Magnolia's Chip and Joanna Gaines were 'broke' before amassing staggering net worth | HELLO! (2024)

Chip and Joanna Gaines may have been totally 'broke' when they first got married back in 2003, but in the last twenty years, not only have they built a massive home-renovation empire, Magnolia, and a staggering net-worth to match it.

The couple first delved into the business of flipping homes the year they wed, and the same year, they opened their very first store, Magnolia Market, which later became Magnolia Homes, in Waco, Texas, where they still live and work from today.

After gaining popularity in their hometown, and a decade after they first ventured into the home renovation business, they were offered the opportunity of a lifetime at HGTV, and became an overnight sensation with their hit renovation show, Fixer Upper,which premiered in 2013.

WATCH:Joanna Gaines reveals her unconventional Valentine's Day tradition with husband Chip

MORE: Joanna and Chip Gaines' youngest son Crew's talent put on display in beautiful video

Chip and Joanna Gaines' combined net worth

Since then, the two have become household names and left the network to start their own, Magnolia, amassing a whopping $50million net worth combined. They also have a homeware and paint line, a magazine, each have written books, and they have their own real-estate company.

However, they don't forget their humble beginnings. Back in 2020, speaking with People Magazine, Joanna recalled: "I remember when we first got married the only money we had was what was in Chip's pocket."

MORE: Chip and Joanna Gaines' four-year-old son Crew shows off his green thumb in adorable photos

She added: "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."

The couple totally revolutionized the business of flipping homes

In their early days, even their own parents weren't so sure about the long-term prospects of their renovation business. As Chip recalled to the outlet: "[Joanna's] dad spent the first two years of our marriage asking me if I was going to get a job," adding: "I was like, 'I have a job and I like it.'"

Now, as the two celebrate their 20th anniversary this year, of both their marriage and the start of their business, Chip reflected on how unbelievable their life turned out to be in a blog post at the beginning of the year.

Chip and Joanna celebrated their 20th anniversary this year and they have five kids together

"2003 was a year like no other. Newly married and ready to take on the world, Jo had set her sights on a little shop on Bosque Boulevard in Waco. We didn't have much figured out in the way of numbers and finances, but we believed in each other, and we believed in a dream to build something that would matter – something that would be meaningful, not only to us, but to our family and our community," he wrote.

"Since then, we've been on a ride we never could have predicted in a million years," Chip added.

How much did Chip and Joanna make from Fixer Upper?

The show FixerUpperrocketed the Gaineses to fame, as they flipped houses every episode.

Piloting in 2013, the show lasted from 2014 to 2017 with a number of spin-offs ever since, including Fixer Upper: Welcome Homeand Fixer Upper: The Castle.

Chip and Joanna have made $30,000 per episodeon Fixer Upper, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

How much did Chip and Joanna make from their books?

In 2016 Chip and Joanna released their first ever book, a memoir called The Magnolia Story.Not long after, the couple signed a massive $12.5 million deal to write five books for HarperCollins, repped by Vigliano Associates, according to TMZ.

Since then Joanna has released seven other books, while Chip has written two.

Read moreHELLO! USstories here

Like this story?Sign up to our newsletterto get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.