What Is Patrisse Cullors’ Net Worth
Patrisse Cullors is changing the world a step at a time. The 39-year-old activist is famous for co-founding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that fights against racism and discrimination.
But how wealthy is she? As of 2023, Patrisse Cullors’ net worth was estimated to be $2 million.
There’s so much to know about the BLM star. From her personal life to education, career, and achievements, Cullors is treading a path not many have.
Stick around to find out more.
Early & Personal life
Patrisse Cullors was born on the 20th of June, 1983, in Los Angeles, California.
She was raised by her mother, Cherice Foley, and stepfather, Alton Cullors.
At the time, Patrisse hadn’t known that Alton Cullors was her stepfather. She, however, described feeling different from her siblings.
Imagine her surprise discovering that her biological father was Gabriel Brignac, a man her mother had met during a brief separation with her stepdad, Alton.
Cullors told Guardian, “Until then, I felt pretty much like an alien the whole time. I love my family and siblings, but I was nothing like them. They’re all introverts. I was rambunctious, loud, extrovert – wild hair and wild clothes.”
Brignac and Cullors reunited when the latter was 12. It was a bittersweet moment for father and daughter.
Brignac, however, was a multiple-time offender.
He was homeless and had been jailed many times on drug-related issues. That is, till his death in 2009.
Despite all this, Cullors referred to her father as a constant and loving presence in her life.
Patrisse Cullors had a rough childhood. She grew up in San Fernando Valley, a known poor and Mexican-dominated neighborhood.
To make matters worse, her stepfather left home, leaving her mother, Cherice, to raise her and her siblings alone.
With all these factors in place, it’s no surprise that Cullors got into a lot of trouble at a young age. She got arrested at 12, was transferred to different schools, and was grounded many times.
At age 16, she was allegedly kicked out for identifying as queer.
All these problems led Cullors to learn more about activism, critical theories, and social movements.
Quick Facts
| Net Worth: | $2 Million |
| Full Name: | Patrisse Marie Khan-Cullors Brignac |
| Date of Birth: | June 20, 1983 |
| Age: | 39 years |
| Place of Birth: | California |
| Country of Origin: | United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Gender: | Female |
| Parents: |
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| Siblings: | Paul Cullors, Monte Cullors, and Jasmine Cullors. |
| Marital status: | Married |
| Spouse | Janaya Khan |
| Occupation: | Social activist, organizer, and writer. |
| Social Media Accounts: |
Education
Patrisse Cullors graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda. She went on to the University of California, Los Angeles, to bag a degree in religion and philosophy.
The BLM co-founder, however, didn’t stop there. She obtained an MFA from the University of Southern California.
She also received an honorary doctorate from Chicago’s South Shore International College Preparatory High School and Clarkson University.
Relationship
Patrisse Cullors is married to Janaya Khan, a social activist and co-founder of BLM Toronto. They met in 2015 and tied the knot in the spring of 2016.
Khan, Cullors’ spouse, identifies as queer and gender non-conforming.
Controversy
In 2021, Cullors was accused of using money from the BLM network for her own personal gain. Reports revealed that the 39-year-old acquired several expensive homes in the space of 5 years.
Cullors denied the allegations and described the criticism as right-wing efforts to discredit her work.
The BLM founder, however, admitted to hosting two parties at a mansion the BLM foundation purchased for $6 million. She apologized and promised to do better.
Career
Patrisse Cullors started pursuing activism in her early years. As a teenager, she joined the Bus Riders Union, and at age 22, she was honored with the Mario Savio Young Activist Award.
In 2013, Cullors was motivated to do more. She, with her friends Opal Tometi and Alicia Garza, started a movement and called it Black Lives Matter (BLM).
This occurred shortly after the murder of Trayvon Martin. Martin was an unarmed black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator.
Cullors and her friends felt compelled to do something after Zimmerman walked away a free man. And they did. They started the BLM movement.
What started as a hashtag turned into a movement that swept across the globe.
Through the BLM network, the fight against racial injustice intensified, and black Americans were given a voice.
She told the Guardian：
“What we did, Alicia, Opal, and I, is create infrastructure so that we could have language and a framework around why police violence, vigilante violence, incarceration, were the greatest dangers to our community.“
She continued, “We created a language around queerness and transness as not the enemy to Black people. My specific role was bringing people together, going across the country and world to talk about the tactic of protest, the tactic of what we call ‘shutting shit down,’ of lifting up Blackness and being OK with saying: ‘Black lives matter.”
In 2020, however, her co-founders left the company, and Patrisse assumed control. In 2021, though, she stepped down from her role as executive director and diverted her attention to other projects.
She decided to focus on her second book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World. She also did a multi-year TV collaboration with Warner Bros.
Alongside BLM, Cullors has led other social organizations, including; Dignity, Power Now, Justice LA, and Reform LA Jails.
She also identifies as a writer. Her first book, “When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir,” was published in January 2018. The book highlighted the discrimination and inequality against black men.
Lifestyle
Patrisse Cullors has invested in several real estate properties. She owns four homes in the high-brow areas of California and Georgia.
The total cost of the purchase was a whopping $3.2 million.
One of the homes is a 2,370-square-foot property close to Malibu, Los Angeles, that she bought for $1.4 million.
Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan, also own a ranch in Georgia that sits on 3.2 rural acres. The property features a private airplane hangar that has a studio apartment above it.
The hangar uses a 2,500-foot “paved/grass” runway that’s big enough to accommodate small planes. Within the property is also an “RV shop” where a small aircraft or mobile home can be repaired.
The third home is a three-bedroom property in Inglewood which Cullors purchased for $510,000 in 2016. The home is, however, currently worth about $800,000.
The fourth home is a 1,725-square-foot, four-bedroom property in South Los Angeles purchased in 2018. Although Cullors bought it for $590,000, it is now currently worth over $700,000.
Awards and Honors
The BLM founder has been honored with multiple awards, including:
- The Sydney Peace Prize Award (2017),
- Black Woman of the Year Award (2015) from The National Congress of Black Women,
- Civil Rights Leader for the 21st Century Award (2015) from the Los Angeles Times,
- Community Change Agent Award (2016) from BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, Inc.,
- Women of the Year Award for the Justice Seekers Award (2016) from Glamour, and
- ESSENCE’s first-ever Woke Award.
- NAACP History Maker
- Senior Fellow for Maternal Mortality by MomsRising
- Revolution Award for Freedom from ImageNation Cinema Foundation
- The Defender of the Dream Award from the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committee on Civil and Human Rights
Conclusion
Patrisse Cullors is re-writing black history. From her involvement in social movements to her intriguing publications, she is gradually changing the narrative.
The 39-year-old had troubles growing up but didn’t allow it to deter her. Instead, it fuelled her passion.
Patrisse Cullors is definitely living her dreams.
