Skip to Content

It’s been nearly two years since the world learned the shocking news that reality star Josh Duggar molested five young girls, four of whom were his sisters.

In the months that followed, fans  would bear witness to a number of appalling revelations, including the fact that Josh’s parents helped cover up his crimes.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Amazingly (and disconcertingly), Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have recovered from the scandal and were even granted a second chance at TV stardom.

TLC’s 19 Kids & Counting was scuttled immediately in the wake of the bombshell, but was later reborn as the Jill, Jessa and Jinger-centric Counting On.

Obviously, Josh hasn’t been shown the same forgiveness.

Of course, the fact that he was caught up in a second sex scandal just a few months afterward certainly didn’t help his road to redemption.

With the image of Josh molesting his sisters still fresh in our minds, it was revealed that the father of four had cheated on Anna Duggar repeatedly.

Josh, 29, had been using paid accounts on Ashley Madison, a website designed to facilitate affairs between married men and women.

Josh Duggar and Anna Duggar and Kids
(TLC)

In all likelihood, audiences never would’ve forgiven Josh’s first round of indiscretions, but the second revelation put the nail in his reputation’s coffin.

The cheating allegations confirmed that he’s a man with some very severe issues (ones he went to rehab for over half a year to address).

There’s also little argument that the his family made the right choice by excluding him from their their second-chance reality series (see below).

But while Josh will likely never return to TV (again, see below, TLC is making sure of it), he’s still doing quite well for himself these days.

The first-born of those 19 kids once enjoyed a career as a D.C. lobbyist that was utterly derailed when he was forced to resign in disgrace. 

Nevertheless, he’s landed on his feet back home.

How, you ask, is the family pariah making money?

It almost sounds made up, but Josh Duggar has apparently taken over the family business of repairing and re-selling used cars.

No joke. If you watch Counting On online, you know that the side-business has been lucrative for several members of the Duggar clan.

On Saturday, the Duggar Family News Facebook page confirmed that a thriving Josh has expanded his mini-empire with a second location.

"Josh’s new car lot is up and running," the source wrote.

The proprietor of the page reveled in Josh’s downfall (as we all should), reporting the news with a pretty aggressive shot at him:

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

"Josh is back to his used car selling roots," the page says, "after a quick flirtation with politics and sex workers in DC."

"I wonder how he is settling down to living a boring life in Arkansas after all the excitement he came to know in DC."

The writer adds: "I recall his Instagram photo taken from the balcony of John Boehner’s office overlooking the National Mall."

Those were the glory days for JD, but now, "all he’s taking photos of now are 20 year old cars with high mileage."

Savage.

Yes, it’s certainly been a precipitous fall from grace for Josh, but whether you love him or hate him, the fact of the matter is this:

He’s still doing much better these days than just about anyone in his hometown who doesn’t share his last name.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

How well is he doing? You’ll be surprised, we’re guessing.

Several sources close to the family estimate that including all of his assets, Josh Duggar’s net worth is roughly $200,000.

Now, that’s certainly a far cry from Jim Bob Duggar’s net worth, but Josh certainly isn’t struggling to pay the bills these days.

Josh is expecting a fifth child, and is facing a number of lawsuits, so he’d better hope he has sufficient reserves built up.

In all likelihood, he’ll emerge from his legal problems unscathed as well, and we know Anna will keep putting up with him.

So there you go. He’s still sitting pretty, so consider this your daily reminder that the world is a deeply unfair place.