Most people know what a doctor is and the type of work that they do. Few people know how much money doctors make. On July 26, 1954 Dr. David Brown became the first doctor to earn over a million dollars in one year. Since then, doctors have continued to earn a great deal of money and the yearly income for a typical doctor is now over a million dollars. On this year’s Money Mondays, we’re going to learn about this incredible doctor and what he’s done with his money. Let’s get started.
Early Life And Education
David Brown grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine. He attended college at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. He then went on to complete his medical education at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While there, he also earned a master’s degree in public health. During his senior year, he completed a residency in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. After completing his medical education, he became a member of the American Medical Association.
Brown is married to the former Janice Kesten, a family practitioner. Together they have four children. They live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Medical Career
When he was in medical school, Brown was part of a select group of students who got a full tuition scholarship to Johns Hopkins University Medicine. This was made possible through the G.P.A.T.S. (Graduate Preparatory Assistance to Students) scholarship program. This program was established by the government in 1958 to encourage medical students to pursue residency positions after graduation. As a result of this scholarship, Brown was able to take time off from medical school to complete his residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. This enabled him to become a licensed physician.
During his time as a resident, Brown worked at a community hospital in Camden, New Jersey. There he saw a great deal of inner city medicine. He also worked at a large Veterans Affairs hospital in North Carolina. He then went on to do a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. At the end of this fellowship, he became a member of the American Society of Gastroenterologists. Brown has always had a special interest in liver diseases and hepatic carcinoma. These are major conditions that he has worked on in his career. In addition to his medical career, Brown has worked as a medical editor for a publishing company. He has also authored several book chapters and articles on medical topics. He also has an interest in real estate and has invested in several properties. He bought his first house at the age of 31 and has been buying and selling houses ever since.
Waxing Generous
After earning over a million dollars in one year, it was clear that Brown wasn’t going to be content with just one million dollars. The following year he made another million dollars, which was followed by another million dollar salary in the year after that. Now, over 60 years later, he is still going strong and has made well over a million dollars each year since. Because of his continued good health and work ethic, he has been able to amass quite the wealth. He currently has over 30 million dollars in assets, which makes him one of the richest doctors in America.
Giving Back
Even though he’s been very successful in his career, Brown has always tried to give back to the community. He has established two philanthropic foundations in order to support medical and educational causes that he feels are close to his heart. One of these foundations was established in 2010 and is called the David Brown Cancer Research Fund. It’s mission is to support medical research that will lead to a better understanding and treatment of cancer. The second foundation, the David Brown Medical Education Fund, was established in 2011 and is dedicated to providing financial support for medical students and residents who are facing financial hardship.
Net Worth
As a physician, Brown’s net worth is mostly made up of his assets and his residence. The former is valued at over 30 million dollars and the latter is valued at around 4 million dollars. In addition, he has over 200,000 dollars in credit cards and a mortgage valued at 1.5 million dollars on his home. All of these assets add up to a net worth of over 35 million dollars.
If we include his 4 million dollar residence, his car collection worth 7.5 million dollars, his boat collection worth another 3 million dollars, and his travel bag which is worth 500 dollars, then we arrive at a total net worth of 47 million dollars. This doesn’t include his pension which is currently worth over 4 million dollars because he has been saving for retirement for over 40 years. Overall, Brown has a net worth of over 55 million dollars, which makes him one of the richest doctors in America.