So what does James Randi do for a living?

[MNBrant]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

[Twiler]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

Personal response? This is hardly the best way to contact him.

[sinclairmcevoy]

I think he has some sort of educational foundation or some such nonsense.

[MNBrant]

He doesn't occasionally appear like some slumming deity?

[zooterkin]

He doesn't occasionally appear like some slumming deity?

No, James Randi actually exists.

[wardenclyffe]

He's in his 80s, so most people would consider him "retired." For decades he was a working magician earning his living in show business. He probably now receives pensions from the various performing unions to which he belongs. I assume he also receives social security. I don't know what kind of speaking fees he gets, but he could probably command a pretty high price. Perhaps he was financially smart and made good investments that are paying off.

After giving up the presidency of JREF, it seems like he's living in semi-retirement. I hope that explains things. I don't speak for Randi or the JREF. It just seemed pretty obvious.

Ward

[MNBrant]

No, James Randi actually exists.

I said like. I suppose you could say like some godlike celebrity instead.

[Prometheus]

Don't know; don't care. Is there some reason I should?

[MNBrant]

Don't know; don't care. Is there some reason I should?

Aren't you a bit curious as to what James Randi is up to? He could have written a book or is hosted a conference or something. How can we know if nobody is curious?

[jasonpatterson]

Aren't you a bit curious as to what James Randi is up to? He could have written a book or is hosted a conference or something. How can we know if nobody is curious?

No more or less than I'm curious about what Mr. Norbert von Winkle of Dogbone, IA is doing.

[MNBrant]

No more or less than I'm curious about what Mr. Norbert von Winkle of Dogbone, IA is doing.

I am not familiar with him. Can you give me particulars? Let me google the name Von Winkle and see if I can come up with anything interesting.


Breach of Rule 4 removed.

[Rasmus]

A conference? NEVER!

[wardenclyffe]

MNBrant,

Thanks for reminding me about the books he wrote, some of which are still in print and making money. I assume that TAM makes money and other conferences like TAM UK and TAM Australia and there are skeptical cruises. So, yes he makes money by being a professional skeptic now that he's retired from work-a-day showbiz. But I'm guessing that he still gets much of his income from the same places as other retirees.

Ward

[MNBrant]

MNBrant,

Thanks for reminding me about the books he wrote, some of which are still in print and making money. I assume that TAM makes money and other conferences like TAM UK and TAM Australia and there are skeptical cruises. So, yes he makes money by being a professional skeptic now that he's retired from work-a-day showbiz. But I'm guessing that he still gets much of his income from the same places as other retirees.

Ward

Randi's on social security???? I wouldn't mind going on a sceptical cruise to go see him sometime.

[JJM 777]

He probably now receives pensions
(...)
I assume he also receives social security.
In another thread it was said that Randi lifts a salary of some 150,000 a year (or how much was it) from JREF organization. On top of that, he might get revenues from some book copyrights etc. Donating to JREF is no alms to the poor actually, it is a lucrative business.

[MNBrant]

In another thread it was said that Randi lifts a salary of some 150,000 a year (or how much was it) from JREF organization. On top of that, he might get revenues from some book copyrights etc. Donating to JREF is no alms to the poor actually, it is a lucrative business.

Yep, I should have guessed that. If he can grab that much from JREF it must be doing well. I can see why he not doing magic acts for cruise ships then.

[wardenclyffe]

Randi's on social security???? I wouldn't mind going on a sceptical cruise to go see him sometime.

I'm not 100% sure how social security works, but I think once you reach a certain age, you start receiving it no matter how rich you are. I think Randi's well past that age. This, of course, assumes that you paid into SS, which I think Randi must have with his many jobs over the years before his retirement.

Ward

[Prometheus]

Aren't you a bit curious as to what James Randi is up to? He could have written a book or is hosted a conference or something. How can we know if nobody is curious?

He's a retired minor celebrity. I rarely care what even A-list celebrities do when they're not retired. I've not read his books. I've not seen him perform. I rarely visit the JREF homepage. I do like his forum, but I've not seen any evidence that he has much to do with it other than his name at the top of the page.

I'm actually more curious about you than I am about him, since as of today I've had considerably more personal contact with you than I have with him. ;)

[MNBrant]

He's a retired minor celebrity. I rarely care what even A-list celebrities do when they're not retired. I've not read his books. I've not seen him perform. I rarely visit the JREF homepage. I do like his forum, but I've not seen any evidence that he has much to do with it other than his name at the top of the page.

I'm actually more curious about you than I am about him, since as of today I've had considerably more personal contact with you than I have with him. ;)

I wonder if he has the satchel of money delivered to him once a week, or does he personally go get it himself.

[zooterkin]

I said like. I suppose you could say like some godlike celebrity instead.

Hardly, he's just this guy, you know? At least so he seemed when I spent some time with him in October last year. A very charming and well-informed guy, though.

[MNBrant]

Hardly, he's just this guy, you know? At least so he seemed when I spent some time with him in October last year. A very charming and well-informed guy, though.

Rich people can be interesting I guess. I really don't know any which is nice actually. Having few friends means that you owe few favors.

[NewtonTrino]

Rich people can be interesting I guess. I really don't know any which is nice actually. Having few friends means that you owe few favors.

I don't think Randi would be considered rich by most people but I could be wrong. I don't get the impression he makes huge money but he probably does ok.

He's pretty much mostly retired at this point, certainly from his main job of performance.

He probably has a few different income streams coming in but saying that the JREF is a lucrative business I think is a bit of a tall order. How much time and money did Randi invest in JREF before it got off the ground? He's obviously been personally working hard on this for many many years.

[Morrigan]

He's past 80. Most people around that age don't do anything for a living, since they're, you know, retired.

But hey, Randi is actually one of the rare ones who isn't completely retired. He still attends conferences and lectures, and he's currently writing a book. How about that!

[Darat]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

Randi doesn't read the Forum very often so if you want a response from him (to your question) you would be better sending an email to jref@randi.org.

[AdMan]

I think these days Randi is mostly occupied with giving talks on skepticism around the world and writing (the last couple of times I saw him speak he said he's working on his next book--A Magician in the Laboratory). He retired from performing years ago. Not sure how involved he is in running the day-to-day operations of the JREF, but I think he still draws a salary.

[MrQhuest]

He could have written a book or is hosted a conference or something.

Randi hosting a conference? That would be Amazing!

:D

MrQ

[epepke]

Hardly, he's just this guy, you know? At least so he seemed when I spent some time with him in October last year. A very charming and well-informed guy, though.

He's definitely a hoopy frood. Very pleasant and down to Earth. I met him when he came to the Lake Hypatia Freethought Advance and also a skeptic's conference in Tampa which also had Martin Gardner. At the former, he was resplendent in his black jeweled battle shorts. Although TAM is expensive, these were both nearly-zero-budget events, and so I do not think that he has made his fortune by the blood of the exploited working class.

He's written books, some of which are illustrated very prettily, and so I'm sure he still gets royalties. There's some money from the interest on the Million Dollar Challenge. And he's had a successful career as a conjurer.

[Ryokan]

I wonder if he has the satchel of money delivered to him once a week, or does he personally go get it himself.

Or perhaps he uses one of those newfangled modern wireless money transfers called 'bank accounts'. But what do I know?

[Lucian]

Or perhaps he uses one of those newfangled modern wireless money transfers called 'bank accounts'. But what do I know?

Oh, I was imagining him conjuring it from a small child's ear. I suppose your way could work too. Less fun, though.

[jhunter1163]

JREF is a nonprofit, so its finances are public record. The Form 990 is posted every year here. IIRC, Randi makes $175,000 a year from the Foundation. And frankly, he's cheap at twice the price.

[kittynh]

wow, how clueless. I also once thought of Randi as some sort of diety. And then, to my shock, I met him. Over the years, we've become friends. The weird part is the entire family has come to know him over the years and we're all his friends now. We're not important, not rich (far from it!), not famous...and get this...I'm one of those "God believers" (and open about it with him) and my husband isn't even much of a skeptic at all. My one daughter was an intern with Randi, and the funny thing is when I would call down to talk to her, guess who usually answered the phone? Randi. Because he would come in to work every weekend.

Hard to believe, but he's just a really nice person. I feel humbled that he is my friend, but I also feel happy that I am friends with someone that really is just darn nice.

...unless you charge people so that they can talk to their dead children...because he's not ok with that "oh, you can speak to your dead child, but I'm only going to have time to do it with a $600 an hour donation to my church...". Ripping off the bereaved and poor and uneducated and ill is a good way to bring out his not nice side. Also my not nice side. And that of most people with any sense of morality and fairness. Randi, he never blames the victim, he knows who is at fault.

[MNBrant]

Yeah, I get it. Thanks for the info all.

[Rasmus]

Rich people can be interesting I guess. I really don't know any which is nice actually. Having few friends means that you owe few favors.

Funny. I would have said that having friends means owing no favors.

[skip]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

What do you care?

[The_Fire]

he's attempting to troll himself into a ban, me thinks. Not going to stellar either.

[NewtonTrino]

It would have been nice if the OP had tried to make some sort of point instead of just asking a question with no reason attached.

My general impression is he's trying to say something like "see see! I told you so Randi makes ***money*** and therefore that means he's wrong, or not a skeptic or driven by some conspiracy". Maybe that's just my read on it though ;)

[skip]

he's attempting to troll himself into a ban, me thinks. Not going to stellar either.

He's not very good at it....

[Ron_Tomkins]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

I wonder why someone would make the comparison between James Randi and Jesus. I mean, Jesus was not the only carpenter we know of. So why say "Is he a carpenter like Jesus"?

[sadhatter]

Not trollin at all, eh op?

How i could have ever thought that he is just taking the piss is beyond me.

[calebprime]

I'll say "troll" if you say "crazy" or equivalent. :)

He's either someone with serious mental issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's someone with serious, serious anger & maturity issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's an unemployed actor/sociopath who is constructing an elaborate persona over a period of years in order to, whatever... or,

He's someone with serious mental issues and anger issues who half-wants to reach out to people and half-wants to dominate them and confound them. (like I've discussed.)

And it all comes out to the same thing, in a way, for us.

No-one's going to stick around, or give him money, or even give him that much advice, or pity.

But he ain't funny.

Oddly enough, it's easy enough to fool psychiatrists in person, as various documentaries have shown. Actors pretending to be mentally ill have gotten admitted to mental hospitals, only to really feel like they were going crazy.

These are doctors who have the person directly in front of them, to talk to.

How can we do any better than that? We can't.

Prisoners (in jail) simulate mental illness, sometimes, thinking that they will get transferred some place.

It really doesn't matter to us, since we're not responsible.

But whatever the case, it goes beyond just taking the piss.

Maybe we can all agree on that.

=========================
Look, to go on a tangent about acting: I've never seen an actor actually simulate mental illness (or neurological damage) in a convincing, naturalistic way. Not DeNiro. Not Christian Bale in The Fighter. The actual guys that movie is based on, shown at the end of that movie, are a lot scarier. Same with autism. Rain Man? No.

Of Mice and Men? No. Malkovich has way too much of a gleam in his eye.

With actors, there's a lot more spark, a lot more presence. Joie de vivre. They are way more interesting, and well, dramatic.

Counter-examples?

[Ron_Tomkins]

I'll say "troll" if you say "crazy" or equivalent. :)

He's either someone with serious mental issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's someone with serious, serious anger & maturity issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's an unemployed actor/sociopath who is constructing an elaborate persona over a period of years in order to, whatever... or,

He's someone with serious mental issues and anger issues who half-wants to reach out to people and half-wants to dominate them and confound them. (like I've discussed.)

And it all comes out to the same thing, in a way, for us.

No-one's going to stick around, or give him money, or even give him that much advice, or pity.

But he ain't funny.

Oddly enough, it's easy enough to fool psychiatrists in person, as various documentaries have shown. Actors pretending to be mentally ill have gotten admitted to mental hospitals, only to really feel like they were going crazy.

These are doctors who have the person directly in front of them, to talk to.

How can we do any better than that? We can't.

Prisoners (in jail) simulate mental illness, sometimes, thinking that they will get transferred some place.

It really doesn't matter to us, since we're not responsible.

But whatever the case, it goes beyond just taking the piss.

Maybe we can all agree on that.

=========================
Look, to go on a tangent about acting: I've never seen an actor actually simulate mental illness (or neurological damage) in a convincing, naturalistic way. Not DeNiro. Not Christian Bale in The Fighter. The actual guys that movie is based on, shown at the end of that movie, are a lot scarier. Same with autism. Rain Man? No.

Of Mice and Men? No. Malkovich has way too much of a gleam in his eye.

With actors, there's a lot more spark, a lot more presence. Joie de vivre. They are way more interesting, and well, dramatic.

Counter-examples?

Donald Trump?

[not daSkeptic]

IIRC, Randi makes $175,000 a year from the Foundation.

And IIRC the next highest-paid employee only gets around $38K/year.

[fuelair]

Hmm, what could the reason for that possibly be - I mean, heads of companies never get way more money than staff. Oh dear, what a quandry this puts me in!!!









Oops, I was wrong - they do, and I really do not care. MYOB is a good policy for stuff like that - otherwise people might think you are jealous.

[Chris H]

Randi works at a bikini car wash on the fourth Sunday of every month. Makes a ******* killing! ;)

Edited for Rule 10.

[Miss_Kitt]

Randi works at a bikini car wash on the fourth Sunday of every month. Makes a ******* killing! ;)

Edited for Rule 10.


Wins thread!

Still laughing, Miss_Kitt

[Andrew Wiggin]

Randi explains the obvious to the ignorant. In other words, he's a consultant.

[TubbaBlubba]

It's cool how Randi is at first this sort of almost mystical force of Skepticism somewhere in the world.


Then you actually meet him and he's pretty much a really nice, witty, smart and funny old man.

[MNBrant]

James Randi is showing me card tricks and teaching me skepticism over skype. I am bored. I did like the one where he threw a deck of cards at my window and a card stuck to it. Virtual window that is.

[Soapy Sam]

Throwing a deck of cards over Skype is serious magic.

I, too have met Randi a couple of times. The thing you first notice is how small he is. Then you talk to him for a minute and you stop noticing that.

The question of his salary is a fair one. Compared to other celebrities of comparable standing it's probably not much. Compared to the CEO of non profit organisations with half a dozen staff, some volunteers, it's rather a lot. Helluva lot more'n I make anyway.
Whether you feel he earns it is going to depend on a lot of things. I'm inclined to think he does, but I do wonder what a man his age whose primary hobby and interest is basically also his vocation would find to spend it on. I guess that's not my business.

Slightly off topic , apart from the business with the cross, which I think was contracted out, is there any biblical evidence of Jesus actually doing carpentry?

[CyberCecil]

Slightly off topic , apart from the business with the cross, which I think was contracted out, is there any biblical evidence of Jesus actually doing carpentry?

Actually there is:

vGQRBkv4di8

[mike3]

I'll say "troll" if you say "crazy" or equivalent. :)

He's either someone with serious mental issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's someone with serious, serious anger & maturity issues who doesn't like atheists much, so he's trolling, or

He's an unemployed actor/sociopath who is constructing an elaborate persona over a period of years in order to, whatever... or,

He's someone with serious mental issues and anger issues who half-wants to reach out to people and half-wants to dominate them and confound them. (like I've discussed.)

And it all comes out to the same thing, in a way, for us.

No-one's going to stick around, or give him money, or even give him that much advice, or pity.

But he ain't funny.

Oddly enough, it's easy enough to fool psychiatrists in person, as various documentaries have shown. Actors pretending to be mentally ill have gotten admitted to mental hospitals, only to really feel like they were going crazy.

These are doctors who have the person directly in front of them, to talk to.

How can we do any better than that? We can't.

Prisoners (in jail) simulate mental illness, sometimes, thinking that they will get transferred some place.

It really doesn't matter to us, since we're not responsible.

But whatever the case, it goes beyond just taking the piss.

Maybe we can all agree on that.

=========================
Look, to go on a tangent about acting: I've never seen an actor actually simulate mental illness (or neurological damage) in a convincing, naturalistic way. Not DeNiro. Not Christian Bale in The Fighter. The actual guys that movie is based on, shown at the end of that movie, are a lot scarier. Same with autism. Rain Man? No.

Of Mice and Men? No. Malkovich has way too much of a gleam in his eye.

With actors, there's a lot more spark, a lot more presence. Joie de vivre. They are way more interesting, and well, dramatic.

Counter-examples?

Those seem like some mighty serious charges to be levying against some guy just for posting some cr*p to a little net forum...

[Almo]

I just looked at the 2010 990 form (http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments//2010/650/649/2010-650649443-06fcaccc-9.pdf). It looks like they had expenses of 380k for "Conferences, Conventions and Meetings." Is this the main body of the JREF's cash that is spent on pursuing its mission beyond salaries and maintenance and stuff? Just trying to get a handle on what's going on there.

[Aepervius]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

"So what does James Randi do for a living?"

getting old. At his age usually you don't *need* to have a real job.

Although one can troll at any age, as is visible here.

[maggot9779]

Isn't he a wizard?

[buzz lightyear]

Is he a carpenter like Jesus, or does he make his entire living by being a sceptic? If he is not working, how long has it been since he has had a real job? Personal response only please.

Mate, James Randi, better known as Randall James Hamilton Zwinge is an illusionist.
He made a good living doing the rabbit out of the hat stuff for a long while. But as time progressed he saw that the crowds were becoming bored. Looking around he saw that the churches of the day were making a killing doing much the same as he was..........illusions.

So, hey presto, he set up his own and called it the JREF.

And lo and behold, disillusioned ex Catholics, people who had been to false prophets, those whose love ones had died from quack remedies flooded to him.

All he had to do was pass around the plate and "Abracadabra"........$175,000 per annum appeared.

His best trick yet.

[JJM 777]

Just trying to get a handle on what's going on there.
Some data is available in this discussion:

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=7661707#post7661707

Disclaimer: correctness of the presented information has not been verified (not by me anyway), and is subject to faith.

[Almo]

Some data is available in this discussion:

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=7661707#post7661707

Disclaimer: correctness of the presented information has not been verified (not by me anyway), and is subject to faith.

Thanks for the info. :)

[calebprime]

Those seem like some mighty serious charges to be levying against some guy just for posting some cr*p to a little net forum...

It was a while ago, but this post of yours--quoting mine--keeps popping up on the top of my page when I look into this thread.

At the time, there was a lot of speculation that the writer of the OP was a troll who was falsely claiming to be mentally ill.

I was arguing against this interpretation of his behavior, and this was my last post on the subject, after looking into it as much as I could.

My post is not to be understood as charging him with anything. Rather, it attempted to list what others had said as part of a list of possibilities. As you probably know, many things that are very unlikely are still logically possible.

In order to understand my thrust, unfortunately, you would have had to read some or all of the previous discussion. There, I had done some Googling and quoted many posts by MNBrant. I'd also looked at his YouTube videos--now removed. Perhaps this was overzealous.

Based on my experience with mental illness in my own family, based on a fairly extensive reading in psychology, and based on my reading of his other posts on the 'Net and looking at his video, I came to the conclusion that MNBrant was pretty much what he said he was-- said many times over a period of years in other forums.

My intention was not to be cruel or accusatory, so I regret what I said. It's just that a few of us had looked into it a little more than most other people, and I had gotten frustrated saying the same thing a few times over.

I regret causing any distress to MNBrant, if I did, or sounding like I was accusing him of anything. I had gotten a little too passionate, because I thought someone was wrong on the Internet. I put a lot of effort into one post (not this quoted post) in which I hope I sounded a little more humane.

He was getting a lot of attention for a while, because he was starting a lot of threads.

Aside from those who thought that he was lying about being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, most people here responded to him politely and appropriately.

[Darat]

Moved a bunch of personal bickering posts to Abandon All Hope, don't start it up again.

[MNBrant]

Actually, I am a skeptic, same as you all. The only difference is that I acknowledge there is a mystery surrounding death, while you deny it. Randi has made an enjoyable forum for the number of people who come here.