Gary E Stevenson net worth estimates range from $5 million to $52 million, a spread that reflects one central problem: his wealth is largely tied to a private company whose IPO was withdrawn in April 2022 before shares ever traded publicly. The former co-founder and president of iFIT Health & Fitness, now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stepped away from corporate life in 2008 and has received no executive compensation since.
From Cache Valley Startup to Global Fitness Giant
Gary Evan Stevenson was born on August 6, 1955, and grew up in the Cache Valley region of northern Utah, a geography that would prove formative. In 1977, alongside Scott Watterson, he co-founded Weslo, Inc., a small startup making affordable exercise equipment in Logan, Utah. Neither man had a roadmap. What they had was timing, and a belief that fitness equipment shouldn’t be a luxury product.
Weslo grew into ICON Health & Fitness, which in turn became iFIT Health & Fitness, the parent company behind NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion, and the SWEAT app. From 1988 to 2008, Stevenson served as the company’s president and chief operating officer, a twenty-year run that coincided with the company’s most transformative growth. Under his tenure, ICON accumulated over 400 patents across connected fitness hardware and software, built a global distribution network, and grew annual revenues that would later exceed $700 million. According to iFIT’s 2021 IPO filing documents, the company claimed 6.1 million total members and 1.5 million paying fitness subscribers at the time of its planned public debut.
In 2008, Stevenson resigned from iFIT to accept a full-time assignment from the LDS Church, beginning a church service arc that has continued ever since. The fitness empire he helped build, however, retained him as a major shareholder.
iFIT Holdings and the Billion-Dollar Windfall That Never Came
Gary E. Stevenson holds 43.4 million shares in iFIT Health & Fitness, a position that made headlines in October 2021 when the company filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. At the planned IPO price range of $18 to $21 per share, Stevenson’s stake would have represented approximately $911.9 million in potential gains, representing 13.8% of the company’s post-IPO equity and 3.2% of its voting power, according to SEC filings cited by The Salt Lake Tribune.
That $911.9 million figure circulated widely, but it was always a projection tied to a specific IPO that never closed. The offering was postponed in early October 2021 due to volatile market conditions, and iFIT officially withdrew the IPO on April 6, 2022, according to stock analysis records. The company has remained private since. In subsequent years, iFIT received a $355 million capital infusion from private equity firm L Catterton, which also resolved an outstanding shareholder lawsuit, according to reporting from the Cache Valley Daily. Scott Watterson stepped back from day-to-day CEO duties while remaining chairman, and the company continued operating as a private entity.
What that means for Stevenson’s actual net worth is that 43.4 million shares in a private company carry no market price. The value depends entirely on any future liquidity event, whether a renewed IPO attempt, acquisition, or secondary market transaction. Forty million shares in a company generating over $1 billion in annual revenue could represent enormous wealth. Or not, depending on debt, valuation adjustments, and whether iFIT can return to the growth trajectory it projected in 2021. The $911.9 million will not age well as a headline until there is a transaction to anchor it.
What Is Gary E. Stevenson’s Net Worth Today?
Pinning down Gary E Stevenson net worth with any precision is genuinely difficult. Independent estimates range from $2 million at the conservative end to $52 million on the more speculative side. The widest estimates, those placing his wealth in the $50 million range, typically factor in the private iFIT shares at a discounted valuation, while lower estimates focus only on liquid or verifiable assets. One community estimate from r/exmormon placed his worth at approximately $2 million, which likely reflects the difficulty of valuing shares in a company with no public price.
What is knowable about Gary E Stevenson net worth from public records: he has not drawn executive compensation from iFIT since 2008. LDS general authorities receive a modest living allowance from the church, described in historical disclosures as a modest stipend, not a salary that accumulates generational wealth. The church’s policy, stated by spokesperson Doug Andersen in October 2021, is to grant exemptions from its prohibition on corporate board service only “under exceptional circumstances on a case-by-case basis,” and Stevenson was granted such an exemption specifically because of his “legacy shareholdings and his role as a co-founder of the corporation.”
The honest answer to the question of Gary E Stevenson net worth is that no one outside of Stevenson’s own advisers knows with certainty. What is documented: 43.4 million shares in a private fitness company, no public market to assign them a price, and a man who left the corporate world at 53 to devote the rest of his professional life to religious service.
| Source/Basis | Estimated Net Worth | Confidence Level |
|---|---|---|
| r/exmormon community estimate | ~$2 million | Low (liquid assets only) |
| Conservative range (various financial sites) | $5-10 million | Moderate |
| Including discounted private iFIT shares | Up to $52 million | Speculative |
| At withdrawn 2021 IPO price ($21/share) | ~$911.9 million (paper) | Hypothetical only |
Church Service and the Question of Financial Transparency
Gary E. Stevenson has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since October 3, 2015, currently ranked tenth in seniority among the twelve. According to his official church biography, before being called as an apostle he served as the LDS Church’s Presiding Bishop from 2012 to 2015, a role that oversaw the church’s vast financial, real estate, investment, and charitable operations, which by 2019 reportedly included investment accounts exceeding $100 billion managed by Ensign Peak Advisors, according to a whistleblower complaint filed that year.
The overlap between Stevenson’s corporate wealth and his senior church role drew attention precisely because of scale. Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, told The Salt Lake Tribune that the combination of business success and ecclesiastical leadership is not a new phenomenon in LDS history. “It’s no secret,” Mason said. “That’s never been a strange thing because it all goes way back to the beginnings of the church.” Matthew Bowman, head of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University, noted a “prosperity gospel” dynamic in which financial success tends to correlate with advancement in the church’s hierarchy.
Stevenson himself has not made public statements about his personal finances. The disclosure of his iFIT holdings came not from any voluntary transparency effort, but from mandatory SEC filings associated with a company IPO. That is about as much financial transparency as the law required, and he provided exactly that, neither more nor less.
Legacy, Family, and Personal Life
Gary Stevenson graduated from Utah State University in 1979, where he later became an active donor and booster. His Wikipedia entry notes that three of his four sons also attended USU. He and his wife Lesa have maintained a notably low public profile, given the attention his financial situation attracted in 2021.
Stevenson has spoken at LDS General Conference most recently in October 2025, continuing a pattern of regular doctrinal addresses that reflect his primary identity in current public life: not as a businessman, but as a religious leader. His talks have emphasized service, family, and discipleship, conspicuously absent of any reference to his corporate past.
The contrast between his documented wealth history and his current public presentation is one of the more quietly interesting aspects of his biography. A man who once co-led a company that would attempt a nearly $7 billion IPO now gives sermons about humility. Whether one views that as a coherent spiritual journey or an interesting biographical footnote depends almost entirely on what one thinks about the intersection of faith and money, a question that turns out to be older than most people assume in the history of American religious leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gary E. Stevenson’s Net Worth
What is Gary E. Stevenson’s net worth?
Gary E Stevenson net worth is estimated between $5 million and $52 million, depending on how private company shares are valued. He holds 43.4 million shares in iFIT Health & Fitness, a private company since the IPO was withdrawn in April 2022, making an exact figure impossible to confirm publicly.
Was Gary E. Stevenson almost a billionaire?
On paper, yes. At the planned iFIT IPO price of $18-21 per share, Stevenson’s 43.4 million shares would have been worth approximately $911.9 million. However, iFIT’s IPO was first postponed in October 2021, then officially withdrawn on April 6, 2022, meaning those shares never traded publicly and no cash was realized from that valuation.
How did Gary E. Stevenson make his money?
Stevenson built his wealth as co-founder of Weslo, Inc. in 1977, which grew into iFIT Health & Fitness (formerly ICON Health & Fitness), the manufacturer of NordicTrack and ProForm equipment. He served as the company’s president and COO from 1988 to 2008, accumulating a major equity position over three decades of leadership.
What is iFIT Health & Fitness and is it publicly traded?
iFIT Health & Fitness is a Logan, Utah-based fitness equipment company, the parent brand behind NordicTrack, ProForm, and Freemotion. It is not publicly traded. The company filed for a Nasdaq IPO in 2021 but withdrew it in April 2022. L Catterton, a private equity firm, invested $355 million in the company around that period.
Does Gary Stevenson still work for iFIT?
No. Gary E. Stevenson resigned from iFIT in 2008 to accept a full-time church assignment from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served in full-time religious roles since then, first as Presiding Bishop (2012-2015), then as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from October 2015 to present.
How does Stevenson’s net worth compare to other LDS apostles?
Stevenson’s documented iFIT shareholding makes him unusual among current LDS apostles in terms of potential corporate wealth. A 2023 community estimate on r/exmormon placed other apostles’ net worth in the $1-7 million range for most members. Stevenson’s position is distinct because of the scale of private equity he accumulated before joining church leadership full-time.
When was Gary E. Stevenson called as an LDS apostle?
Gary E. Stevenson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He is currently ranked tenth in seniority in that body. Before becoming an apostle, he served as the LDS Church’s Presiding Bishop from 2012 to 2015.
The Bottom Line on Gary E. Stevenson’s Wealth
Gary E. Stevenson built something real: a fitness company that, forty-seven years after its founding as a Utah startup, still employs thousands of people and ships equipment worldwide. His stake in that company, valued at nearly $1 billion in hypothetical terms in 2021, never converted into the headline number because the IPO never happened.
What remains is a genuinely hard-to-value position in a private company, no executive salary since 2008, and a career path that took a dramatic turn from boardroom to pulpit. The most honest estimate of his net worth sits somewhere in the $5 to $52 million range, almost entirely dependent on whether iFIT eventually finds a path to liquidity. Until then, Gary E. Stevenson’s net worth exists more as a financial question mark than a settled figure, which may be exactly how a man who gave up nearly $1 billion in potential gains to serve his faith would prefer it.
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