Mike Lindell: The Rise, Fall, And Controversy

What Happened to Mike Lindell's Fortune?

Let me tell you the story of Mike Lindell, a guy who went from being a crack addict to building a business empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But now? Well, Mike claims his net worth is at rock bottom—literally zero. At his peak, Mike Lindell's empire, My Pillow, was raking in over $100 million a year. But after getting tangled up in election controversies, things took a nosedive. Retail giants like Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond stopped carrying his products, leading to a staggering 95% drop in revenue. By 2023, Mike admitted his company was on track to make just $5 million, a far cry from its glory days. To top it off, Mike’s legal battles and his crusade to prove the 2020 election was rigged have wiped out what was once a massive fortune. Mike himself has admitted, "I'm out of money. Every dime is gone." It's a dramatic fall from grace for a guy who once embodied the American dream.

Mike's journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Back in the day, he was a college dropout who hit rock bottom with a severe crack cocaine addiction, staying awake for 19 days straight at one point. But in 2009, he turned his life around, quitting drugs cold turkey. He then launched My Pillow in 2005, and by 2016, his net worth was estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million. His commercials were everywhere, especially on Fox News, and his products were flying off the shelves at major retailers. But then came the election disputes, and everything changed. My Pillow became less about pillows and more about politics, and that shift cost Mike dearly.

Mike's Early Years

Mike Lindell was born on June 28, 1961, in Mankato, Minnesota. Growing up in Carver and Chaska, Mike was no stranger to trouble. He started gambling as a teenager and eventually dropped out of the University of Minnesota after just a few months. Life got even tougher in his twenties when he became addicted to cocaine and later crack. His drug use spiraled out of control, leading to the collapse of his marriage and the loss of his home. By the late 2000s, Mike's life was a mess. His crack dealers even staged an intervention, refusing to sell him drugs after he hadn’t slept for 19 days straight. It was a wake-up call that changed his life forever. Mike credits prayer with helping him get sober in 2009, and from there, he began to rebuild his life.

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My Pillow: From Humble Beginnings to Massive Success

In the 1980s, Mike tried his hand at various small businesses, including bars, restaurants, and a carpet cleaning service. But it wasn’t until 2004 that he came up with the idea for My Pillow, a pillow designed to provide superior comfort. For the first few years, Mike sold his invention at trade shows, mall kiosks, and state fairs. Then, in 2009, he officially launched My Pillow, Inc., and the company took off after its first infomercial aired in 2011. That 30-minute spot, which cost a cool half-million dollars to produce, aired an average of 200 times a day and turned My Pillow into a household name. Mike has said, "In just 40 days, we went from having five employees to employing 500 people." At its peak, My Pillow was generating $280 million in annual revenue and had sold over 50 million pillows.

But the road wasn’t always smooth. In 2017, the Better Business Bureau revoked My Pillow's accreditation due to customer complaints, dropping its rating to an F. Mike handed over the CEO role to his son Darren in 2020, but by then, many retailers had already stopped carrying My Pillow products. Mike insists this was due to his claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, though some retailers, like Bed Bath & Beyond, cited poor performance as the reason.

The Fallout: Lost Revenue and a Lost Fortune

Things started to unravel for Mike after the 2020 election. He spent a staggering $25 to $50 million of his own money between November 2020 and December 2021, trying to prove the election was stolen from Donald Trump. His public rants about election fraud led many retailers to pull his products from their shelves, causing a massive drop in sales. In January 2023, Mike admitted this had cost My Pillow over $100 million in annual revenue. His bank, Minnesota Bank & Trust, even dropped him as a client, labeling him a "reputational risk." Walmart, My Pillow's biggest distributor, stopped carrying the company's products in June 2022, delivering another devastating blow.

By March 2023, Mike claimed he had to borrow $10 million in 2022 just to keep My Pillow afloat. He was selling assets and borrowing money personally to stay liquid, saying, "I sold a building I had in Savage, Minnesota, in October. And I had to borrow $2 million too. I've spent it all fighting for this country." It's a far cry from the opulent lifestyle Mike once enjoyed, including private jets and a luxurious Minnesota mansion.

Private Jets: A Symbol of Past Success

Mike was often seen on social media enjoying the high life aboard his private jets. In July 2021, My Pillow sold a 1993 Dassault-Breguet Falcon 50 private jet, a 10-passenger plane capable of traveling from LA to NYC in just five hours at a top speed of 539 mph. Depending on its condition, similar models can fetch anywhere from $1.5 million to $3.5 million. Despite selling this jet, Mike hinted in a March 2023 interview that he still owned at least one other private jet, though these days, it's probably more of a nostalgic reminder of better times.

Mike's Personal Life

On the personal front, Mike's life has been as tumultuous as his business ventures. He married Karen Dickey in 1987, and they had four children: Lizzy, Heather, Darren, and Charlie. After two decades together, they divorced, and Mike quickly remarried Dallas Yocum in 2013. However, their marriage was short-lived, as Yocum left him the following month, prompting Mike to file for divorce. In early 2021, the Daily Mail claimed Mike had a nine-month relationship with actress Jane Krakowski, but both parties denied the allegations, with Mike even filing a lawsuit against the publication.

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Concerned for his safety, Mike revealed in March 2021 that he had been living in undisclosed locations, avoiding his hometown of Minnesota for months. He eventually moved to Texas, where he continues to focus on his non-profit work, including the Lindell Foundation and the Lindell Recovery Network, which help drug addicts find treatment and recovery. In 2019, Mike published a memoir titled "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO," chronicling his remarkable journey.

Mike's Minnesota Mansion

In August 2016, Mike splurged on a 5,400-square-foot mansion on 2.5 grassy acres in Chaska, Minnesota, paying $745,000 for the property. However, as his financial situation deteriorated, he listed the home for sale in September 2022 for $1.1 million. By December 2022, he accepted an offer of $945,000, marking another step in downsizing his once-lavish lifestyle.

Donald Trump's Biggest Fan

Mike's life took a political turn in August 2016 when he met Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate. Mike described the meeting as a "divine appointment" and vowed to go all in for Trump. He attended the final presidential debate and Trump's inauguration, spoke at Trump rallies, and even became the Minnesota campaign chair for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign. During the pandemic, Mike pivoted his factories to produce face masks at Trump's request and appeared at a White House press conference. However, his promotion of oleandrin, a toxic plant extract, as a COVID-19 cure raised eyebrows.

Election Conspiracies: The Controversy Begins

After Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, Mike became deeply involved in efforts to challenge the results. He sponsored a bus tour to contest the election and spoke at several stops along the way. Although he attended the January 6th rally, Mike claims he wasn’t present during the Capitol attack. Nevertheless, he spread conspiracy theories that Antifa was behind the insurrection, dressed as Trump supporters. Mike also falsely claimed that voting machine companies like Smartmatic and Dominion conspired with foreign powers to rig the election, leading Dominion to file a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him.

In September 2021, Mike sparked a recount in Bonner County, Idaho, alleging hacking in over 40 Idaho counties. The recount found no evidence of hacking, and Idaho billed Mike for the costs. That same year, Mike released a documentary called "Absolute Proof," attempting to prove Trump won the election. Fact-checkers quickly debunked the claims, and the documentary was removed from platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

The $5 Million Challenge: A Legal Battle

In August 2021, Mike hosted a "Cyber Symposium" to present evidence of voter fraud, though no such evidence emerged. As part of the event, he launched the "Prove Mike Wrong Challenge," offering a $5 million reward to anyone who could debunk his data. Cybersecurity expert Robert Zeidman took up the challenge and successfully disproved Mike's claims. When Mike refused to pay the reward, Zeidman filed a lawsuit. In April 2023, an arbitration panel ruled in Zeidman's favor, ordering Mike to pay the $5 million, confirming that the data provided by Lindell was not from the 2020 election. It's yet another chapter in Mike Lindell's rollercoaster of a life.