Alaskan Bush People: Billy Brown Faced Financial Lows And Highs

Billy Brown, the head of the Brown family of Alaskan Bush People, has passed away. Billy’s death was announced on Feb. 8, 2021, with Bear Brown, one of his seven children, confirming the news on Instagram. “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved patriarch Billy passed away last night after suffering from a seizure,” Bear Brown wrote, per People. “He was our best friend – a wonderful and loving father, grandfather and husband and will be greatly missed.” Billy was 68.

Since 2014 and over the course of 12 seasons, fans have followed Billy, wife Ami, and the rest of the Brown clan through the ups and downs of their endearing off-the-grid life in Alaska… well, more recently, Washington.

The show’s official Twitter account also confirmed the news, writing, “We are devastated to hear of Billy’s sudden passing. He has been part of the @Discovery family for years – a trailblazer, a lovely man, and most definitely one of a kind.”

Billy Brown’s life may not have seemed like the kind where the dollar signs are flowing. That’s because the Browns famously portrayed themselves on screen as people who lived a simple, wilderness-based existence. Per Discovery’s website, the family “has developed their own dialect, they refer to themselves as a ‘wolf pack,’ and they sleep together in a one-room cabin” surrounded by “some of the world’s most dangerous animals.” That said, reality TV pays off, and the late star was reportedly worth millions. Scroll down to find out Billy’s net worth.

Alaskan Bush People: Billy Brown Faced Financial Lows And Highs

What was Billy Brown’s net worth at the time of his death? According to The Sun, his family’s net worth is $60 million.

That’s a huge figure, which makes sense considering that Billy was reportedly “racking in $500,000 per episode,” according to The Sun, with “the rest of the family members” making “about $40,000 to $60,000 in income on the show.” Talk about a lot of money!

As for where the Browns spent their money? In 2018, the fam reportedly bought 400 acres of land in Washington for $1.6 million, according to The Sun. And per Radar Online, at one point, they allegedly rented a $500,000 “lakefront mansion” in D.C. for $3,000 a week. The outlet also reported that Ami and Billy “gifted” their son Noah a $220,000 home in 2017.

Then there’s Billy Brown’s admission in his 2007 memoir, One Wave at a Time, where he discussed being born into a “world of privilege” due to his late father’s career as a limo company owner, per Inquisitr. Though that all changed when he lost his entire family in a plane crash in 1969. “He spent his time on the road, looking for odd jobs,” the outlet stated about Billy’s post-accident life.