Former US Navy SEAL officer and American businessman Erik Prince’s net worth is a staggering $2 billion.
He is the creator of Blackwater Worldwide (now Academi), a private military firm that carried out top-secret government operations.
The company was founded in 1997 and is the world’s largest private military contractor today.
Erik Prince (Source: Blackwater Worldwide)
Erik was the CEO of Blackwater until 2009 and then the chairman until the company was sold to a group of investors in 2010.
Prince is also the founder of the “Frontier Resource Group,” a private equity business.
Moreover, his wealth is largely derived from his father’s automotive accessories business.
Erik Prince | Quick Facts
Let’s look at quick facts to understand more about Erik Prince.
Birth Name
Erik Dean Prince
Professional Name
Erik Prince
Nick Name
Prince, Erik
Birth Date
June 6, 1969
Age
54 Years Old
Birth Place
Holland, Michigan, USA
Residence
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Height
1.67 m (5 feet 6 inches)
Weight
65 kg (143.3 lbs.)
Religion
Roman Catholic
Gender
Male
Build
Average
Net Worth
$2 Billion
Eye Color
Brown
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Profession
Businessman, Former Navy SEAL, CEO
Known For
Founder of Blackwater USA
Father’s Name
Edgar Prince
Mother’s Name
Elsa Prince-Broekhuizen
Political View
Libertarian
Horoscope
Gemini
Ethnicity
Dutch
Siblings
3
High School
Holland Christian High School
College
United States Naval Academy
Hillsdale College
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Marital Status
Married
Spouse
Joan Prince (M. 1991; Died 2003)
Joanna Houck (M. 2004; Div. 2012)
Stacy DeLuke
Children
7
Active Since
1990-Present
Social Media
N/A
Last Update
April 2024
Erik Prince | Net Worth and Income
Multi-talented businessman and investor Erik Prince’s net worth is a whopping $2 billion.
Prince operated his father’s business, “Prince Machine Corporation,” until his mother sold it to “Johnson Controls” for $1.35 billion in 1996.
Most of his money comes from his father’s corporation.
Similarly, Erik also ran his own profitable military business.
Prince moved to Virginia Beach in 1997 and founded Blackwater Worldwide. It is the world’s largest private military contractor today.
After purchasing 6,000 acres of land in North Carolina’s Great Dismal Swamp, he created a school for special operations, a choice influenced by the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Blackwater became known for providing roughly 1,000 guards for posts and diplomats worldwide.
The corporation has been awarded more than $1.6 billion in federal contracts, but it is also said to have gained $600 million in classified contracts from the CIA since 2001.
After Blackwater soldiers killed 17 Iraqi citizens and critically injured more than 20 others in Baghdad in 2009, he lost a $1 billion contract.
Although, in 2010, the company was awarded a $120 million security contract from the US Department of State and $100 million in CIA contracts.
Later, in 2009, he sold the company to other investors and stepped down as chairman.
Erik went to Abu Dhabi in 2010, where under his direction, another company, “Reflex Responses,” was formed.
He is believed to own 51 percent of the corporation on the local level. However, no such information can be found in any company filings.
Moreover, he sold three Mi-24 assault helicopters and two L-39 planes and the skills of Hungarian mercenary pilots to operate the aircraft to the government of South Sudan for $43 million.
These military businesses have helped him secure a large fortune.
Erik Prince’s Net Worth in Different Currencies
Let’s look into Erik Prince’s net worth in different currencies, including the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Currency
Net Worth
Euro
€ 1,856,360,000
Pound Sterling
£ 1,562,190,000
Australian Dollar
A$ 2,789,400,000
Canadian Dollar
C$ 2,547,100,000
Indian Rupee
₹ 153,293,100,000
Bitcoin
฿ 51038.36
Erik Prince | Houses & Cars
Houses
Both Middleburg, Virginia, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are home to Prince, as he owns a home in both places.
He has a collection of properties scattered across the USA.
Prince lived in McLean, Virginia, in 2007 and spent time at his Blackwater Ranch.
Including that, he owns a Double E Ranch in Cody, Wyoming, which was built from the ground up over five years.
Erik Prince House (Source: Cryptome)
Similarly, after relocating to the UAE, Erik was handed ownership of two side-by-side mansions in Abu Dhabi, each valued at $10 million.
The affluent enclave was designed as a luxury neighborhood, with each villa having its private beach, and quickly became home to several foreign embassies.
In addition, he constructed a dock for his boat that features a Blackwater symbol on the port side.
Cars
Purchasing an automobile isn’t much 0f a problem for Erik Prince. With a net worth of $2 billion, Prince can easily buy any vehicle.
However, Erik is rarely photographed in a car for safety concerns. He always travels in a private jet, with full security.
Although the detail about his jets and yacht are not revealed, Erik does live the life of a rich billionaire.
Erik Prince | Lifestyle and Vacation
Lifestyle
Erik Prince lives a luxurious lifestyle with a massive net worth of $2 billion.
On June 6, 1969, he was born in Holland, Michigan, USA, and grew up with three older siblings. He is the son of Edgar D. Prince, a businessman, and Elsa (Zwiep).
Prince was recruited into the United States Naval Academy and stayed for three semesters before departing, stating that he enjoyed the Navy but not the Academy.
Erik Prince As A Firefighter (Source: Hillsdale College)
He was a volunteer firefighter and a cold-water diver for the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department.
Prince landed an internship at the White House under George H.W. Bush in 1990 but left after to work as an intern for a California congressman.
Prince volunteered to hunt for a mass grave in Nicaragua at the age of 21 in order to reveal deaths that had occurred under President Daniel Ortega and later claimed to have discovered the mass grave.
In 1992, Prince graduated from Officer Candidate School and was appointed as an officer in the United States Navy.
He became a Navy SEAL and traveled to Haiti, the Middle East, and the Balkans with SEAL Team 8.
According to him, the SEAL gave him a place to express his business mentality.
Prince’s time in the United States Navy terminated prematurely in 1995 due to his father’s death.
Before she died of cancer in 2003, Erik married Joan Nicole, and they had four children.
While Joan was ill, Prince started an affair with Joanna Houck, his children’s former nanny, and she became pregnant before Joan died.
Erik and Joanna married in 2004 and went on to have three children before getting divorced in 2012.
Later on, Prince married Stacy DeLuke, a former Blackwater spokesperson.
Vacation
Erik Prince has traveled the world through his different endeavors.
Prince and his father went on a globe trip together, seeing the Dachau detention center in Germany, divided Berlin, and the Normandy battlefields.
According to his mother, these travel “made a great impression” on the young Prince.
Since he lives in UAE and USA, Erik often travels to both places.
Similarly, Prince has been to many war zones and exotic vacations with his connection to the military.
Erik Prince | Charity
Erik Prince has supported several non-profits since he became active in the business.
He’s given to the “Family Research Council,” which the Prince and DeVos families have supported since the 1980s.
Erik is the vice-chairman of the Prince Foundation, which his parents established in 1979.
Prince established the “Freiheit Foundation” in the 1990s, a non-profit organization that supported various conservative causes.
According to publicly available tax data, the organization has been essentially inactive since 2008 after recording a $1.8 million loss in 2007.
Prince has given to conservative Christian organizations such as the “Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty” and “Prison Fellowship” on numerous occasions.
Furthermore, he has also aided conservative political organizations like the “Council for National Policy.”
Prince donated to an Afghan Muslim orphanage after the Baghdad incident and erected mosques at Blackwater bases.
Erik Prince | Movies, Books, Investment, and Endorsement
Movies
Erik Prince has also featured in several movies and television series.
He has starred in documentaries such as “The Brink” (2019), “America’s Book of Secrets” (2014), and “SuperPower” (2008).
Similarly, he appeared in television shows such as “Stinchfield” (2022), “Farage” (2021), “Erin Burnett OutFront” (2019), and “The Kelly File” (2013), and many more.
According to his memoir, he understood the need for private special operations training centers during the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s.
Moreover, he has mentioned assisting the CIA in connecting with Afghan warlords who aided in the Taliban’s end.
Investment
Erik Prince’s net worth as of April 2024 is a massive $2 billion.
Erik has a company in Africa that focuses on developing infrastructure and delivering water to communities in some of the world’s most difficult environments.
Prince announced in 2019 that he plans to fund up to $500 million to invest in the supply of metals required for electric car batteries.
Similarly, Prince also owns a 25 percent share in Airborne Technologies, an Austrian aircraft company.
Until 2021, he led Frontier Services Group (FSG).
In 2014, he wanted to establish a fuel refinery in South Sudan. Despite a $10 million investment, the project was put on hold.
During that time, the country’s president personally endorsed his proposal.
In reality, the South Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum paid the Frontier Services Group $23.3 million.
Endorsement
Erik has endorsed several companies and brands to increase his net worth.
Prince contributed more than $200,000 to Republican and third-party campaigns between 1998 and 2007.
He gave $250,000 to Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign in 2016, as well as $100,000 to “Make America Number 1,” a Trump-aligned national campaign.
In 2021, he was a guest on a podcast series called “Bannon’s War Room.”
Erik Prince | Career
Prince was formerly a member of a CIA task group tasked with assassinating terrorists, and his name was given to the press by the House Intelligence Committee.
Erik was recruited by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and went to Abu Dhabi in 2010 when Blackwater faced mounting legal troubles in the United States.
His mission was to gather an 800-strong force of foreign soldiers for the United Arab Emirates.
Erik Prince During a Trial (Source: Atalayar)
He began training 2000 Somalis to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden the following year.
Later, he was chairman of Frontier Services Group Ltd, a logistics and transportation company.
Erik is advancing his career in the United Arab Emirates, and until recently, he had a company in Africa.
Prince’s venture was to provide advice and help to Chinese oil and gas investors in Africa.
Some Interesting Facts About Erik Prince
Erik is a devout Catholic who converted in 1992.
In 1992, Prince graduated from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in economics.
Similarly, Erik has also worked as an EMT (emergency medical technician).
FAQs
How much do Blackwater soldiers make?
The monthly wage of a Blackwater contractor is estimated to be between $9,000 and $22,500.
What is the largest private military company?
Currently, Blackwater (Xe Services LLC, Academi) is the world’s largest company of its kind.
Rovik is an editor and content writer; with a bachelors degree in Journalism, he has worked in niches such as sports, entertainment, news, and trending.
