Here's How Much Pope Francis Is Really Worth

At just over 100 acres, or about an eighth of the size of Central Park in New York, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It has everything: a mint that prints its currency, its own postal system — it even issues its own passports. The city-state says its population is made up of Swiss Guards and several members of the Catholic clergy, as well as the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals, who are the pope's counselors and are considered to be "princes of the church."

But the Vatican doesn't simply have a tiny population' it also sits on a vast collection of priceless real estate and art. The papal palace, or the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, is more than four centuries old, as is the Holy House of Loreto, according to Walks of Italy. Then there are the Vatican Museums (26 of them, to be exact), which includes the Sistine Chapel. If you want to try and put a dollar value on that, however, don't, because when the Vatican released its first-ever financial statement, which listed its net assets as 4 billion euros, it didn't include the Vatican bank or the Vatican museums, according to Reuters.

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, was elected pope by the College of Cardinals back in 2013, he became the Vatican's absolute monarch. However, unlike other monarchs — like Britain's King Charles III, for example — the pope owned none of the properties under his care.

On Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, it was announced that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, or Pope Francis, died at the age of 88. From the Vatican, Cardinal Kevin Farrell told the world of the pope's humility, which was reflected in his journey to the highest position in the Catholic Church. Francis entered the priesthood in the 1950s as a member of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, an order of Catholic priests who have lived under a stated vow of poverty for nearly two centuries. This means that when he joined the Jesuits, then-Friar Bergoglio had to give up everything he owned to live on a budget dictated by his superior. As fellow Jesuit priest and editor at large for America Magazine James Martin wrote for CNN, Bergoglio "had to turn into his community anything he earned and any gifts. He had to ask for cash for large purchases, such as a suit." In another article for America Magazine, Martin also said the Jesuits are not allowed to mess with the vow of poverty, unless they might be looking to make it more "strict."

Francis' austere nature was visible in his style of dress. By contrast, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI loved his red loafers, ermine cloaks, and Mercedes popemobile with a leather seat and gold trim. Until his death, Pope Francis preferred his white cassock and traveled around in a Fiat or Ford Focus, per The Washington Post.

As one of the world's most powerful figures, it is easy to assume Pope Francis would surrender to the ostentatious wonders of his papacy. However, what you don't know about the pontiff is that he kept things humbler than previous popes. Francis was never granted a salary, but the Vatican paid for all his various expenses, including the cost of travel and living, per the BBC. And while the sum of euros put forth by the Vatican to maintain a pope's lifestyle could be presumed as high, Pope Francis reportedly downgraded from the centuries-old traditional comforts of papal living.

According to a 2013 report from the BCC — around the time Francis was anointed as the Pope — the Catholic leader decided to leave the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, the usual living quarters of the Pope. Instead, he continued to reside in the cardinal's Domus Santa Marta residence, fortifying his beloved, humble reputation.