Al Sharpton Sells Life Story Rights to His Charity for $531,000

The Rev. Al Sharpton sold his rights to his life story for a price of more than a half a million dollars — to a charity he owns.

The National Action Network (NAN) — the organization which Sharpton founded in 1991 — agreed to fork over $531,000 to the left-wing preacher for Sharpton’s “life story rights for a 10-year period,” according to NAN’s tax filings obtained by the New York Post.

Sharpton also serves as president of NAN, which means he will be the one receiving the cash on behalf of the organization. But the document does not state when the organization would receive the money.

The deal would already amount to more than the $244,661 salary he received from the organization in 2017.

The left-wing activist said the idea came from two members of NAN’s board whom he did not identify, claiming they said the sale would create revenue for the organization after he plans to step down in another year.

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Sharpton added that he had other ways of increasing revenue for the non-profit, including several movie contracts and videos of himself with celebrities such as Michael Jackson.

“You’ve got real property here. You’re not talking about just me as an activist. These are non-related NAN things that are the saleable items,” he said.

Legal experts say the non-profit’s actions are concerning because the organization is conducting business with its president.

“When I see this kind of thing, it just makes me roll my eyes because there’s so much potential for funny business,” said Linda Sugin, a Fordham University Law School professor and associate dean.

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The National Action Network, which is based in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, raked in $6.3 million in 2017, and $5.8 million in 2018.

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