Julia Child's Legacy Is Worth A Lot More Than You'd Expect

Julia Child basically established the how-to cooking genre on television that's still popular to this day. Child was born in 1912 in Pasadena, California, and her interests didn't always gravitate toward cooking. It wasn't until she was living in Paris with her husband in the late 1940s that, inspired by French cuisine, she fell in love with the art of making delicious food. After earning her degree from Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, Julia wanted to spread her knowledge to American households. She accomplished her goal through publishing a step-by-step French cooking guide with recipes in 1961 called "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (a cookbook that could be worth a ton of money) and airing her show, "The French Chef," which first appeared on TV in 1963.

When Julia Child died in 2004, her net worth was $38 million, according to The Richest. Adjusting for inflation, she would be worth $66.7 million in today's dollars, even with the price of the U.S. dollar falling. Her wealth was earned by hosting 16 culinary shows between 1963 and 2000 and through the sales of her cookbooks, but her legacy lives on through the foundation she started in 1995. The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with more than $8.2 million in assets and an annual revenue of just over $1 million, per a report from ProPublica. The foundation generates revenue from the sales of the late author's cookbooks, and it retains rights to Child's intellectual property. Its primary purpose is to keep Julia Child's love of French cuisine alive for the next generation of gastronomists.

Although Child established the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts in 1995, it didn't begin its work until after her death. But as early as 2004, the foundation was already furthering the renowned culinary master's joy of cooking, eating, and drinking well. Starting in 2015, the foundation began offering the Julia Child Award to individuals who have contributed to gastronomy in America. The recipient receives a specially engraved award and a $50,000 grant for a food-related nonprofit organization they select. 

In addition to the Julia Child Award, the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts provides grants and scholarships. These funds are given to those who want to help support culinary research, provide internships for professionals with an interest in food, and enhance food literacy programs. Over the last decade, more than $3 million has been awarded by this food-focused foundation to nonprofits seeking to continue Julia Child's legacy and passion for cooking and eating well. HBO Max has a show about the life of Julia Child, "Julia," and while it may not make the list of most expensive TV shows ever made, it certainly captivates anyone interested in the art of cooking.