What was Carleton Sheets' Net Worth?
Carleton Sheets was an American real estate investor and infomercial pitchman who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of his death. Carleton Sheets was best known for his infomercials pertaining to real estate and his "No Down Payment" home-study course. Sheets passed away on January 25, 2020 at the age of 80.
Early Life
Carleton H. Sheets was born on August 25, 1939, in Illinois but was moved to Delaware, Ohio, where he was raised after his father took a job with Procter & Gamble.
Career
One of Carleton Sheets' first jobs was selling soda bottle caps. He eventually became the director of marketing for an orange juice processing company based in Florida. He then began investing in property as a side project in the 1970s after working in the private sector for nearly 10 years. In the early 80s, Sheets worked as a pitchman for a company that represented a real estate authority, an early advocate of the "no money down" financial success path. He taught local real estate classes for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) where he caught the teaching bug and expanded his training by creating his own home study programs.
In 1984, he teamed up with Mark S. Holecek and Donald R. Strumillo to form the Professional Education Institute (P.E.I.). The privately held Professional Education Institute is incorporated as AMS Direct, Inc. and was founded in 1983 based in Burr Ridge, Illinois, with coaching locations and operations in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over the years, The Better Business Bureau reported hundreds of complaints from customers of both P.E.I. and Carleton Sheets. Many of them contended they were overbilled and had trouble getting their refunds. Some state attorney general offices also said they've received a number of similar complaints.
Sheets appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows and personally lectured over 500,000 people on his creative real estate investing. He was awarded the S.R.S. (Specialist in Real Estate Securities) designation by the Real Estate Securities and Syndication Institute and was named in Who's Who in Real Estate.
After 30 years of selling his programs, Sheets began sharing his real estate programs for free in 2008. His wish was to reach as many people as possible and help them fulfill their dreams with real estate, just as he achieved his.
Personal Life
Carleton Sheets lived most of his adult life in Stuart, Florida. He died on January 25, 2020, and was survived by his wife, two children, a stepson and a grandchild.
Legacy
Carleton's "No Down Payment" television show ran for 25 years and won a variety of awards. The best-selling author also had other successful real estate books, videos, and audio programs. In 1998, Sheets published a book titled "The World's Greatest Wealth Builder." More than 3 million copies of his programs have been sold in the United States alone.
Over his career, Sheets bought and sold more than $50 million worth of commercial and residential income-producing real estate.
Carleton Sheets was inducted into the Real Estate Hall of Fame in 1992.
