John Hinckley Jr net worth gets typed into Google constantly these days. How much money does the guy who shot U.S. President Ronald Reagan back in ’81 actually have? He’s walking around free now, selling paintings of cats online and uploading songs to YouTube.
Word is John Hinckley Jr net worth sits somewhere around $200,000 in 2025. Not exactly rich, but still—he’s making money. Plenty of folks can’t stand that fact. Here’s a man who tried murdering a president, and now he’s cashing checks? John Hinckley Jr net worth isn’t huge, but the whole situation raises questions nobody’s comfortable answering.
Who Is John Hinckley Jr?
John Hinckley Jr (Britannica) shot at President Ronald Reagan outside a D.C. hotel on March 30, 1981. Fired his gun six times in a row. Four people caught bullets that day. Reagan got hit in the chest. James Brady, who worked as Press Secretary, took one straight in the head. A Secret Service agent and a police officer were also wounded.
Why’d he do it? Not because of politics. He was crazy obsessed with Jodie Foster, the actress. Thought shooting the president would make her want him. His brain was totally broken. His brain was totally fried.
The jury looked at everything and said Yeah, this guy’s legally insane. No prison sentence. They shipped him off to a psychiatric institution, where he stayed for 35 years. Finally got released completely in 2022. These days, he’s living in Virginia, painting pictures of cats, posting music online that most people ignore.
Early Life and Family Background
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. came into this world on May 29, 1955, in Ardmore, Oklahoma. His folks had cash—lots of it. Understanding John Hinckley Jr Net Worth requires looking at how his early years, family background, and later independence influenced his earnings and lifestyle.
His Parents
John Hinckley Jr.’s parents weren’t struggling to pay bills. Dad worked in the oil game, actually ran this outfit called Vanderbilt Energy Corporation. Mom took care of things at home. The family packed up and headed to Dallas, settling into Highland Park, where all the wealthy families live.
John attended Highland Park High School alongside other rich kids. The family gave him everything—a fancy house, top-notch schools, fat college fund waiting for him. None of that fixed what was going wrong inside his skull, though.
Other students remember him as being strange. Really quiet. Barely talked to anyone. Something seemed wrong with the kid, but back then, nobody caught it or cared enough to help.
John Hinckley Jr College Years
John enrolled at Texas Tech University. Quit. Signed up again. Quit again. Never actually finished getting a degree. Somewhere in all this, he got hooked on watching “Taxi Driver” over and over. Probably saw it 15 times, maybe more. That film planted some seriously twisted ideas in his already unstable mind.
Some folks wonder about John Hinckley Jr.’s political views and whether that drove him. Truth is, he didn’t really follow politics. Yeah, he showed up to one Nazi group meeting once, but never went back. What he did later had zero to do with political ideology. Pure mental illness drove those actions.
Why Did John Hinckley Jr Shoot President Reagan?
The reason makes zero sense unless you understand how messed up his mind was. Reagan’s policies meant nothing to him. He just wanted a movie star to notice him.
John Warnock Hinckley’s Obsession with Jodie Foster
In “Taxi Driver,” the main character plans to assassinate a politician to impress a girl. Hinckley watched this and decided he’d do the exact same thing with Jodie Foster.
Foster was studying at Yale University. Hinckley enrolled there, too—not because he wanted an education, just so he could stalk her. Slipped notes under her door constantly. Rang her phone at all hours. She ignored every single attempt and finally got campus cops involved.
His damaged brain convinced him that assassinating the president would somehow make Foster love him back. Psychiatrists said later he had major depression and psychosis. He couldn’t tell what was real anymore.
The 1981 Assassination Attempt on President Ronald Reagan
March 30, 1981. Ronald wrapped up giving a speech at the Washington Hilton. Walked outside, heading for his car. Press people are swarming everywhere. Random citizens standing around watching.
Hinckley yanked out this cheap .22 pistol and opened fire. Six bullets. The whole thing lasted maybe three seconds.
Who caught bullets:
- Ronald Reagan—chest shot, nearly killed him
- James Brady—headshot, destroyed his life
- Timothy McCarthy—Secret Service guy, gut shot
- Thomas Delahanty—cop, neck shot
Doctors managed to save Ronald’s life in surgery. That bullet stopped maybe an inch away from his heart. Brady didn’t get so lucky. That head wound stuck him in a wheelchair, messed up how he talked, basically ruined everything. Spent his remaining years pushing gun control laws till dying in 2014.
What Happened to John Hinckley Jr. after the Shooting
Police tackled him immediately right there on the sidewalk. Dozens of people saw the whole thing go down. Cameras caught it all. He was literally still holding the smoking gun. Open and shut, right? Wrong.
The Trial
Hinckley’s defense attorneys argued their client was completely insane during the shooting. The jury bought it. In June 1982, the verdict came back—not guilty by reason of insanity. Zero prison time. Instead, they packed him off to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital over in D.C.
Man, did Americans get angry about that verdict. Felt like watching someone get away with straight-up attempted murder. A bunch of states rewrote their insanity laws after this trial, making it way tougher to use that defense.
St. Elizabeth’s kept Hinckley locked down tight. Pumped medications into him daily. Forced therapy sessions. Armed guards are eyeballing him constantly. Dude wasn’t leaving that place.
Treatment
Psychiatrists evaluated him constantly throughout those years. Their diagnosis said major depression combined with a psychotic disorder. He was seeing stuff that didn’t exist. Believing completely false things. All those pills plus mental health rehabilitation programs gradually improved his condition.
Around the 2000s, medical reports started showing real progress. His creepy obsession with Jodie Foster finally faded completely. The delusions quit happening. Treatment was genuinely functioning.
Judges began approving small freedoms—supervised trips outside at first, then longer visits staying at his mom’s house down in Williamsburg, Virginia. Every tiny privilege required court hearings and doctor testimony.
Getting Out
Hinckley spent 35 full years either locked up or being supervised. Actual convicted murderers sometimes serve less time than that. Because the jury ruled him insane instead of guilty, his eventual release depended on whether shrinks thought he was still nuts, not on completing some fixed sentence.
A federal judge approved letting him live at his mother’s place full-time starting in 2016. Came with conditions, though—absolutely no contacting anyone from Reagan’s family, mandatory therapy appointments he had to attend, plus monitors tracking his internet activity.
Then June 2022 rolled around. Unconditional release happened. At 67 years old, every single restriction vanished. The court decided his mental illness had completely disappeared. No more supervision needed whatsoever.
The Brady family fought like hell against this decision. Tons of regular Americans believe Hinckley should’ve died inside that hospital, regardless of whether he got sane again or not. Other people point at his case, saying Look, criminal rehabilitation in the USA really does succeed sometimes when done properly.
Where Is John Hinckley Jr Now?
Hinckley lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. Been there since 2016, when judges first let him out of the hospital to stay with his mom. After she died in 2021, he kept the house and still lives there today in 2025.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. Life After Institutional Release
John Hinckley Jr keeps a low profile most days. He’s not out partying or making public appearances. Mostly stays home working on his art and music. Neighbors see him around town occasionally. Some recognize him, most don’t care.
He goes to therapy still, even though he doesn’t legally have to anymore. Takes his medications. Lives pretty quietly for someone who tried killing a president.
Where John Hinckley Jr Currently Lives
Williamsburg ain’t a big city. It’s a small Virginia town known for colonial history and tourists. Hinckley’s house sits in a regular neighborhood. Nothing fancy. Just an old house his parents bought decades ago. He inherited it when his mom passed. Life after release hasn’t been glamorous or exciting—just normal and boring.
John Hinckley Jr Age Now
How old is John Hinckley now? He turned 70 years old in May 2025. Born in 1955, so yeah, he’s getting up there in age. Doesn’t look particularly healthy in recent photos either. Years of psychiatric medications and institutional living took their toll on his body.
Relationship Status
Is John Hinckley married or has a wife? Nope. Never married. No wife, no girlfriend that anyone knows about. He’s lived alone since his mother passed away. Given his history and reputation, finding someone willing to date him would be pretty much impossible anyway.
John Hinckley Jr Road to Release and Recovery
Getting Hinckley out of that hospital took decades. Didn’t happen overnight.
John Hinckley Jr Gradual Freedom
Doctors at St. Elizabeth’s observed Hinckley improve slowly through the 1990s and 2000s. His medications stabilized him. Therapy helped him process his delusions. By 2003, he started getting short supervised visits outside the hospital.
These weren’t fun trips. Staff members followed him everywhere. He’d visit a museum or take a walk, always with people observing. Courts approved longer visits gradually—first a few hours, then full days, eventually overnight stays at his mom’s place.
John Hinckley Jr Court Battles
Every single privilege required court hearings. Prosecutors fought against expanding his freedoms. The Brady family showed up to oppose him repeatedly. They never wanted him released under any circumstances.
Hinckley’s lawyers kept pushing through. Medical experts testified that he no longer posed a danger. His mental health had stabilized completely. The obsession with Jodie Foster vanished a long time ago.
In 2016, a judge finally approved letting him live full-time with his mother in Williamsburg. Major restrictions still applied—he couldn’t contact victims’ families, had to attend therapy regularly, and authorities monitored his computer use.
John Hinckley Jr Complete Release
His mother, Jo Ann, died in 2021. That left Hinckley living alone in the family house. By then, doctors said his mental illness was completely in remission. He’d followed every rule for years without problems.
June 2022 brought the big decision. A federal judge granted unconditional release. No more check-ins. No more restrictions. At 67 years old, John Hinckley Jr became a completely free man for the first time since 1981.
How did John Hinckley Jr. make Money?
Here’s where things get interesting and controversial. John Hinckley Jr makes money from several sources, though none of them pay much.
YouTube Channel
John Hinckley’s YouTube channel exists and actually has subscribers—over 41,000 people follow him as of 2025. He posts songs he writes and records himself. Folk music mostly. Some covers, some originals. Nothing you’d hear on the radio.
Does YouTube monetization bring him cash? A little bit. Channel views aren’t massive, so YouTube revenue probably amounts to maybe a few hundred bucks monthly at most. Not enough to live on by itself.
Art Sales
John Hinckley Jr.’s paintings sell online, believe it or not. He paints cats mostly. John Hinckley’s cat painting pieces pop up on eBay and other sites. Some folks buy them out of morbid curiosity. Others genuinely like the art.
John Hinckley Jr art for sale typically goes for anywhere from $200 to $2,000, depending on size and subject. He’s sold dozens over the years. The paintings and art value come more from notoriety than artistic talent, let’s be honest.
Reports say John Hinckley Jr art exhibitions a few times, though galleries faced serious backlash for displaying his work. Most shows got cancelled after public outcry.
Music Career
John Hinckley Jr.’s musician status is debatable. He calls himself a musician and artist. Released an album in July 2023. Performs at tiny venues sometimes when they’ll have him. Over the periods, John Hinckley Jr Net Worth has seen shifts as he turned to music and art, finding new ways to express himself and generate income after decades away from public life.
John Hinckley Jr.’s music career brings in almost nothing financially. Streaming royalties from Spotify and Apple Music? Pennies. Maybe sells a few albums directly to curious people. The songs he writes aren’t terrible, but they’re not good either.
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth sources basically boil down to small art sales, tiny YouTube payments, and whatever streaming income from art and music trickles in. None of it amounts to much.
Media Royalties and Licensing Fees
Does he get paid for media licensing rights? Barely. Most mainstream outlets won’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. The Son of Sam Law prevents criminals from profiting off their crimes in many states, though Virginia’s version has loopholes.
Public Interest and Interview Offers
Some smaller podcasts and YouTube channels have interviewed him. Whether he got paid for those isn’t public knowledge. Public interest and controversy keep his name in the news occasionally, but that doesn’t translate to big paychecks. Networks like CNN or Fox News won’t book him. Too risky, too controversial.
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth in 2025
Let’s talk numbers. John Hinckley Jr net worth estimates vary depending on who you ask.
Estimated Net Worth and Financial Sources
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth 2025 sits around $200,000 according to online celebrity wealth trackers. John Hinckley net worth in 2025 could be higher or lower—nobody has access to his actual bank statements.
John Hinckley Jr estimated earnings from all sources probably total $15,000 to $25,000 yearly. That’s art sales, YouTube, music streaming, and whatever else combined. Not exactly getting rich here.
Verified Earnings from Art and Music
Verified earnings from art and music are tough to pin down precisely. Art sales might bring $10,000 annually if he’s lucky. YouTube and streaming services combined may add another $2,000 to $5,000 yearly. Small gigs performing live might chip in another grand or two.
Financial Records and Income Transparency
Financial records and income transparency don’t exist publicly for Hinckley. He’s not required to disclose his finances to anyone except maybe the IRS. John Hinckley Jr.’s financial status remains mostly private.
John Hinckley Jr net worth might be less than $200,000 in reality. It could be slightly more. That estimated net worth figure comes from educated guesses about his assets—the house in Williamsburg, whatever savings exist, and the value of unsold artwork.
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth Breakdown (2025)
Here’s how his money breaks down roughly each year:
Annual Income Sources:
| Income Source | Estimated Amount |
| Art Sales (Paintings) | $10,000 |
| YouTube Revenue | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Music Streaming | $500 – $1,000 |
| Live Performances | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Other (Interviews, misc) | $2,500 – $10,000 |
| Total Annual Income | $15,000 – $25,000 |
Total Assets:
| Asset Type | Estimated Value |
| House in Williamsburg, VA | $180,000 |
| Art Inventory (unsold) | $10,000 |
| Music Equipment | $5,000 |
| Savings/Cash | $5,000 |
| Total Net Worth | ~$200,000 |
Legal and Ethical Concerns
The fact that John Hinckley Jr makes any money at all pisses people off. Laws exist specifically to prevent criminals from cashing in on their crimes.
Profit Laws
Can criminals profit in the USA? Generally, no, at least not directly from their crimes. Laws called the Son of Sam Law exist in many states, specifically preventing this.
The Son of Sam Law Explained
The Son of Sam Law explained: These laws started in New York after serial killer David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) tried selling his story. The law says criminals can’t profit from books, movies, interviews, or anything directly about their crimes. Money earned gets redirected to victims or their families.
John Hinckley Jr’s Loopholes and Legal Standing
John Hinckley Jr’s loopholes and legal standing are complicated. He wasn’t convicted—he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Technically, he’s not a “criminal” in legal terms. That creates a gray area.
Virginia has a Son of Sam Law, but enforcement is tricky. Hinckley doesn’t sell stories about shooting Reagan. He sells cat paintings and folk songs. Hard to prove those who directly profit from his crime, even though his notoriety obviously helps sales.
Criminal profit laws in America vary state by state. What flies in Virginia might be illegal in New York or California. Hinckley’s situation exposes weaknesses in these laws.
Public Reaction and Controversy
Public perception and controversy surrounding Hinckley remain intense even after 40+ years.
Debate Over Profiting from Infamy
Debate over profiting from infamy rages whenever Hinckley sells artwork or performs music. People argue he shouldn’t be allowed to benefit financially in any way from his notoriety. Others say he served his time (sort of) and deserves a chance to rebuild his life.
Victims’ rights laws USA aim to protect people harmed by crimes. Many feel these laws fail when Hinckley collects money while victims’ families still suffer.
Mixed Opinions on His Redemption
Mixed opinions on his redemption split pretty evenly. Some folks believe mental health and creativity helped rehabilitate him. They point to his case as proof that the system can work.
Others see a would-be assassin living comfortably while James Brady’s family dealt with decades of suffering. Public backlash and ethics questions flare up every time Hinckley’s name hits the news.
Rehabilitation through art might work for some people, but does that erase attempting to murder a president? That’s what Americans can’t agree on.
Jodie Foster’s Public Response (if any)
Jodie Foster’s public response (if any) has been minimal over the years. She’s addressed the situation a few times, saying she feels sympathy for everyone involved but wants nothing to do with Hinckley. She’s never contacted him and doesn’t want contact. Smart move on her part.
How Does John Hinckley Jr Spend His Money?
John Hinckley Jr isn’t living large. His spending habits seem pretty modest based on available information.
John Hinckley Jr Daily Expenses
Housing, therapy, and lifestyle costs eat up most of his income. He owns the house in Williamsburg outright after his mom passed, so no rent or mortgage. Property taxes and utilities still apply, though.
Therapy sessions aren’t cheap, even if insurance covers some. Medications cost money monthly. Basic living expenses—food, electricity, internet, phone—add up like they do for everyone.
John Hinckley Jr Creative Costs
Music equipment and art supplies represent his biggest discretionary spending. Guitar strings, recording equipment, microphones, art canvases, paints, brushes—this stuff isn’t free. He probably drops a few thousand yearly on creative supplies.
John Hinckley Jr Living Standards
Personal expenses and living standards appear modest. He’s not driving fancy cars or taking expensive vacations. No designer clothes or luxury items visible in photos. Just an old guy living quietly in Virginia.
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth Comparison
How does John Hinckley Jr stack up financially against other infamous criminals’ net worth figures?
Infamous Figures
John Hinckley Jr Net Worth vs other infamous figures’ Net Worth makes for a grim comparison:
| Criminal | Crime | Estimated Net Worth |
| John Hinckley Jr | Reagan assassination attempt | ~$200,000 |
| Charles Manson | The cult leader ordered murders | $0 (died in prison) |
| Ted Kaczynski Unabomber | Mail bomber, terrorist | $0 (died in prison) |
| Mark David Chapman John Lennon killer | Murdered John Lennon | $0 (still in prison) |
John Hinckley Jr net worth exceeds these other criminals because he got released, and they didn’t. That freedom lets him earn money, however little. The comparison highlights how unusual his situation is.
Crime and media fascination drive interest in all these cases. Rehabilitated public figures are rare, especially ones who committed such serious crimes. Forgiveness and redemption in media are discussed constantly, with Hinckley as the prime example.
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FAQs
Did Jodie Foster ever talk to John Hinckley?
Nope, never happened. She blew off every attempt he made to contact her before he shot Reagan. Once the shooting happened, she cut off any possibility of contact forever. She’s talked about the whole mess in a few interviews over the years, but refused to speak to him directly ever.
Why did John Hinckley shoot Reagan?
To impress actress Jodie Foster. He was obsessed with her after watching “Taxi Driver” repeatedly. Thought assassinating the president would make her love him. Mental illness drove his actions, not political beliefs.
How old is John Hinckley now?
70 years old right now in 2025. Came into the world on May 29, 1955, in Oklahoma.
Final Thoughts on His Life and Legacy
John Hinckley Jr net worth might be $200,000, but that’s not what matters here. He shot Reagan and now sells cat paintings on eBay. Some folks believe mental health rehabilitation fixed him, and he’s earned another shot at life. Most Americans still despise him and won’t ever change their minds. John Hinckley Jr net worth from art and music keeps angering people because why should criminals get paid anything? Forgiving him or hating him forever—that’s your call to make.
I’m Muhammad Saqlain, the founder of WealthyInfo.com. I research and write about Shark Tank businesses, startup growth, and brand net worth. My goal is to provide clear, accurate, and insightful content that helps readers understand how startups evolve after investment and media exposure. I’m passionate about content strategy, SEO, and building digital authority in the finance and entrepreneurship space.
