Over 25 years ago, Dave Ramsey fought his way out of millions of dollars of debt and bankruptcy. He took what he learned and started teaching people God's and Grandma's ways of handling money, and he established Financial Peace University. Since then, Financial Peace University has helped nearly 10 million people take control of their money for good.
Today, The Ramsey Show, formerly known as The Dave Ramsey Show, reaches more than 18 million weekly listeners on the Ramsey Network radio show and podcast.
In this article, you will learn about Dave Ramsey’s net worth, his career, how he handled his debt, and how millions of people achieved their financial goals through his seven baby steps.
What is Dave Ramsey's net worth?
Dave Ramsey's net worth is estimated to be $200 million.
Who is Dave Ramsey?
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) in Antioch, Tennessee.
He is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, evangelical Christian, and businessman. He is a very inspiring personal finance personality.
His father inspired him to become an entrepreneur.
Ramsey printed 500 business cards at the local print shop for his first business venture. Throughout his school years, he had other businesses, one of which sold leather bracelets.
Ramsey's early business ventures taught him valuable lessons like customer service and the importance of keeping your word.
He is the creator of Financial Peace University— a nine-lesson course that teaches you how to save for emergencies, pay off debt fast, spend wisely, and invest for your future.
Dave hosts the popular radio program The Ramsey Show. He has written several books, including The New York Times Bestseller The Total Money Makeover.
Dave Ramsey married his wife Sharon in 1982, and the Ramseys have three children: Denise (Ramsey), Whittemore, Rachel (Ramsey) Cruze, and Daniel Ramsey.
Ramsey Solutions
His children work for Ramsey Solutions. With Ramsey, Cruze co-wrote and published the New York Times No. 1 bestseller Smart Money, Smart Kids, in 2014.
He formed Ramsey Solutions in 1992 to counsel folks hurting from financial stress.
In Dave's Story: How It Started, he said: “I paid the “stupid tax” (mistakes with dollar signs on end), so hopefully some of you won't have to. I wrote the book Financial Peace based on all that Sharon and I had learned,
How did he make his money?
He makes his money as a financial educator; he has finance courses. Ramsey makes his money through his real estate empire and YouTube channel.
What does he do with his money?
He is growing his real estate empire while running The Dave Ramsey Show.
He also nets a $15 million annual income from his businesses and YouTube channel.
FAQs
What are the 7 Baby steps of Dave Ramsey?
“Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps will show you how to save for emergencies, pay off all your debt for good, and build wealth. It’s not a fairy tale. It works every single time!’’
Here's a curation of the decisive seven baby steps of Dave Ramsey:
Baby Step 1: Save $1,000 for Your Starter Emergency Fund
In the first step, your goal is to save $1,000 as fast as you can. Your emergency fund will cover those unexpected life events you can't plan for. And there are plenty of them. You don’t want to dig a deeper hole while working out debt.
Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Debt (Except the House) Using the Debt Snowball
Next, it’s time to pay off the cars, the credit cards, and the student loans. Start by listing all of your debts except for your mortgage. Put them in order by balance from smallest to most enormous—regardless of interest rate.
Pay minimum payments on everything but the little one. Attack that one with a vengeance. Once it's gone, take that payment and put it toward the second-smallest debt, making minimum payments on the rest.
That's what's called the debt snowball method, and you’ll use it to knock out your debts one by one.
Baby Step 3: Save 3–6 Months of Expenses in a Fully Funded Emergency Fund
You’ve paid off your debt! Don’t slow down now. Take that money you were throwing at your debt and build a fully funded emergency fund that covers 3–6 months of your expenses.
This step will protect you against life’s bigger surprises, like the loss of a job or your car breaking down, without slipping back into debt.
Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of Your Household Income in Retirement
Now you can shift your focus off debts and what-ifs and start looking up the road. At this step, you begin regularly investing 15% of your gross income for retirement.
Because if you're still working at 67, it should be because you want to, not because you have to. An investing pro can help you build a solid strategy.
Baby Step 5: Save for Your Children’s College Fund
By this step, you've paid off all debts (except the house) and started saving for retirement.
Next, it's time to save for your children’s college expenses (that is if they pass Algebra II and Chemistry). We recommend 529 college savings plans or ESAs (Education Savings Accounts).
Baby Step 6: Pay Off Your Home Early
Now, bring it all home. Baby Step 6 is the big dog! Your mortgage is the only thing between you and complete freedom from debt.
Can you imagine your life with no house payment? Any extra money you can put toward your mortgage could save you tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars in interest.
Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and Give
Do you know what people with no debt can do? Anything they want! The last step is the most fun. You can live and give like no one else.
Keep building wealth and become outrageously generous, leaving an inheritance for your kids and their kids. Now that's what we call leaving a legacy!
Is Dave Ramsey A Millionaire?
Yes! Dave Ramsey is a millionaire.
What are Dave Ramsey's famous quotes?
Dave Ramsey's quotes will inspire you to live a more fulfilling and successful life. His quotes are rich with inspiring words that revitalize one's life.
- “Change is painful. Few people dare to seek out change. Most people won’t change until the pain exceeds the pain of change.”
- “Fear is the enemy of hope."
- “Hope is steel covered in velvet. It can seem soft and cuddly, but hope is at the core of what makes people become what God designed them to be. Hope and its sister, faith, always create action.”
- “You can’t develop character in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
- “Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and realize it was leaning against the wrong building.”
How old was Dave Ramsey when he got rich?
At 26, Dave Ramsey brought home a quarter of a million dollars a year and had a $4 million real estate portfolio.
He said: “By the time I was 26, I had a little over a million dollars net worth. I was making $250,000 a year. That's more than $20,000 a month in net taxable income. I was having fun.’’
What does Dave Ramsey say about buying a car?
The general financial rule is that the total value of your vehicle (anything with a motor) should never be more than half of your annual household income.
Dave Ramsey doesn’t recommend buying a new car until your net worth is more than $1 million. If you’re a millionaire and want to buy a new car that costs a tiny percentage of your net worth, then go for it.
Does Dave Ramsey have a degree?
Yes! He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Real Estate at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
He said, “A degree is not a golden ticket. It gets your foot in the door, and then you still have to go do the work".
He’s not trying to underestimate the value of degrees; instead, he encourages hard work, skill, and hope to thrive in the job marketplace.
Do Ramsey coaches get paid?
Yes, they get paid. The average Ramsey Solutions Financial Coach yearly pay in the United States is approximately $80,003, which is 28% above the national average.
How do Ramsey coaches make money?
They make money by educating people on how to improve their finances. On average, financial coaches at Ramsey Solutions charge about $150–250 per each one-hour session. Most coaches meet with their clients for about six to 12 sessions a year.
How much does it cost to have Dave Ramsey speak?
The estimated speaking fee range to book Dave Ramsey for your event is $200,000 and above.
Takeaway
“If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else," said Dave Ramsey.
Hope is indeed the gasoline that fosters your progress. Dave Ramsey's life and career are the epitome of the power of hope, courage, hard work, and consistency.
You can grow from nothing; it doesn't matter whether your limitation is a debt, financial loss, zero opportunities, or poor background. Look up and see beyond where you are. You are made for more.
Millions of people have followed Dave’s advice to get out of debt - that’s his expertise.
But here at Capitalism.com, we’re on a mission to make one million millionaires by 2028. Teaching entrepreneurs how to build million-dollar businesses that make the world a better place? That’s OUR expertise.
We’d love to help you on your journey toward becoming a millionaire, too.
The first step is finding the business that’s perfect for YOU to build. Watch this video and find your million-dollar idea now. Here’s where you start.
