What Is James Dobson's Net Worth? He Focused on the Family and His Finances
James Dobson was traditional up until the very end.
Published Aug. 21 2025, 12:44 p.m. ET
Controversial Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson is dead at 89. Jessica Kramer, a spokesperson for the Dobson family, confirmed his death to The New York Times but did not provide a cause.
According to a statement on his website, he passed away Aug. 21, 2025, at his home in Colorado Springs.
He was described by Gary Bauer, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, as a "man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family, and culture."
Others would say the Christian conservative was intent on creating a world filled with hatred and bigotry. He built a misguided following and impressive net worth.
Let's take a look at his finances.
James Dobson's net worth made him a millionaire.
While we don't know James Dobson's net worth, we do know the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute had a revenue of $11.4 million in 2024, per ProPublica.
Before he was a preacher, James studied academic psychology and went on to earn his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California in 1967.
James Dobson
Evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family
Net worth: $11.4 million
James Dobson was an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010.
Birth date: April 21, 1936
Birth place: Shreveport, La.
Birth name: James Clayton Dobson Jr.
Father: James C. Dobson Sr.
Mother: Myrtle Georgia (née Dillingham)
Marriages: Shirley Deere (m. 1960)
Children: Ryan Dobson and Danae Dobson
Education: Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University); Doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California
From there, he became the Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine until 1981.
When he started out, James was treating young people who were distressed about the Vietnam War, and as such, became involved in the counterculture movement. As the son of traveling evangelists, this troubled James who began to blame a lack of traditional family values.
In 1970, he published the book Dare to Discipline, which encouraged parents to use firmer hands when dealing with their children and included corporal punishment.
James spent 17 years on the staff of the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and was a marriage counselor at the Popenoe's Institute of Family Relations.
Things changed for him in 1971 when the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
James Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977.
James started broadcasting his ideas about traditional family values on the radio and began lecturing all over the country. In 1977, he founded Focus on the Family, an evangelical organization that lobbies against LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, evolution, and non-traditional family values.
They also preach about traditional gender roles.
Focus on the Family became a multi-media empire that spread out to radio programs, podcasts, telecasts, films, websites, and blogs. In 1989, James Dobson famously conducted an on-camera interview with Ted Bundy the day before his execution.
The two discussed Bundy's belief that p--n consumption was partially to blame for his crimes. These recordings raised $1 million for Focus on the Family, which donated $600,000 of it to anti-p--nography organizations.
In 2010, James founded the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, a ministry that promotes and teaches biblical principles that support marriage, family, and child development.
Following the publication of Dare to Discipline, James wrote and co-authored numerous books about parenting and family life.