American lawyer and politician, John Kerry attained the peak of his political career when he became the United States Secretary of States in 2013. Before becoming the US Secretary of States, Kerry held several other political positions in the country including the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and a Senatorial seat. In addition, he served on the U.S Naval Reserves as well as in the Vietnam War. From all these, alongside private investments, John Kerry’s net worth has grown over the years.
Considering his impressive wealth at the moment, one may begin to think that the former U.S Secretary was born with a silver spoon. But no, Kerry didn’t grow up rich. His parents, Richard Kerry (a government worker) and Rosemary Forbes (a community service volunteer) were not even buoyant enough to afford his private boarding school education in his teens, but depended on relatives to make ends meet. Kerry also had to do summer jobs as a college student to earn pocket money. Even as a first-time senator, he on so many occasions, squatted with friends in Washington D.C. Let’s now take a detailed look at how the U.S politician gathered his wealth through the years.
How Former US Secretary of State Made his Money
Born on December 11, 1943, in Colorado, John Forbes Kerry developed an interest in politics from an early age. His passion for public office could be traced to his maternal ancestry who held several political positions in the U.S.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yale University in 1966, Kerry started off with enlisting in the United States Naval Reserve. He served on the Vietnam war from 1966 till late 1969. For his outstanding service in the war, Kerry earned several combat medals including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts.
Political Career
Few years after returning from Vietnam, John Kerry earned a Juris Doctor from the Boston College Law School. He soon after started working as an assistant at the Massachusetts District Attorney Office. As an Assistant District Attorney, Kerry earned some thousands of dollars annually that would certainly not make someone rich. He then became the Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor following a victory in the 1982 gubernatorial elections. In 1985, he became a Senator after winning the seat for Massachusetts in the 1984 congressional elections. Kerry earned not more than a six-digit annual salary throughout his tenures as a senator.
John Kerry’s Net Worth
John Kerry’s net worth received a significant boost from several trust funds he inherited from his late mother and some other Forbes relatives which are reportedly worth up to $1 million put together. This made it possible for him to rank as one of the richest U.S Senators while serving in Congress. CNS News named him the third richest in 2011.
As of 2013 on becoming the U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry’s net worth stood at over $100 million. Opensecrets placed it precisely at $103,001,362. Kerry’s major investments are in oil and gas companies such as Exxon Mobil, electronics manufacturing and tech companies such as Intel, Dreyfus Treasury Securities, Illinois Bond, and other securities and investment enterprises. By 2015, Kerry was worth almost $200 million, making him the wealthiest member of the Senate at the time.
Also See: Paul George’s Bio, Wife, Kids, Height, Age, Girlfriend, Salary, Wiki
Wife’s Influence
Besides his personal assets, John Kerry has somewhat benefited from the estate of his second wife, Teresa Heinz. Kerry married Heinze, (the widowed wife of former Pennsylvania senator, John Heinz III) in 1995. He married her several years after parting ways with his first wife, Julia Thorne in 1988. Late John Heinz’s grandfather, Henry Jon Heinz was the founder of American food processing empire, the H.J Heinz Company.
Together with Teresa, John has a number of assets. These include a five-story 18th-century townhouse on Louisburg Square in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. With an estimated combined net worth of $1 billion as of 2004, Kerry and Heinz would have become the third richest U.S Presidential couple, had they won the elections.
Be that as it may, Teresa Heinz’s wealth has only affected John Kerry’s net worth indirectly. This is because the couple has a premarital agreement that keeps their assets separate. This simply means that Kerry’s present estimated net worth of $250 million remains independent of his wife’s which is estimated at $750 million as of 2015.
