Kamala Harris is a boundary-breaking, history-making Madame Vice President.
And she’s worth a small fortune.
Much ado was made about the fact that she was one of the wealthiest presidential candidates on the Democratic ballot. Fortune Magazine, in fact, pointed out that now-President Joe Biden’s $2.7 million net worth was certainly respectable, but it paled in comparison to the nearly $7 million net worth that his running mate had.
“Harris’s net worth is as much as $6.3 million, based on the assets listed in her latest Senate financial disclosure, filed in May. That makes her wealthier by some measures than even her presidential running mate: Biden’s assets, according to his 2018 tax return, amounted to as much as $2.7 million,” reported the outlet.
Sure, much ado can be made about the fact that she’s so wealthy. But even more ado should be made about the fact that Kamala Harris is completely self-made. She didn’t come from generational wealth — all of her earnings, and all of her wealth, came from her own hard work and smart investments. What’s more, unlike other political figures who shall remain nameless, Madame Vice President is completely transparent about how she made — and spent — her money (Yahoo even admitted that she was “pretty transparent” about her finances).
Let’s take a look at all the smart business moves and investments Kamala Harris has made through the years.
Books
According to Town & Country, Kamala Harris’s best-selling books made her some nice money. In 2018, she netted $320,125 from her best-selling book, The Truths We Hold. In 2019, she made an additional $277,763 in book publishing advances.
Real Estate
The bulk of Kamala Harris’s wealth comes from the variety of real estate that she owns, both individually and with her husband, Douglas Emhoff.
Business Insider reported that one of the couple’s first properties was purchased in Brentwood, CA, for $2.7 million. Zillow reports that the house, as of this writing, is worth $4.9 million (The property was transferred into a trust when Harris became Vice President).
In 2017, Harris purchased a condo in Washington, D.C. for $1.7 million. The house was initially on the market for $2 million, and according to The Real Deal, the house sold in October 2021 for $1.85 million.
When Harris was the District Attorney of San Francisco, she purchased a condo in 2004 for $489,000. According to Zillow, the property sold in 2021 for $860,000 — nearly double what Madame Vice President paid for it.
Income
Unlike some politicians who shall remain nameless, Madame Vice President had no issue releasing her tax returns. According to the Wall Street Journal, Harris released 15 years worth of tax returns when she first began running in the Democratic primary. Forbes confirms that Harris made $140,000 in an annual salary during her first year as the District Attorney for San Francisco. Her salary peaked at more than $200,000 in 2010. When Harris became the Attorney General in 2010, the New York Times reported that her salary took a dive back down to $160,000/year. The same outlet reported that when she became a senator in 2017, her salary jumped slightly, to $174,000/year. And according to Forbes, Harris makes $230,700 a year as the vice president.
Joint Investments with Her Husband, Douglas Emhoff
According to Marie Claire, Kamala Harris has most of her investments together with her husband, Douglas Emhoff. In addition to the real estate investments, Harris and Emhoff have a series of other investments that place the couple’s net worth at about $6.3 million. Further, according to the outlet, even if you exclude Emhoff’s contributions to her overall net worth, Harris herself is worth nearly $1.7 million on her own.
