bank & Trust closed all nine of Lindell’s accounts as of February 2022. The reason? It didn’t want to be involved with Lindell’s conspiracy theories!
Minnesota Bank & Trust has shut down MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s bank account. pic.twitter.com/pe1OdJbrde
— The Recount (@therecount) February 14, 2022
For his part, Mike Lindell accuses his bank of trying to destroy his businesses.
7. DHL Sues My Pillow
Just recently, DHL sued Mike Lindell for $800,000 worth of unpaid bills.
Earlier in 2023, a court ordered MyPillow to pay DHL $775,000 in 24 monthly installments. However, this new lawsuit reveals that Mike Lindell only paid $64,583.34.
Over time, the interest on Lindell’s debt increased, leading to additional fees!
Where Does This Put Mike Lindell Today?
It’s safe to say that those aren’t the only lawsuits Mike Lindell is facing today. To quote The Independent, Mike Lindell’s financial woes are only getting more desperate.
The law is catching up with all of Lindell’s past actions. In fact, Mike Lindell says he has lost everything to his legal battles.
Yet, despite everything, the International Business Times estimated Mike Lindell’s net worth at $174 million in 2023. Trump winning the 2024 elections could also be a lifeline for the MyPillow CEO.
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In my opinion, only time will tell whether Mike Lindell will make it out of his financial troubles.
Conclusion
Whew! That was a really heavy case, so I would like to end this article on a more positive note.
Even though Mike Lindell can’t prove a single one of his conspiracy theories, I’ll give him one thing. He sticks to his beliefs despite knowing he’ll be losing millions of dollars in the process.
The man sticks to his ideals. He certainly never would have gotten his peak net worth of $300 million without this dedication.
I do, however, hope he learns his lesson and stops spreading misinformation without proper evidence!
Featured image source: Google
