As the old saying goes, “Crime does not pay.” Could the same be said for infamous Harlem mobster, Bumpy Johnson? Here’s what we know about Johnson’s net worth when he died.
Before getting into just how much money Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson reportedly made in the New York underworld, let’s first clarify who Johnson was and what he did. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Johnson was in and out of jail throughout his life, serving time for burglary, and was linked to several assaults and murders, among other crimes. When he reached New York, he made the lion’s share of money running numbers, pitting him against established mobsters like Dutch Schultz. At the height of his power, Johnson was something of a Robin Hood-style folk hero, known to curry favor with the Harlem community by supporting the down and out.
Born in 1905, Johnson died in 1968. Many are already familiar with his story from the 2019 EPIX series Godfather of Harlem about Johnson, starring Forest Whitaker in the lead role, New York Post reports. Meanwhile, Johnson’s exploits were covered in a number of other books, movies, and TV shows.
Referring to Johnson, his goddaughter, Verna Johnson said (via the Post), “Everybody loved Uncle Bumpy — unless you did something to him. Then he went crazy on you. He could beat you up and beat you down. My mother said that he should have been a boxer.”
Johnson died with at least $50 million
According to Tuko, Bumpy Johnson died with at least $50 million. Meanwhile, Johnson’s net worth was as high as $100 million, according to some estimates. His cause of death was congestive heart failure. He was 68. At the time of his death, Johnson was under indictment on drug charges, just one of many criminal investigations in his lifetime. Evidently, Johnson earned a cool $1 million a year on his criminal enterprises.
Johnson was married and had two daughters, and reportedly Johnson’s wife, Mayme Hatcher, donated the money she inherited when her mobster husband died to the NAACP and the Harlem Boys Club. In today’s currency, Johnson’s $50 million legacy would total closer to $440,000,000.
Referring to Johnson, Epix “Godfather of Harlem,” co-creator Paul Eckstein told the New York Post, “He wasn’t Robin Hood. He lived off the poor, robbed from other gangsters and helped where he could.” That said, however, after Johnson died, “the idea of Harlem criminals thinking they have at least some responsibility to the community, well, it got lost,” Eckstein added.