Pope Francis held a personal net worth of effectively $0, consistent with his lifelong vow of poverty as a Jesuit priest. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, he served as the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from March 2013 until his death on April 21, 2025, at age 88. Francis was the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name Francis — chosen in homage to Saint Francis of Assisi and his commitment to simplicity and care for the poor.
Updated March 2026: According to Reuters, Pope Francis rejected the trappings of papal wealth throughout his tenure, declining the grand papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace in favor of a modest room in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta guesthouse. He wore a simple silver-plated cross (not gold), a $20 plastic watch, and black shoes — forgoing the traditional red papal footwear. The Vatican, the sovereign institution he led, reported total assets of approximately 6.6 billion euros as of its 2024 financial report.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina — the eldest of five children. His parents were Italian immigrants: his father, Mario José Bergoglio, was a railway accountant from Turin, and his mother, Regina María Sívori, was a homemaker. Bergoglio grew up in a working-class household, spoke Italian at home, and developed a deep attachment to his neighborhood and Buenos Aires’s street culture.
Before entering the Church, Bergoglio completed a technical diploma in chemistry and worked briefly as a chemical technician and a nightclub bouncer. In 1958, following a severe illness that required the removal of part of one lung — a health event he later said changed the direction of his life — he entered the Jesuit novitiate. He earned a philosophy degree in 1963 from the Colegio San José in San Miguel and a theology degree in 1970 from the same institution. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest on December 13, 1969.
Bergoglio served as the Jesuit Provincial of Argentina from 1973 to 1979, a period that coincided with the country’s military dictatorship. His conduct during this period, specifically regarding two detained Jesuit priests, was a source of controversy he addressed repeatedly — stating he had worked behind the scenes to secure their release.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires. He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, a post he held for 15 years. During this time, he became known for his pastoral simplicity: taking public buses, cooking his own meals, and living in a small apartment rather than the official archbishop’s residence. Pope John Paul II elevated him to Cardinal in 2001.
On March 13, 2013, the College of Cardinals elected Jorge Bergoglio as Pope on the fifth ballot of the conclave, following the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. He took the name Francis. Over the following 12 years, he led the Catholic Church through a period of significant internal debate on social issues, geopolitical crises, and financial reform. He traveled to over 65 countries on 47 apostolic journeys — covering more than 465,000 kilometers — though he never returned to Argentina.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at 7:35 a.m. local time, following a stroke and cardiac arrest, according to a Reuters report. He was 88. His funeral was held on April 26, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square. He was succeeded by Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.
While Francis himself owned nothing — no property, no savings, no investments, living entirely on Vatican-provided accommodations and expenses — the institution he governed is one of the wealthiest in the world. Key figures from Vatican financial disclosures and Reuters reporting:
Pope Francis was celibate, having never married, and had no biological children. In his early 20s, before entering the priesthood, he reportedly proposed to a woman in Buenos Aires who declined, an anecdote he shared publicly. He was known as an avid soccer fan who supported Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro. He described himself as a “man of the streets” who missed the informal social life of Buenos Aires.
His health was a persistent concern. In February 2025, he was hospitalized for bronchitis that developed into bilateral pneumonia — spending approximately five weeks at Gemelli Hospital in Rome before returning to the Vatican. It was the most serious hospitalization of his papacy. He died two months later. His legacy includes significant reforms to Vatican governance, the issuance of Laudato Si’ (2015) on the environment, and Amoris Laetitia (2016) on the family — both landmark documents for the contemporary Church.
Pope Francis’s personal net worth was effectively $0. As a Jesuit priest bound by a vow of poverty, he owned no personal assets, property, or investments. All expenses — including housing at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican — were covered by the Holy See. The Vatican as an institution, however, reported assets of approximately 6.6 billion euros as of 2024.
According to the Vatican’s 2024 financial report, covered by Reuters, the Holy See holds approximately 6.6 billion euros in total assets. Its revenue sources include donations from Catholics worldwide (43% of revenue), an investment portfolio, admissions to the Vatican Museums, and revenue from the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome. The Holy See achieved its first budget surplus in years in 2024, reporting 1.6 million euros in surplus on revenue exceeding 1.23 billion euros.
Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025 — Easter Monday — following a stroke and cardiac arrest at age 88, as reported by Reuters. His funeral was held on April 26, 2025. He was succeeded by Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.