Inside Roxanne Quimby's Fortune: Roxanne Quimby's Total Wealth ( Updated) Net Worth 2026: Career Earnings & Assets
Updated: May 05, 2026
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Inside Roxanne Quimby's Fortune: Roxanne Quimby's Total Wealth (2026 Updated) - Profile Status:
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As one of the most talked-about figures, Roxanne Quimby has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What Is Roxanne Quimby's Net Worth?
In 1999, Burt's Bees relocated to Durham, North Carolina, and launched an e-commerce website. Also that year, Quimby purchased Shavitz's one-third stake in the company in exchange for a $130,000 house in Maine. Moving into the new millennium, Burt's Bees expanded further by offering its first toothpaste and shampoo, as well as a line of personal care products for babies. The company later introduced a full cosmetics line featuring foundation, blush, eye shadow, and mascara.
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Roxanne Quimby is an American businesswoman who has a net worth of $200 million. Roxanne Quimby is one of therichest people in Maine. Quimby earned her fortune as the co-founder of the personal care products company Burt's Bees. She co-founded the company with beekeeper and businessmanBurt Shavitz. The company was incorporated in 1991. Roxanne bought Burt out of the company in 1993. She sold Burt's Bees in two transactions. In 2004, she sold 80% of the company to a private equity firm for $173 million. In 2007,the entire company was sold to Clorox for $925 million, earning Quimby an additional $185 million. In total, before accounting for the dividends she earned before selling, Roxanne received $358 million from the sales.
Born in Lexington, Massachusetts, Quimby chose to focus on art during school and moved to San Francisco to study art full-time. In the mid-1970s, she moved to Maine with her then-boyfriend to focus on living a more rustic lifestyle. The pair built their own home, grew their own food in the small town of Guildford, and had twins in 1978. Her boyfriend left soon after the birth of their children. After meeting beekeeper Burt Shavitz in the early '80s, Roxanne began making beeswax candles in order to supplement her income. The candles were quite successful initially, so she began developing a lip balm, as well. The lip balm, which was launched in 1991, proved to be a hit, and the company, known as Burt's Bees, grew in profitability.
Burt's Bees was finally incorporated in 1991, at which time it had launched a product line consisting of soaps and perfumes in addition to its signature candles. Soon, the company began selling its most popular and iconic product, lip balm. In 1993, conflict shook Burt's Bees when Quimby threatened to sue Shavitz over personal issues; this resulted in Shavitz's departure from operations. Subsequently, the company started focusing exclusively on personal care products. In 1995, Burt's Bees moved to an 18,000-square-foot factory in Creedmoor, North Carolina. Its first retail store was opened in nearby Chapel Hill. By 1998, the company was offering more than 100 personal care products in 4,000 locations, with sales surpassing $8 million. Moreover, Burt's Bees products were being sold by such national companies as Whole Foods and Cracker Barrel.
Roxanne Quimby was born on July 11, 1950, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of a homemaker mother and a father who worked as an engineer and salesman. She was brought up in Lexington. As a young adult, Quimby initially went against the grain of her business-oriented family by enrolling at the San Francisco Art Institute. However, once there, she became heavily influenced by the back-to-the-land movement and decided to turn her focus toward a more rural lifestyle after earning her BFA.
In 1975, Quimby and her boyfriend, George St. Clair, moved to Maine near the town of Guilford, where they purchased a tract of land. The couple constructed a cabin and an outhouse and began living a rustic existence. Roxanne eventually met beekeeper Burt Shavitz and, in 1984, she started selling candles made from his leftover beeswax. Turning this operation into a business, the pair established a headquarters in an abandoned single-room schoolhouse. Quimby and Shavitz soon began bottling and selling honey; by the end of their first year in business, they had recorded $20,000 in sales. Production increased in 1989 after the New York boutique Zona ordered hundreds of beeswax candles from the company. Burt's Bees subsequently added 40 new employees and moved its headquarters to a derelict bowling alley.
Burt and Roxanne were the subjects of the 2014 documentary film "Burt's Buzz," which documents their shared history and the success of their company.
In summary, the total wealth of Roxanne Quimby reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.