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How Nancy Pelosi Achieved a Net Worth of $120 Million

Nanci Pelosi is the long-serving Speaker of the House in the United States House of Representatives and is one of the most powerful women ever to serve. As the only female House Speaker of all time, she has worked to accomplish many goals and was a heavy supporter of former President Barack Obama. She also led the charge in impeaching former President Donald Trump twice.

But what are Nancy Pelosi net worth numbers? Is she one of the richest people in congress, as her opponents have claimed? Let's take a deep look into how Nancy Pelosi got her money, including a look at her career in and out of Congress. In this way, we can have a better understanding of this individual and her unique accomplishments as a person, particularly in a world often dominated by men.

Nancy Pelosi Net Worth Numbers

Many people have tried to guess the exact Nancy Pelosi net worth but have come up short or guessed far too high. According to the most recent estimates, she is worth about $120 million. This net worth has been primarily earned outside of congress, including through various investments and outside purchases. Her worth is also contributed to by her husband, Paul, a businessman and investor.

Her growth has been heavy since 2009, when it was estimated that Nancy Pelosi net worth numbers were close to $21 million. These finances have steadily increased in the years following 2009, giving this 80-year-old congressperson a comfortable net worth. On this list by Insider, (on which she somehow doesn't appear), her $120 million value would make her the third-richest member of congress.

This heavy cash influx has caused her some controversy over the years, especially as she made much of it in stock trading and real estate investments. As a result, breaking down exactly how she made most of her money is important and Pelosi has mostly been transparent about her earnings. That makes it reasonably easy to track where she made most of her money over the years.

How Much Does She Make as a Congressperson?

Congress representatives are almost always fairly rich people who can afford to run extensive political campaigns. While there are exceptions to this rule, Nancy Pelosi is not one of them. Like most people in congress, Pelosi was already independently wealthy, and her work in congress earned her only a minimal amount of money. They earn $223,000 per year, though these numbers may increase.

Compared to a $120 million fortune, $223,000 isn't a lot of money. That doesn't mean it hasn't contributed to her net worth, of course. After all, she has been in office for 33 years. While she didn't make $223,000 each of those years because of smaller paychecks, that's still a significant amount of time. If we average her earnings to $200,000 per year over that 33-year period, that's $6.6 million. Breaking it down by numbers, that's nearly six percent of her total net worth.

Her Career and How She Made Most of Her Money

Nancy Pelosi was born in 1940 in an Italian-American family that had just immigrated to the country before she was born. Her father was a congressman as a Democrat, while her brother was the mayor of Baltimore for one term in the late 60s. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and worked multiple jobs until she earned her position in congress in 1987,

Pelosi quickly worked her way up through the ranks of the system and served on the United States House Committee on Appropriations in the 1990s. She was also part of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Pelosi then became the first woman elected as the House Minority Whip in 2001 and eventually became the House Speaker, the first woman to do so. During her career, she has continually fought for Democrat causes and against Republican rule.

How Pelosi Made Her Money

Pelosi has mostly made her money through various stock gains and investments. She has also heavily focused on real estate investments, including a commercial property in California valued at between $5 to $25 million. These investments have helped her make consistent money, as she not only runs and operates multiple apartment buildings and commercial properties as offices.

Pelosi has focused heavily on high-quality and high-end properties rather than low-cost options. For example, her properties are known to be rented to various high-earning individuals and celebrities. That means she can charge high rent or sale prices and continually make money. These investments were also dwarfed by her investment in various stocks and bonds, as her career outside politics is as a day trader.

This career has given Pelosi a deep understanding of the market, and she has continually worked on various financial boards. It has also given her a ruthless reputation in congress, as she is known for her ability to create deals quickly and efficiently. This facet comes out even further when examining her husband, Paul Pelosi, and their career making money together.

Stock Trading and Her Husband's Worth

Over the years, Nancy Pelosi has been a savvy and intelligent investor who knows when to buy into suitable investments at the best time. For example, she and her husband, Paul, are known to own multiple tech stocks, which have been a major source of income for the two. Since 2009, the explosion in social media and other tech stocks has helped them make great money.

For example, she is known to own heavy portions of Apple, which is one of the most consistently successful brands in the world. While Apple is low-dividend and not consistently high earning, it continues to increase even when the market is low. That has helped Pelosi and her husband make money to invest elsewhere, which they have continued to do to mostly high success.

Pelosi is also a major investor in Amazon, which has continually thrived and succeeded throughout the globe. As the biggest market in the world, Amazon has thousands of depots and has fulfilled billions of orders over the years. While their value has dipped after the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to be worth a lot of money and will probably provide Pelosi and her husband with plenty of money for years to come.

Other big companies

Likewise, Pelosi is also a significant investor in Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook. Like Amazon, this company has a high value and was one of the first to be worth more than a $1 trillion. While both Amazon and Meta have declined in value in recent years, Meta remains a vital platform with billions of daily users bringing in ad revenue and much more to the business.

Other tech companies that Pelosi has invested in include Microsoft, Google, and much more. These tech companies continue to bring her a steady income, which hasn't been without some controversy. While high-earning congress members are nothing new, some have criticized Pelosi and others for their heavy stock trading. In fact, Pelosi was called hypocritical by some for her stock trading.

Pelosi's Controversial Stock Trading Support

Pelosi is far from the only congressperson trading on the stock market. Many have made millions doing so, which has concerned some activists. They believe that people actively serving on congress should either limit their trading or not trade at all. That's because they fear the potential for insider information that a member of congress could gain due to their position.

As a result, perhaps unsurprisingly, Nancy Pelosi has continually defended the rights of congresspeople to trade on the stock market. Pelois argues that it is a free market and that congress members should be allowed to participate. She states that this trading should be allowed as long as congress members are honest and report their earnings. She claims she does this transparently.

It is important to note that Pelosi has not been accused of illegal trading by any law enforcement agency. While her critics will claim that she is trading illegally simply to gain political points, there's no evidence that she has done so. Regardless, her continual financial success is likely to rub many people the wrong way, even as she ages toward retirement.

The One Major Struggle in Their Career

Pelosi and her husband Paul have continually increased their wealth to make her one of the richest people in congress. However, the two are far from perfect. There have been a few minor road bumps over the years that have put a dent in their financial health. While the two are in no danger of going bankrupt, there was one major investment that they likely wish that they could take back.

That major stain on their financial record is Paul's purchase of the Oakland Invaders United Football League franchise in 2009. He bought the team for $10 million and moved them to Sacramento. However, this league was unsuccessful, and the team dissolved, costing him at least $10 million of his purchase price. It was likely far more, considering their failure.

However, the Pelosis also own a California vineyard worth up to $25 million. This continually bringsthem a steady, if small, income. It is primarily through their intelligent stock purchases and real estate investments that they've stayed financially strong. Real estate is particularly wise as an investment. It rarely loses its value and can be a continual passive income source.

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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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