CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia’s U.S. Senator Jim Justice has reached an agreement to pay off nearly $5.2 million in overdue personal taxes. This development adds another chapter to the financial saga of the former billionaire, who has been dogged by monetary issues for over ten years.
On Monday, a joint motion for consent judgment was filed by an attorney representing Justice and his wife, Cathy, alongside the federal government. This occurred on the same day the government initiated a lawsuit alleging the couple failed to fully pay their income taxes dating back to 2009. The agreement was endorsed by a lawyer from the U.S. Justice Department’s tax division.
Previously, Forbes magazine had estimated Justice’s fortune at $1.9 billion, but in 2021, he was removed from their billionaire rankings as his wealth plummeted to about $513 million. By early this year, Forbes assessed that Justice’s liabilities had overtaken his assets, rendering his net worth as “less than zero.”
Attempts to reach Justice’s office for a statement on Tuesday did not receive an immediate response.
In an October media briefing, Justice described his business operations as “complicated and complex,” praising his children for their management efforts. He reiterated claims that the collection actions against him were politically driven, concluding with, “At the end of the day, I’d say just let it be and see how it all plays out.”
Justice, who previously served two terms as a Republican governor and owns a multitude of businesses including those in the coal and agriculture sectors, was elected to the Senate last November. He succeeded Joe Manchin, a former Democrat who transitioned to an independent in 2024 as he neared the conclusion of his second full Senate term.
Justice still has other financial challenges to work out.
The Internal Revenue Service last month filed liens totaling more than $8 million against Justice and his wife on unpaid personal taxes. In September, state tax officials filed $1.4 million in liens against the Justice family’s historic hotel, The Greenbrier, and the resort’s Greenbrier Sporting Club, over unpaid sales taxes.
Last month, a foreclosure auction on several hundred lots owned by the Justice family at a resort community near Beckley was paused. The auction centered on a dispute between the Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association and Justice Holdings over unpaid fees. The state Supreme Court plans to review the case more closely.
In 2021, the IRS filed liens over $1.1 million in unpaid taxes on the Greenbrier Hotel and an additional $80,000 on the resort’s medical clinic. Those debts were paid off later that year.
Justice’s family settled debts last year in a separate case to avoid the Greenbrier Hotel’s foreclosure. The 710-room hotel, which has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty and congressional retreats, had come under threat of being auctioned off on the steps of a Lewisburg courthouse. That was after JPMorgan Chase sold a longstanding loan taken out by Justice to a credit collection company, Beltway Capital, which declared it to be in default.
The state Democratic Party has said efforts to seize the hotel from Justice were “a direct consequence of his own financial incompetence.”
Last year, a union official at the Greenbrier said that Justice’s family was at least $2.4 million behind in payments to an employees’ health insurance fund, putting workers’ coverage at risk. In 2023, dozens of properties owned by the Justice family in three counties were auctioned as payment for delinquent real estate taxes. Others have sought to recoup millions in fines for environmental issues and unsafe working conditions at his company’s coal mines.
Justice bought The Greenbrier resort out of bankruptcy in 2009 for $20.1 million. The sporting club is a private equity club and residential community on the property that opened in 2000.
The resort in White Sulphur Springs that dates to 1778 also has a casino, spa and dozens of amenities and employs around 2,000 workers. The resort held a PGA Tour golf tournament from 2010 until 2019 and has welcomed NFL teams for training camp and practices. A once-secret 112,000-square-foot (10,080-square-meter) underground bunker built for Congress at the Greenbrier in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War now hosts tours.
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