"The trail of debts - and claims made trying to collect them - that dogged Jim Justice well before he became West Virginia's two-term Republican governor has ballooned since the former billionaire became a U.S. senator earlier this year. Justice was elected last November to the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Joe Manchin, a Democrat who became an independent in 2024 near the end of his second full term. Justice, who owns dozens of businesses that include coal and agricultural operations, had a fortune estimated at $1.9 billion last decade by Forbes magazine."
"Forbes stripped his billionaire title in 2021, when Justice's worth had dwindled to an estimated $513 million. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated that Justice's net worth had disintegrated to "less than zero" due to liabilities that far exceeded assets. During a briefing with local media on Thursday, Justice gave a rambling defense of his companies, asserting that they "are complicated and complex" and that his children "are doing a magnificent job" running them. He then repeated past assertions that collection efforts against him were politically motivated, before concluding:. "At the end of the day, I'd say just let it be and see how it all plays out.""
Jim Justice's financial situation has deteriorated significantly since his earlier billionaire valuation, with Forbes removing his billionaire status in 2021 and later estimating his net worth as "less than zero." Justice owns numerous businesses spanning coal and agriculture and defended their complexity while praising his children's management. Creditors have intensified collection efforts, including more than $8 million in IRS liens for unpaid personal taxes and $1.4 million in state tax liens tied to The Greenbrier and its sporting club. A planned foreclosure auction on family-owned resort lots was recently paused amid these actions.
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