Papa John’s founder John Schnatter may be going through a major fallout following his use of a racial slur, but his pizza empire has earned him a comfortable net worth to fall back on.
After stepping down as chairman of the board of Papa John’s on Wednesday, Schnatter’s more than three-decades-long career in the pizza industry has earned him a hefty price tag. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the 56-year-old pizza mogul is worth an estimated $700 million.
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Much of Schnatter’s net worth is in thanks to Papa John’s, his infamous pizza chain that brings in over $1.7 billion in revenue per year. The 56-year-old got his start in the business of pizza in 1984 with just a single pizza oven in the back of his father’s bar. In 1985, he opened his first Papa John’s in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
The popular pizza chain has since grown to employ more than 16,000 people and has seen a growth that rivals Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza, making Papa John’s the third-largest pizza company in the world.
“In 1991 I didn’t have $2,000 to go on vacation. In 1994 the company was worth $200 million,” Schnatter told CNBC, according to Forbes. “”In 1994 the company was worth $200 million. We literally went from nothing to literally having a lot of blessings in a short period of time.”
Schnatter recently reached the end of the line of his pizza career, the pizza mogul facing swift backlash after he used a racial slur during a conference call with a marketing agency that was hired to help the 56-year-old mend his broken relationship with the public following controversial comments regarding the NFL’s kneeling protests. Schnatter later admitted to using the racial slur in the conference call and publicly apologized.
“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” he said. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”
While Schnatter had stepped down as CEO of Papa Johns in December, his racist comment has brought heavy consequences. He has since resigned as chairman of the board of Papa Johns and the company has made quick moves to separate itself from his image, wiping their marketing of pictures and mentions of Schnatter. Schnatter is also no longer the spokesman or public face for the chain. However, he still maintains 30 percent of the company’s shares and sits on the Papa John’s board.
