Noam Chomsky Commands a Pretty Modest Net Worth, but Travels in Wealthy Circles

Although he's been famous in some circles for decades, Noam Chomsky has come to an entirely new level of prominence thanks to his appearance in photos related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

While Chomsky has not been accused of anything, his chumminess with Epstein and those in his circle has led some to wonder both what Chomsky knew about Epstein's behavior, and also how much money he has.

While he was never as rich as the men he hung around with, Chomsky's net worth is nothing to sneeze at. Here's what we know.

Chomsky's net worth is roughly $500,000, per Celebrity Net Worth. That net worth comes from a career teaching at universities, including MIT and the University of Arizona, and from writing more than 150 books over the course of his career. He is not one of the most popular authors in America, but over the course of his long life of public thought and debate, he has become one of the most prolific.

Although for most of his public career, Chomsky has been viewed as a liberal, part of the shock of seeing his name in the Epstein photos is that he seems to be quite friendly with hard-right figures like Steve Bannon.

What's unclear, though, is how much Chomsky might have known about Epstein's criminal activity, and whether he was friendly with the millionaire in spite of those allegations or because he didn't believe they were true.

While appearance in these photos doesn't make you guilty of anything, the photographic evidence can go some way toward sullying the legacy of the people who appear in the photos. Some appearances are expected or unsurprising, but Chomsky is not a billionaire. The two of them apparently met after Epstein's 2008 sex trafficking charge, and were friendly at least through 2017.

Email communications confirm the length of time the two were connected, and also feature an email in which Chomsky goes out of his way to sing Epstein's praises.

"Once, when we were discussing the Oslo agreements, Jeffrey picked up the phone and called the Norwegian diplomat who supervised them, leading to a lively interchange," Chomsky wrote. "On another occasion, Jeffrey arranged a meeting with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, whose record I had studied carefully and written about."

“The impact of Jeffrey's limitless curiosity, extensive knowledge, penetrating insights, and thoughtful appraisals is only heightened by his easy informality, without a trace of pretentiousness. He quickly became a highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation," he added, per WBUR.