What is Doug Emhoff's Net Worth and Salary?
Douglas Emhoff is an American lawyer who has a net worth of $6 million. Doug Emhoff became the second gentleman of the United State after his wife, vice president Kamala Harris, was elected alongside Joe Biden in November 2020. Significantly, he is the first second gentleman in US history, as well as the first Jewish spouse of a vice president. Earlier in his career, Emhoff served as managing director of the West Coast offices of the law firm Venable. He was also a partner at a firm called DLA Piper. He stepped down from this partnership in August 2020 upon Kamala's inauguration. The vast majority of the couple's net worth was built thanks to Doug's salary from DLA Piper, which typically topped $1 million per year.
Financial Disclosures
According to their most recent financial disclosure, Kamala and Doug's assets and bank accounts are worth between $3.6 million and $7.36 million. The value of their assets has roughly doubled since 2015. According to a financial disclosure form released by Kamala Harris in 2019, at that point the couple controlled assets valued at $2.5 to $6 million with $3 million worth of liabilities, mostly in the form of mortgages. Most of their liquid assets are invested in mutual funds and retirement accounts. Between 2019 and 2024, Kamala earned $750,000 in book royalties.
The vast majority of their net worth came thanks to Doug Emhoff's former salary as a partner at DLA Piper Law Firm. He worked out of their California and D.C. offices focusing on entertainment and intellectual property law. He typically earned at least $1 million in total comp per year, but sometimes as much as $1.5 million. Doug Emhoff stepped down from his lucrative law firm partnership in August 2020.
In April 2019 Kamala released 15 years of tax returns. The most notable finding in the returns was that she and her husband earned just under $2 million in 2018. The bulk of their income, roughly $1.4 million, came from Doug's law firm salary. Roughly $370,000 came from royalties from her book "The Truths We Hold," and $157,000 of their earnings came from Kamala's Senate salary. The couple paid $697,000 in taxes and donated $27,000 to charity.
In April 2023 Doug and Kamala released their tax return for 2022. The filing showed that they earned $456,918 in total income in 2022. They paid $93,000 in Federal income tax and $17,600 in California income taxes.
In April 2024, Doug and Kamala released their tax return for 2023. The filing showed that they earned $450,299 in total income in 2023. Their income was made up of her $218,784 Vice President salary and $174,994 Doug made as a visiting professor at Georgetown University. They made $6,000 in book royalties and $50,000 from interest income. They paid $88,570 in Federal income tax.
Early Life and Education
Doug Emhoff was born on October 13, 1964 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City as the middle child of Jewish parents Michael and Barbara. He has a sister named Jamie and a brother named Andy. From age five to 17, Emhoff was raised in the Matawan and Old Bridge Township areas of New Jersey. In the latter location, he went to Cedar Ridge High School. Emhoff's family belonged to the Reform synagogue Temple Shalom in nearby Aberdeen Township, where Emhoff had his bar mitzvah. Later, in the early 80s, he moved with his family to California and completed his high school education at Agoura High School. Emhoff went on to attend California State University, Northridge, from which he earned his bachelor of arts degree. He subsequently attended the USC Gould School of Law, obtaining his JD in 1990.
Law Career
Emhoff started his career as an entertainment lawyer at the litigation group of Pillsbury Winthrop. He later moved to the boutique firm Belin Rawlings & Badal in the late 90s. In 2000, Emhoff established his own firm with Ben Whitwell; it was purchased by the firm Venable six years later, with Emhoff becoming managing director of Venable's offices on the West Coast.
In 2017, Emhoff became a partner of the multinational law firm DLA Piper, and worked at its offices in California and Washington, DC. He later took a leave of absence when it was announced that his wife, Kamala Harris, would become presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate in 2020. After Biden and Harris won the election, Emhoff permanently left DLA Piper so as to avoid any conflict of interest. He had previously been earning around $1 million per year from the partnership.
Taco Bell Lawsuit
Doug Emhoff was one of the lead attorneys in a lawsuit over Taco Bell's popular chihuahua spokesdog that lasted for more than a decade. In 1998, Joseph Shields and Thomas Rinks sued Taco Bell, alleging that they were the people who came up with the "Psycho Chihuahua" character for the fast-food chain and they'd never been compensated for it. They claim this all took place around 1996.
In 1998, Taco Bell hired a new ad agency, TBWA, that created the now iconic ad campaign featuring the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" slogan. That campaign and its chihuahua became pop culture touchstones. Taco Bell sold thousands of stuffed dog toy's thanks to the popularity of that ad campaign. As popular as the dog was, the campaign didn't boost sales at Taco Bell, so the chain abandoned the campaign in 2000. Taco Bell also fired TBWA as its ad agency that same year.
Taco Bell was ordered to pay Shields and Rinks $30 million in damages as well as an additional $12 million in interest in 2003. Taco Bell turned around and filed a lawsuit against TBWA. The chain felt the agency that created the campaign should be responsible for the legal issues that arose as a result of it.
At the time, Doug Emhoff was an attorney at the firm Venable. The firm represented TBWA against Taco Bell. Emhoff eventually won the case in federal appeals court after many years of litigation. Taco Bell was found to be solely liable for paying Shields and Rink $42 million.
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Second Gentleman of the United States
Emhoff's wife Kamala Harris, who had been a Democratic candidate for president prior to her dropping out in late 2019, was officially announced as presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate in August of 2020. In the process, Emhoff became only the third man in American history to be the spouse of a vice presidential candidate from a major party, the other two being John Zaccaro and Todd Palin. With Biden and Harris's win and their subsequent inauguration, Emhoff became the first-ever second gentleman of the United States. Additionally, he has the distinction of being the first Jewish spouse of a vice president of the United States. As such, he helped celebrate Passover in the White House, and hung a Mezuzah on the front door of the vice presidential residence.
As second gentleman, Emhoff has drawn on his background in law to advocate for fair and equal access to legal representation. He has attended pro bono clinics, convened legal aid sessions, and met with legal aid providers and their clients. Emhoff has also traveled around the country to meet with health care workers, parents, caregivers, business owners, community leaders, and others. To advocate for COVID-19 protection, he went to numerous vaccine clinics in churches, schools, and health centers.
Teaching
While serving as second gentleman in March of 2021, Emhoff became a distinguished visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He started teaching a course focused on law disputes in the entertainment industry.
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Personal Life
Emhoff married his first wife, film producer and executive Kerstin Mackin, in 1992. The couple had two children named Cole and Ella, and eventually divorced in 2008. Cole worked as an assistant at William Morris Endeavor, while Ella is a model, fashion designer, and artist. In 2014, Emhoff wed Kamala Harris, who at the time was the Attorney General of California. The two first met in 2013 on a blind date set up by Harris's best friend, public relations consultant Chrisette Hudlin. While living at the official vice presidential residence, Number One Observatory Circle, Emhoff and Harris also have homes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.
Real Estate
Kamala and Doug own three homes that have a combined estimated value of $8 million, before mortgage liabilities. In 2012, two years before they married, Doug Emhoff paid $2.7 million for a home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. Today this home is worth around $5 million based on comparable neighborhood sales.
In 2004, Kamala paid $490,000 for an apartment in San Francisco. That same year she began serving as California's first black District Attorney. Today this property is worth around $1 million.
In 2017 Kamala and Doug paid $1.775 million for a condo in Washington D.C.. Today this property is worth around $2 million.
