Joseph R. "Joe" Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American entrepreneur known as the founder of Mantra Films, Inc., which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series.

On November 6, 2009 he was sentenced to time served and a year of probation in a case in which he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts for filing false income tax returns and bribing jail workers. He was also ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Francis grew up in Laguna Beach, California. His parents were Raymond and Maria Francis and he has three sisters: Babette Francis, two years older; Caroline Francis, a year and a half younger; and Christina Francis, 10 years younger. He struggled with disciplinary problems and attended a string of strict military, boarding and Catholic schools before eventually graduating from Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach. In 1995 he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Business Administration. He also completed USC’s Entrepreneur Program.