What was Malcolm X's Net Worth?
Malcolm X was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who had a net worth equal to $150 thousand at the time of his death in 1965 after adjusting for inflation. Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 1925 and passed away in February 1965. He was known as a polarizing figure who had many admirers for being a courageous advocate for African American rights, while his detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence. Malcolm X has been named one of the most influential African Americans in history. He grew up in foster homes and served prison time. In prison, he became a member of the Nation of Islam. He then served as the face of that group for 12 years. The Nation advocated the separation of black and white Americans and promoted black supremacy in addition to rejecting the civil rights movement and integration. He later embraced Sunni Islam and regretted his time with the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X passed away on February 21, 1965, at the age of 39, when he was assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam.
Early Life
Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, and was given the name Malcolm Little. He was the fourth of seven children born to Granada-born Louise Helen Little and Georgia-born Earl Little. His father was a Baptist pastor, and both of his parents were active in various African-American advancement movements. His father, in particular, was a leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and received threats from the Ku Klux Klan. The family eventually moved to Michigan to avoid trouble.
When Malcolm was six years old, his father died in what was officially ruled an accident, though Malcolm's mother believed the Black Legion, a white racist group, had actually murdered him. His mother was later committed to a hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown in 1938. The children were separated and sent to foster homes. Malcolm attended West Junior High School and then Mason High School before ultimately dropping out of high school after a teacher told him his goal of becoming a lawyer was unrealistic for a black man. After working a variety of odd jobs from the age of 14 to 21, Malcolm moved to New York City's Harlem neighborhood in 1943.
Activism
During his early years in New York, Malcolm X lived a tumultuous life and engaged in minor crimes. In 1946, he was arrested for burglaries and began serving a sentence at Charlestown State Prison for larceny and breaking. While in prison, he met fellow convict John Bembry, who was self-educated and inspired Malcolm to develop a massive appetite for reading. He also began receiving letters from his family about the Nation of Islam, a relatively new religious movement in the Black community that preached a message of Black self-reliance.
From that point onward, Malcolm became very interested in the religion, writing to the movement's leader, Elijah Muhammad, in 1948 and officially joining the movement. Malcolm began signing his name as Malcolm X, as Muhammad instructed all of the Nation's followers to do.
Malcolm X was paroled in 1952, and he then moved to Detroit, where he became the assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One. He then began helping establish a number of other temples in various cities on the East Coast as the movement grew more popular. By this point in time, the FBI was surveilling Malcolm X, given his rise in the Nation of Islam community. They had already previously investigated him after Malcolm X had written a letter from prison to the president, expressing his disdain for the Korean War and declaring himself a communist.
By the late 1950s, Malcolm X was extremely prominent within the community. He was invited by the United Nations General Assembly in New York to attend functions of several African nations. He was very effective at promoting the Nation's teachings, which included the belief that Black people are the original people of the world. He was also quite critical of the civil rights movement, as he advocated for the complete separation of African Americans from whites rather than an end to racial segregation.
However, by 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam, though he remained a Muslim. Several events in the early 1960s led to his disillusionment with the movement and he had also grown to believe that the Nation's rigidity meant it would be unable to grow any larger in the United States.
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Assassination
On February 19, 1965, Malcolm X told an interviewer that the Nation of Islam was trying to kill him. Two days later, when preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American United, an audience member caused a disturbance. While Malcolm X was trying to calm the audience, a man ran forward and shot him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun, with two other men firing handguns. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, and the autopsy later identified 21 gunshot wounds in his body.
One of the gunmen, Talmadge Hayer, was restrained by the crowd before the police arrived, while the other two escaped. It was discovered that he was a member of the Nation of Islam. The other two gunmen were identified by the crowd as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson.
A public viewing was held in Harlem of Malcolm X following his assassination. It was attended by as many as 30,000 mourners. Speakers at the funeral included civil rights leaders John Lewis, Andrew Young, and James Forman, among others. He was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in New York.
Personal Life and Legacy
In 1955, Malcolm met Betty Sanders after one of his lectures. She began regularly attending his lectures and then joined the Nation of Islam in 1956 and changed her name to Betty X. The couple courted more formally at social events as one-on-one dating was not allowed in the Nation's teachings. He proposed over a telephone call in 1958. The two married two days later and had six daughters throughout their marriage.
Malcolm is considered one of the most influential African Americans in history. He is largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the Black community in the United States. He also inspired many other Black activists, and his life and teachings became popular among young people in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
