Alain Badiou Highest-Paid Philosopher in the World

By Carol Kearney
Paris
Last updated on June 1, 2025

Alain Badiou led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid philosophers” released on Saturday.

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It's been a rough year for the philosopher, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 88-year-old Alain Badiou has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid philosophers for 2025 with an estimated $58 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 01/06/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Alain Badiou tops annual list of highest-paid philosophers

In 2022 it looked like the philosopher’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Saturday (May 31) that Badiou is the highest-paid philosopher in the world, pulling in an astonishing $58 million between May 2024 and May 2025, a nearly $30 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The French philosopher-author has an estimated net worth of $185 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Badiou Burger” chain) in Paris, a Football Team (the “Rabat Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderbadiou - France), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Alain) and a fashion line called “Alain Badiou Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Alain fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.