How Mitch McConnell Achieved a Net Worth of $30 Million

Mitch McConnell

If you even remotely follow American politics, you are well aware of who Mitch McConnell is. He is something of a household name. As the current majority leader in the United States Senate, he is arguably one of the most powerful men in the country. Essentially, no bill presented to Congress for passage can even come to the floor of the Senate without the approval of Mitch McConnell. That is quite a bit of power to have at your disposal, so it would be correct to think that he is worth quite a bit of money. Surprisingly, he may not have a net worth anywhere near what you might think he does. We tend to regard most people of national prominence on the political scene as being insanely wealthy. In the case of Mitch McConnell, he has a net worth in the neighborhood of $30 million. While that certainly is a respectable figure, you might think that it would be even higher. That being said, you might be wondering how he has earned that much money during his career. Continue reading to learn how he got to this point and where he is likely heading in the future.

Where Did He Come From?

Mitch McConnell is a Kentucky boy through and through, having lived there most of his life. Interestingly enough, he was actually born in Sheffield, Alabama back in 1942. However, his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky when he was a child. He has remained in the state pretty much ever since. He was already showing signs of becoming active in politics when he was in high school. It was a student at DuPont Manual High School that he was elected student body president. He would go on to attend the University of Louisville. He was similar to many politicians in that he pursued history as his course of study. He would go on to attend law school at the University of Kentucky. He earned his law degree from there back in 1967.

You might say that his career in politics actually began in the mid-1960s. That was when he was hired as an intern for two different politicians in Kentucky. After law school, he would go on to become a chief legislative assistant for one a sitting senator. He also worked for a while in the office of the Attorney General when Gerald Ford was the President. That is quite the resume for somebody who had not yet even run for a political office.

It would be 1977 when he first ran for office and won. It would take seven years for him to run for Senate. He won by a razor slim margin, defeating a sitting senator from the Democratic party. He has held onto that seat ever since. That helps explain how he has finally become the majority leader. Over the years, he has made many friends and probably more enemies. He is often referred to today as the most hated Senator in America, but you wouldn’t know it by how often he is easily reelected. He continues to serve and make a lot of money in the process. He was actually named the minority leader in the Senate in 2006. When the Republicans became the majority once again following the 2014 election, he became the majority leader.

The Money

As mentioned, Mitch McConnell is not the riches Senator in America by any stretch of the imagination. However, that does not mean that he hasn’t been able to sock away quite a bit of money over the years. As a leader in the Senate, he makes just over $193,000 a year. Even when he was just a regular member of the Senate, he was making $174,000. If you do the math, that does not quite explain how he has a net worth of $30 million. To better understand that figure, you would have to understand that Mitch McConnell has other sources of income as well.

One way that his net worth grew was through the simple act of marriage. In 1993, he married Elaine Chao. She was the former Secretary of Labor. Again, a government worker as a spouse usually does not mean that you have millions in the bank, but in this case, it actually does. When Elaine’s mother passed away, both Mitch McConnell and his wife received a cash gift. We do not know the exact amount of this gift, but it is estimated to be as much as $25 million. In addition, Mitch McConnell has also written a book that did quite well.

If you even remotely follow American politics, you are well aware of who Mitch McConnell is. He is something of a household name. As the current majority leader in the United States Senate, he is arguably one of the most powerful men in the country. Essentially, no bill presented to Congress for passage can even come to the floor of the Senate without the approval of Mitch McConnell. That is quite a bit of power to have at your disposal, so it would be correct to think that he is worth quite a bit of money. Surprisingly, he may not have a net worth anywhere near what you might think he does. We tend to regard most people of national prominence on the political scene as being insanely wealthy. In the case of Mitch McConnell, he has a net worth in the neighborhood of $30 million. While that certainly is a respectable figure, you might think that it would be even higher. That being said, you might be wondering how he has earned that much money during his career. Continue reading to learn how he got to this point and where he is likely heading in the future.

Conclusion

With Mitch McConnell currently running for election again in 2020, indications are that he will continue to add to his net worth. It seems that he has popular support in his home state, even though the political climate is changing somewhat. If he can hold onto his seat, then would expect that he would continue to add to that money in his bank account for the foreseeable future.

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