Alex Jones Files Chapter 11 — But Is He Really Broke?
Alex Jones's InfoWars filed for bankruptcy, but are they really broke? The Chapter 11 filing follows a judge finding Jones liable in a defamation suit filed by Sandy Hook survivors.
April 18 2022, Published 2:39 p.m. ET
Alex Jones rests his arms on a security fence outside the Georgia State Capitol on November 18, 2020.
Next year, a jury will decide how much Alex Jones must pay in damages to Sandy Hook families for defamation. But in light of three companies the conspiracy theorist owns filing bankruptcy, it seems less likely than ever that the survivors and victim families will ever see a dime.
The Texas resident has faced several costly lawsuits in a number of states over the last few years, but is Jones really broke or simply seeking the protection of bankruptcy to avoid ever paying the damages?
InfoWars, IW Health, and Prison Planet TV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
On Sunday, April 17, the three companies held by Jones filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. According to court documents, in its court filings, Infowars said that it has 49 creditors to whom the company owes $10 million in estimated liabilities, while it estimates assets held at $50,000. The two other companies also claimed up to 49 creditors. IW Health's stated assets were estimated at up to $1 million, and Prison Planet TV estimated $50,000 in total assets.
According to the filing, most of the estimated liabilities are due to legal fees.
IW Health is the company through which Jones sells supplements and other health and wellness products through his show, which he promotes heavily on his program.
Prison Planet TV is a production company that produces Jones' show and a handful of other on InfoWars as well as "documentaries" on fringe conspiracy theories such as the New World Order and the belief that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were "an inside job."
Last September, Jones lost two Texas defamation lawsuits after failing to provide the court with information. In November 2021, a judge in Connecticut ordered him guilty by default in a case joined by families of eight deceased Sandy Hook shooting victims because Jones refused to turn over financial records and other documents the court demanded.
So, is Alex Jones broke?
The three Chapter 11 filings come just days after a new case against Jones accused him of hiding InfoWars assets and making "dubious" claims about his debts to avoid paying damages.
While his businesses have filed for bankruptcy, Jones himself hasn't filed for Chapter 9 or 13, the two bankruptcy filings reserved for individuals. The "alternative news" host himself is estimated to have an unconfirmed net worth of around $5 million, but that may have diminished significantly in recent years.
Jones lost several revenue streams when major platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and Facebook all removed InfoWars content for violating their policies on hate speech. InfoWars had a brief presence on Roku in January 2019, but the content was pulled after a day after users threatened to boycott.
While Jones likely isn't living nearly as large as he did in the height of his media exposure, he at the very least had enough money as recently as February 2021 to fly a helicopter over his ex-wife's house to taunt her after a judge ordered him to stay away.
In information Jones provided in December 2021 as part of one of the Texas lawsuits against him, he claimed more than $6.2 million in assets, including three properties valued around $2.35 million, cash holdings of approximately $458,000, $206,000 in cryptocurrency, vehicles valued at $150,000, and an exchange trust with $3.1 million from a sale of a property.