Dave Ramsey said he only owns 1% of Ramsey Solutions, the personal finance company he co-founded with his wife Sharon in 1992. “Ninety-nine percent of our stock has already moved to the kids 10 years ago,” he told a caller on his “EntreLeadership” podcast. “It’s in the Children’s Trust now. I own 1% of Ramsey and it’s the only voting stock.”
Ramsey said the transfer was part of a broader plan to keep the company aligned with its founding values. “The company itself has been operated for God,” he said. “The kids now operate it for God or will when I’m gone and the grandkids will too.”
He emphasized the importance of not burdening the next generation with debt. “We built our own wealth on the side away from Ramsey,” he said. “That put us in a position to do all that.”
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Ramsey also spoke about his wife and how the ownership structure was designed with their long-term legacy in mind. “Sharon gets nothing here,” he said, referring to Ramsey Solutions. “She’s got hundreds of millions of dollars worth of other stuff. So she’s fine.”
Headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, Ramsey Solutions employs over 1,000 people and produces a range of content, including “The Ramsey Show,” the “SmartDollar” financial wellness platform and a suite of books and online courses. The company brought in around $300 million in revenue last year, according to Ramsey.
The topic came up during a call from Ronny, a small business owner from New Mexico, who asked how he and his wife could buy out his parents’ 50% share in their family-run repair business without taking on debt.
Ramsey first challenged their business valuation. Ronny’s mom had estimated the company was worth $4.1 million based on past revenue. But Ramsey said that was way off. “She’s wrong. Your net profit’s $600K. The most the business is worth is four to five times that,” he said. “She’s overvalued it by about a million dollars.”
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Ramsey suggested a simple plan: instead of borrowing money, Ronny and his wife could just use the company’s profits to buy out his parents. They’d pay themselves a salary of $100,000 a year, set aside 10% of profits to keep the business running smoothly, and send the rest to his parents each month until the full amount is paid off.
