How Chip and Joanna Gaines Went From Pinching Pennies to Making Millions

Thanks to their hit show Fixer Upper and now the Magnolia Network, Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines have become household names. They've become some of the most recognizable and respected figures in home renovation. 

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But before reality shows and book deals, the couple was a small town Texas duo just trying to pay the bills.

"I remember when we first got married the only money we had was what was in Chip's pocket," Joanna Gaines told PEOPLE in 2020. "He always had a wad of cash, but we were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping it's whatever was in his pocket. That's how we paid the bills."

Chip began flipping houses in college and had faith that the career, though risky, would make ends meet for the couple after they married in 2003.

"Her dad spent the first two years of our marriage asking me if I was going to get a job," Chip told PEOPLE. "I was like, 'I have a job and I like it.'"

As we all know, Chip and Jo's home renovation venture would do more than make ends meet; after years of work, the couple has raked in millions.

So how much are the charismatic design duo and home renovation stars actually worth?

Chip and Joanna Gaines Net Worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, the power couple reportedly has an estimated combined net worth of $50 million, thanks to their media empire, which includes a television network and a line at Target.

Just a few years ago, the couple was ringing in a net worth of $5 million, so it's clear that they aren't stopping any time soon. 

Since then, Chip and Joanna have become two of the most recognizable faces in home design and home remodeling. Their retail properties, Magnolia Market at the Silos have helped transform Waco, Texas, into a bustling new tourist destination. It most likely also increased attendance at Baylor University, the couple's beloved alma mater. Vacation rental property, the Magnolia House, their quarterly magazine the Magnolia Journal, the Magnolia Story book, their Magnolia Table restaurant, and cookbook have also helped increase the HGTV stars' yearly incomes. Along with their renovation business, they now have a team that sells homes across Waco, Austin, Dallas, and beyond via Magnolia Homes and their own real estate agency, Magnolia Realty.

Hearth & Hand

If that wasn't enough, the design dream team didn't stop there. They have their own line of Target home decor items, "Hearth and Hand with Magnolia," and Joanna even has a line of items currently available at Anthropologie.

Magnolia Network

The couple launched a multi-platform media company, including a cable network (Magnolia Network) and TV Everywhere app.  The company even has plans to launch a subscription streaming service. The company is a joint venture between HGTV's parent company Discovery Inc. and Chip and Joanna's home and lifestyle brand, Magnolia.

Fixer Upper: Welcome Home

After ending Fixer Upper in 2018 after five seasons, the couple returned with their latest tv show, Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, in 2021. The Magnolia Network show features the couple lending their home improvement skills to a whole new group of home owners.

Fixer Upper: Welcome Home -- The Castle

Chip and Jo's latest venture finds them renovating Cottonland Castle, a historic building on Austin Ave. in Waco. The series premieres on premiere on Oct. 14 and is available to watch on the Magnolia Network. The series is also available to stream for subscribers on discovery+ or HBO Max.

Family Life

Through it all, the couple, parents to Drake, Duke, Ella, Emmie and Crew, has put their family first.

"In our 20 years of marriage, Chip and I have experienced a little bit of all of it," Joanna Gaines wrote in the August 2022 issue of the Magnolia Journal quote via PEOPLE. "Losing a loved one. Shifts in friendships. Bills we couldn't pay. Moments where our hearts were broken. Times when all hope felt lost and circumstances were out of our control. When all I could think to do was lay face down on the floor in surrender."

Gaines added that one of the most bittersweet moments was sending her oldest, son Drake, to college.

"In the grand scheme of heartbreaking things, this one comes with a lot of gratitude and excitement. But still, my first child is moving away, and our family dynamic will change because of it, and that can feel like a loss of its own. I catch glimpses now of what that life will look like and wonder if—or how many times—that might bring me to the floor."

Through the good times and the bad, the couple has never wavered in their dedication to their family and their devotion to one another.

"When I look out across the whole landscape of my little corner of the world, there are plenty of places where I fall short," Chip Gaines wrote in the Magnolia Journal in 2021. "I'm known to be easily distracted, for one thing. In general, me and time have this way of losing track of one another. And sometimes, I can let some of the commitments I've made slip through my hands...."But there are other commitments -- the big ones -- that I hold on to with everything I've got. Honoring Jo, being a good dad, my faith, trying to do what's right even when it's not easy, building something that helps other people. Those are commitments I've made that I won't compromise. My nonnegotiables... No matter how much the details and circumstances of my life may change, and no matter what storms come my way, you watch: I'm going to get those right."

 

This post was originally published on May 18, 2017. It was updated on Oct. 14, 2022.

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