How did Joe Exotic get all his money?

Federal agents allege that he sold many of his big cats, some as young as two weeks old, for cash. Before that, though, Joe made most of his money from the park, where he charged visitors to pet and pose with lion and tiger cubs. He also sold merchandise and pizza for a time.



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He was keeping a mixture of lions, tigers, and a rare lion-tiger crossbreed called a liger. Theroux said many of the animals were rescued from private owners who could no longer look after them. Later in the documentary Exotic reveals he has 176 tigers kept at the zoo.

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Big Cat Rescue sold the property formerly known as Joe Exotic's G.W. Zoo for $140,000 in June to Francisco and Nelly Vazquez, according to TMZ.

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Baskin sold the Wynnewood property in June for $140,000. Under the terms of sale, the new owners are barred from using the property to house exotic animals of any kind — or as a zoo, wildlife park or menagerie — for 100 years.

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As of August 2020, the original GW Zoo has been shut down and Baskin sold the land on the condition that it is never used to keep exotic animals in the future.

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