Michael Franzese Net Worth: Lifestyle & Career as Mobster

A former mobster and a mafia caporegime, Michael Franzese has a net worth of $1 million.

If you think a crime family, mafias, drug cartels, and syndicates are now only in fiction movies, you couldn’t be more wrong.

They could be living an everyday life right among us.

Michael Franzese (Source: Goodreads)

Franzese is one of the former mafia, a mobster, and the captain of such a crime family known by the Colombo crime family.

Michael Franzese had a much higher net worth at his career peak as a mobster.

Michael Franzese | Quick Facts

Let’s have a quick look into this former crime boss’s life

Michael Franzese | Net Worth

The former gangster and crime boss, Michael Franzese, has a net worth of $1 million as of August 2023. But this wasn’t always the case.

There were times when he was a multimillionaire and was reportedly making $8 million per week.

He was even listed in the Fortune Magazine’s list under “Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses” in number 18.

Now he claims to have chosen a path of honesty since his imprisonment.

Coming from a criminal family and making millions of dollars every week, now Michael Franzese’s net worth is $1 million, which is a huge decline from what he has seen but enough to make him a millionaire.

Net Worth of Michael Franzese in Different Currencies 

Michael Franzese’s net worth in different currencies.

Michael Franzese | Houses, Cars, Private Jets, and Helicopters

When he was still a part of the organized criminals and captain of the Colombo family, he lived in a $3 million Westwood mansion.

He also had a private jet, Learjet 25, which he used to make an impression and win over his then crush and his current wife by taking her to dinner from Miami to New York.

Similarly, he had boats, yachts, helicopters, fancy cars, and all kinds of luxurious vehicles one could ask for.

Now, the former prince of the mafia, his wife, and his children lives in Anaheim Hills, California. Not much is known about the family’s real estate or other possessions.

Michael Franzese | Lifestyle & Imprisonment

Lifestyle

On May 27, 1951, Michael Franzese was born in New York City to the then underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, and his mother, Cristina Franzese.

After finishing high school, Franzese enrolled in a pre-med program at Hofstra University. He has mentioned to various sources that he wanted to be a doctor growing up. But that didn’t happen as he dropped out of school two years later.

He had to leave the med school and help his family after his father, the then underboss of the Colombo crime family, was charged for robbery and sentenced to 50 years behind bars.

Franzese always looked up to his father and considered him his idol, so he followed his footpath to the life of crimes.

There is no denying that Michael Franzese lived a very extravagant and luxurious life when he was the head of the Colombo crime family. He had his army working for him, and he had money and everything a man could ask for.

He lived in a $3 million worth mansion in Westwood and rode luxurious cars, private jets, yachts, and helicopters.

But all of that changed after his incarceration in 1986.

Imprisonment

In 1985, he pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of tax conspiracy involving gasoline bootlegging. He was sentenced to jail for ten years.

Michael got out on parole after serving 43 months, but he was again caught and put behind bars for parole violations and other crimes.

Franzese was released on November 7, 1994, and in 1995 he announced his retirement from the mob and criminal lifestyle. Not many people who were a part of the organized criminal group were happy about it.

He then got several death threats and contracts to kill him, one even approved by his own father. He even exclaimed that it’s a miracle he’s alive to tell the story.

It’s said that his wife Camille, who is a devoted Christian, was a significant influence in Michael’s Life to leave the mob and his life of crime to follow a simple and honest lifestyle and Christianity.

Michael Franzese | Charity

Michael has his own non-profit religious foundation called the Michael Franzese Ministries. The organization is based on the charitable motive to establish a relation of abused, misdirected young people and inmates with god.

The organization helps young people who are likely to take the life of crimes and redirect them on the path of god, help them join a local church, and earn their life with honesty and faith.

The idea came from Michael’s own life, how he found Jesus behind bars when his fellow inmate gave him a bible and how it has turned his life around.

Michael Franzese | Investments, and Book publications

Michael Franzese earned money by tax fraud and illegal activities at the peak of his career in the mob as a caporegime.

He planned out a scheme to defraud the government by gasoline bootlegging and was making as much as $8 million a week.

Investments

All that money had to go somewhere, so he started investing in all kinds of businesses like car dealerships, repairing shops, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, travel agencies, and even in Hollywood as a movie producer.

He was the president of the Miami Gold production company.

Books

That was all before he left the mob life. After his release in 1994, Michael decided to become a writer and a motivational speaker.

He has authored a number of books over the years.

I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse (Source: amazon)

Following are some of the books authored by Michael Franzese:

1. Quitting the Mob (1992)
2. Blood Covenant (2003)
3. I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse (2009)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Forgiven (2009)
5. Veriliitto (2015)
6. Lived (2018)

Michael now makes a living by selling his successful books.

Apart from books, Michael also had TV shows made on his life, including Inside the American Mob (2013), God the Father (2014), The Definitive Guide to the Mob (2016), and Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia (2020).

Read About

Michael Franzese | Career

By now, we all know that Michael Franzese was one of the notorious crime bosses in the 80s and served as a caporegime for the Colombo crime family.

After announcing his retirement from the mob culture, Franzese established himself as an author and a motivational speaker. He has written six books until now.

Michael Franzese (Source: Wikipedia)

He also has a YouTube channel named Michael Franzese, where he shares about the hardship of his ‘evil life’ as a mob man and helps inspire young people to choose a life of honesty and faith.

Three Facts About Michael Franzese

• In the beginning, Michael Franzese’s father didn’t want him to be a mobster but a doctor.
• He was disowned by his father when he announced to retire from the Colombo family, and they didn’t talk for ten years.
• His father, John Franzese, the notorious underboss of his time, died in 2020 at 103 and was the oldest living inmate in his jail serving.  He got released when he was 100 years old.

FAQs

Is Michael Franzese still alive?

When he left the mob, he got a tremendous amount of death threats. But he is still alive to his surprise and telling stories about his life in the mob.

Is Michael Franzese under witness protection?

Although constantly living in danger, Michael Franzese refused to take the witness protection program.

Is Michael Franzese an informant?

Michael Franzese says that he is not an informant, and no one has ever gone to jail because of his information.

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Categories: Net Worth
Source: ASIA EDU