Alan Dershowitz Net Worth

What Is Alan Dershowitz's Net Worth?

Alan Dershowitz is a lawyer and former professor who has a net worth of $10 million. A specialist in constitutional and criminal law, Alan Dershowitz built a career as both a Harvard Law School professor and a high-profile defense attorney, often representing clients in headline-making cases. His advocacy often drew both praise and criticism, as he positioned himself as a defender of due process, even for unpopular clients.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, Dershowitz graduated from Brooklyn College and Yale Law School before clerking for Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. He joined the faculty of Harvard Law School in 1964, becoming the youngest tenured professor in the school's history. Over the decades, he gained recognition as an authority on constitutional law, civil liberties, and free speech, publishing numerous books and articles on legal theory and public policy.

Outside academia, Dershowitz became widely known for his courtroom work, particularly in criminal defense. He was part of the defense teams for some of the most famous cases of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including those involving Claus von Bülow, Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein. Alan Dershowitz was accused of rape by one of Epstein's victims in 2014.

Dershowitz has also been a prolific public commentator, appearing frequently in media and writing best-selling books such as "Chutzpah" and "The Case for Israel." Later in his career, he drew renewed attention for his public defense of Donald Trump during Trump's first impeachment trial, where he argued constitutional grounds for acquittal.

Early Life and Education

Alan Dershowitz was born on September 1, 1938, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He is the son of Orthodox Jewish parents, Claire and Harry. At the age of 14, Alan had his first job working at a deli factory on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Dershowitz went to the boys' preparatory school, Yeshiva University High School, where he played basketball. After graduating, he enrolled at Brooklyn College, and he earned his AB in political science in 1959. Alan subsequently attended Yale Law School, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. In 1962, he graduated first in his class with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Career Beginnings

Following his graduation from Yale, Dershowitz clerked for the chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, David L. Bazelon. After this, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg for a year. In 1964, Alan became an assistant professor at Harvard Law School; three years later, at the age of 28, he was made a full-time professor, making him the youngest in the Law School's history. Dershowitz would go on teaching at Harvard Law for four decades before retiring in 2013.

Major Legal Clients

While teaching at Harvard, Dershowitz maintained his legal practice in civil and criminal law. He had one of his first major cases in 1984 when he represented Claus von Bülow, a British socialite accused of attempting to murder his wife. Dershowitz successfully got the conviction overturned, and the case became the foundation for his book "Reversal of Fortune," which was later made into an Oscar-winning film. In 1995, Alan had another high-profile case when he served as an appellate adviser to O. J. Simpson's defense team during the football star's murder trial. Among his other controversial clients, Dershowitz represented American businesswoman Leona Helmsley, televangelist fraudster Jim Bakker, professional boxer Mike Tyson, and financier Michael Milken.

Dershowitz had a number of unpopular clients in the 2000s. In 2006, he served on the legal defense team for the first criminal case against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Dershowitz helped to successfully negotiate a non-prosecution agreement on Epstein's behalf.

In 2011, Alan served as a consultant on the legal team for Julian Assange, who was facing the possibility of being charged by the US government for releasing classified documents via WikiLeaks. Another heated case came seven years later, when Dershowitz joined the legal team for film producer and sex predator Harvey Weinstein. He drew more attention and ire in 2020 when he joined the legal team defending Donald Trump in his first impeachment. This was all the more controversial because Alan had supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and had harshly criticized Trump before his election. Moreover, he made statements in his oral arguments that contradicted his positions during the earlier impeachment of Bill Clinton. Dershowitz continued to receive backlash following the trial, as he exploited his ties with Trump's administration to lobby for the clemency of a number of his clients.

Allegations of Sex Crimes

In 2014, Dershowitz was implicated in sex trafficking crimes involving his client Jeffrey Epstein. Specifically, accuser Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein had trafficked her to Dershowitz, and that Alan was also an eyewitness to the sexual abuse of other minors. Dershowitz settled out of court with Giuffre's lawyers in 2016; however, three years later, Giuffre filed a defamation lawsuit alleging that Dershowitz made malicious statements about her. In the 2020 Netflix series "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich," Giuffre repeated her allegations on screen.

Jeffrey Epstein Birthday Letter

In September 2025, a birthday book featuring notes and drawings was given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 to celebrate his 50th birthday. In Alan's section, he reportedly included a mockup of a magazine called "Vanity Unfair" with various fake headlines followed by the this signed note printed on his legal letterhead:

"Dear Jeffrey,

As a birthday gift to you, I managed to obtain an early version of the Vanity Unfair article. I talked them into changing the focus from you to Bill Clinton, as you will see from the enclosed excerpt. Happy birthday, and best regards."

GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images

Political Views

Dershowitz is a member of the Democratic Party and supported Hillary Clinton in both the 2008 and 2016 presidential elections. He eventually endorsed Barack Obama when he won the nomination in the 2008 presidential election. In 2020, Alan supported Joe Biden.

In other political matters, Dershowitz is a strong supporter of Israel and defended the aggressive actions of the Israel Defense Forces during the 2006 conflict with Lebanon. He is also a supporter of gun control, having rightly stated that the Second Amendment of the Constitution has "no place in modern society." However, Alan has been more reactionary in other areas; for instance, after the 9/11 attacks, he advocated for torture methods under certain conditions.

Personal Life

In 1959, Alan wed Sue Barlach, whom he had met during high school at a Jewish summer camp in the Catskills. Together, they had two sons: Elon, who became a film producer, and Jamin, who became an attorney like his father. Dershowitz and Barlach split up in 1973 before officially divorcing in 1976. Following a legal battle, Alan won full custody of the children. Later, in 1986, he married retired neuropsychologist Carolyn Cohen, with whom he has a daughter named Ella. The two divide their time between residences in Manhattan, Martha's Vineyard, and Miami Beach.

Real Estate

Alan Dershowitz has owned several high-value properties across the United States. In 1990, he purchased a striking modernist home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for $1.15 million. The 5,400-square-foot residence featured a lap pool, hot tub, and Japanese garden, and after decades of ownership, he sold it in 2013 for about $3.4 million. That same year, the buyers demolished the house, making it one of Cambridge's priciest residential teardowns. In 2012, Dershowitz bought a three-bedroom Sutton Place co-op in Manhattan for $1.68 million, which has served as his New York base. He also maintains a luxury beachfront condominium in Miami that he purchased in 2013.

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