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How Steve Bannon Achieved a Net Worth of $48 Million

Steve Bannon was born into a strict Catholic family on November 27, 1953 in Norfolk, Virginia. His mother, Doris, was a homemaker and his father, Martin, was a lineman for AT&T, and eventually rose to a managerial position. He has a brother named Chris who is a television producer.

Bannon graduated from Benedictine College Preparatory, a private Catholic military high school. While there, he served as president of his class. During the summers he would work at a junkyard.

Steve graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree. He would later get his masters degree from Georgetown and an MBA from Harvard University.

In 1976, Bannon entered the United States Navy until 1983. During his time in the military, Bannon rose to the rank of lieutenant and fought in the Gulf War. After returning from the war in the Middle East, he worked in the Pentagon, serving as a special assistant to the chief of naval operations.

While in that position, he attended Georgetown University at night to earn his master's degree.

Upon leaving the military, Steve Bannon would begin to build his personal estimated net worth of $48 million . Though no one is really quite sure. We'll explain further.

Steve Bannon Net Worth

When his military duty came to an end, Bannon took a job as an investment banker with Goldman & Sachs. He eventually rose to the level of vice president of mergers and acquisitions.

So much faith did Goldman & Sachs have in him, that they gave Bannon his own subsidiary of the investment firm, Bannon & Company. The company (headed by Bannon), specialized in media.

He represented the firm and secured a deal that sold Castle Rock Entertainment to Turner Broadcasting Network (TBS). Trying to convince buyers that it was a good deal, Bannon agreed to take a stake in 5 television shows, rather than the usual payment.

One of those shows was Seinfeld. The sitcom obviously became a massive hit and to this day lives on in syndication. It's reportedly made close to $3.2 billion in "repeat" money. It's rumored that Bannon has made $32 million in residuals from the show.

Bannon's Divorce

However, during his 1997 divorce, none of the Seinfeld money showed up in any receipts. There is talk that he was having it funneled into a secret company. Since Steve was charged with money laundering and fraud in the "Build The Wall" project, this is not just a random Q-Anon theory.

After that deal, Steve decided to stay on in Hollywood and became a producer of several movies and documentaries. Most were documentaries that bashed establishment front runners like Ronald Regan, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Though he also made films singing the praises of politicians like Sarah Palin, some films, like The Indian Runner, with Sean Penn, did quite well. Some other Bannon gems include:

  • Occupy Unmasked (about the Occupy Walk St. movement)
  • Clinton Cash (an investigation into the Clinton Foundation)
  • Steam Room (starring Val Kilmer)
  • Rickover (the birth of nuclear power)
  • Battle For America (explores the conflict between political parties)

The Sale of Bannon and Company

In 1998, Bannon & Company was sold. Though no specific number was given, it was stated that Bannon was "compensated very generously." Steve does still have his own film company, Bannon Entertainment, which is said to be worth anywhere from $1 to $5 million. But again, with Steve, you're never quite sure.

One company that Bannon did disclose was Bannon Strategic Advisors. This company is currently worth $25 million.

When Steve made his documentary on Ronald Regan in 2004, he met journalist, Andrew Breitbart. Together, the two men would go on to create Breitbart News, a website dedicated to conservative political news reporting.

Bannon's salary from the news outlet was reportedly $191,000 a year. However, this does not include bonuses, residuals, and other income the company brings in.

In 2012, Andrew Breitbart passed away and Bannon became sole owner of the outlet. For a time, Bannon also sat on the board of directors for Cambridge Analytica. He sold his stake in the now defunct company for $5 million.

The Trump Years

During former president Donald Trump's campaign, Bannon became the CEO of the operation. When Trump took office in 2016, Bannon was appointed senior counselor, a new position created for him by Trump.

While Trump and his children accepted no salaries for their jobs, Bannon did. He was to be paid $179,000 a year. However, he left the position after 8 months.

Bannon says it was never his plan to stay for more than a year. White House sources say he was essentially fired.

Trump has asked for his resignation after the Charlottesville tragedy. It was also where Trump said the "good people on all sides" that got him in hot water. Supposedly, it was Bannon that advised him to say it. Trump had had enough.

The former president was allegedly not thrilled with Steve since the election. Apparently, Bannon was telling anyone that would listen, that he was responsible for Trump's victory.

So Bannon left the White House and returned to Breitbart and had various podcasts and television shows like Bannon's War Toom on the RAV network.

In 2020, he was charged with fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy in connection with the "Build the Wall" fundraising campaign. Money that was supposed to go to building the Mexican border wall, allegedly went in Steve's pocket. Before anything could happen with those charges, outgoing president Trump pardoned Bannon.

However, not long after, Bannon was in trouble again. In 2021, he was charged with contempt for not complying with a subpoena to testify in the January 6th hearings. This time he was found guilty and sentenced to 4 months in jail. The court also ordered him to pay $6,500 in fines. He remains free until his appeal reaches the court.

Steve Bannon's Personal Life

Bannon has been married and divorced 3 times. His first marriage to Suzanne Houff produced a daughter, Maureen, in 1988. Bannon's second marriage to Mary Piccard saw twin girls in 1995, before they divorced. His third marriage came in 2006 to model Diane Clohesy. The couple divorced in 2009.

Last year, it was reported that Bannon bought a 4-bedroom, 6-bathroom home in Arizona for $1.55 million.

The home is near the former Biosphere 2 project, of which Bannon was director for several years.

Bannon was living in a townhome outside of Washington DC, until he was swatted and the police showed up. It's also rumored that Steve has places in Los Angeles, New York, and Florida, where he is registered to vote.

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Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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