Mike Pence Gets Almost All of His Net Worth From Pensions
Mike Pence’s net worth is almost entirely made up of federal and state pensions. Read more about the U.S. vice president’s finances.
Jan. 19 2021, Published 12:55 p.m. ET
Now that he and Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Mike Pence is about to be out of a job. And unlike many of his political colleagues, he doesn’t have an eight or nine-figure net worth to fall back on.
Even the previous U.S. vice president—Joe Biden, now the president-elect—has an estimated net worth nine times greater than that of Pence. Read on to learn more about the Indiana native’s finances, his personal and professional life, and his positions.
What is Mike Pence’s net worth?
Pence’s net worth—estimated at $1 million after deducting his student loan debt—would be much higher if he had sold his stake in Kiel Bros. Oil Co. sooner. As Forbes reported, in 2004, his Kiel Bros. stake was worth between $200,000 and $450,000. However, the company soon went bankrupt, and his tax returns showed that he racked up more than $600,000 in losses from that turn of events.
The magazine also revealed that Pence had as much as $65,000 in index funds in 2019 and less than $15,000 in a bank account—and that he owed between $100,000 and $245,000 in Parent PLUS student loans.
Mike Pence has been married since 1985.
The politician is married to Karen Pence, who’s a former elementary school teacher, the founder of the art therapy initiative Healing with the HeART, and an award-winning watercolor artist, according to her White House bio. The Pences, who have been married since 1985, have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey.
What has Mike Pence’s political career been so far?
A former lawyer, Pence unsuccessfully ran for Congress twice—in 1988 and 1990—before winning the race for Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District in 2000. During his time in the U.S. House, Pence served as Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee and House Republican Conference Chairman.
He then served as the 50th Governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, when he became Vice President under Trump. In February 2020, Trump appointed him Chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. In November 2020, Trump and Pence lost their reelection campaign to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
What is Mike Pence’s position on key political issues?
According to Vote Smart, Pence opposes income tax increases on any tax bracket, federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, gun control legislation, and the 2010 Affordable Care Act; and he supports pro-life legislation, defense spending increases, corporate tax decreases, and the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
As ABC News reported in October 2020, Pence has defended police amid calls for criminal justice reform, defended fossil fuel industries amid climate change, and downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 crisis.
