What is Dick Cheney’s Net Worth and Salary?
Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States, has a net worth of $150 million. He is a politician, author, and business executive, known for his long career within the Republican party. Cheney is considered the most powerful vice president in American history.
The majority of Cheney’s wealth can be attributed to his time as CEO of Halliburton, an oil services contractor. He was CEO from 1995 to 2000 and earned $72.5 million in total compensation during those years. This included $12.5 million in base salary, $20 million in retirement benefits, and $40 million in stock options. He also earned several million in deferred compensation, retirement benefits, and bonuses from the company while in office.
In 2008, Cheney’s net worth was estimated to be between $20 million and $100 million, while President George W. Bush was worth $7 million to $20 million at the time. Halliburton rose from the 22nd-largest military contractor in the US to the seventh during Cheney’s time as CEO.
Dick Cheney’s Early Life and Education
Dick Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941 and grew up in Casper, Wyoming. His parents were Richard and Marjorie Cheney and he had two younger siblings. Cheney attended College View Elementary School in Lincoln and Natrona County High School in Casper where he was senior class president and captain of the football team.
After high school, Cheney attended Yale University but dropped out due to poor grades. He was later arrested twice for driving while intoxicated. Cheney went on to graduate from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science. He briefly studied for a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before taking a job as a staff aide to Governor Warren Knowles.
Dick Cheney’s Political Career
In 1968, Cheney received an American Political Science Association congressional fellowship and worked as an intern for Congressman William Steiger. He later worked under Donald Rumsfeld in the Office of Economic Opportunity and served as a White House Staff Assistant and Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council.
During Gerald Ford’s administration, Cheney served as Deputy Assistant to the President and later became Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff. He also managed Ford’s 1976 presidential campaign.
In 1978, Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wyoming. He served as Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987 and was elected House Minority Whip in 1988.
Cheney left the House of Representatives in 1989 to serve as George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense, a position he held until 1993. During his time as Secretary of Defense, Cheney directed military campaigns Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official.
Dick Cheney’s Career After Leaving Department of Defense
After leaving the Department of Defense in 1993, Dick Cheney joined the American Enterprise Institute and served as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995. He then served as CEO and Chairman of the Board for Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, reportedly receiving a $20 million retirement package when he resigned to join George W. Bush’s administration.
In 2002, Halliburton faced a class-action lawsuit for securities fraud, which was settled for $100 million in 2016. Additionally, in 2010, the Nigerian government filed corruption charges against Cheney and Halliburton, which were dropped when the company agreed to pay a $250 million settlement.
Dick Cheney’s Vice Presidency
Dick Cheney served as George W. Bush’s vice president from 2001 to 2009, actively and openly influencing White House policy, particularly surrounding foreign policy, environmental policy, and the treatment of prisoners of war.
Cheney was instrumental in the administration’s approach to the “War on Terror,” publicly claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda.
Twice during his vice presidency, Cheney assumed the role of acting president as Bush underwent minor medical procedures requiring sedation.
During his time in office, Cheney was often criticized for his support of the administration’s “enhanced interrogation program,” which involved waterboarding captured terrorists, and his approval rating was only 13% when he left office.
Dick Cheney’s Post-Political Career
After serving as Vice President under the Bush administration, Dick Cheney left public office. He co-wrote two books with his daughter Liz: “In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir” in 2011 and “Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America” in 2015.
In 2012, Cheney underwent a heart transplant, two years after his fifth heart attack.
Dick Cheney’s Real Estate Holdings
In 2000, Dick Cheney purchased a small lot in McLean, Virginia for $1.35 million. He later demolished the original house and began constructing a 12,765-square-foot home in 2008. Additionally, Cheney bought a waterfront estate in Saint Michaels, Maryland for $2.67 million in 2005, which he sold for $2.1 million in 2019. Cheney also owns a home in Wyoming.
Dick Cheney’s Personal Life
Dick Cheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Vincent, in 1964. They have two daughters: Elizabeth and Mary. Liz succeeded her father’s former congressional seat in 2017, while Mary was the Director of Vice Presidential Operations for Bush and Cheney’s re-election campaign. Liz is married to Philip J. Perry and has five children, while Mary and wife Heather Poe have two children. After leaving office, Cheney publicly supported same-sex marriage and urged Maryland lawmakers to legalize it in 2012.
On February 11, 2006, Cheney accidentally shot acquaintance Harry Whittington while hunting quail in Kenedy County, Texas. Whittington suffered birdshot wounds to his chest, neck, and right cheek, and had a heart attack and atrial fibrillation due to a pellet’s proximity to his heart on February 14th. Whittington survived the incident, and Cheney was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Kenedy County Sheriff’s Office.
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