Curtis Sliwa Net Worth

What is Curtis Sliwa's Net Worth?

Curtis Sliwa is an American anti-crime activist, media personality, and politician who has a net worth of $200 thousand. Curtis Sliwa founded and runs the non-profit crime prevention organization, the Guardian Angels. Originally created to combat crime on the New York City Subway system, the group went on to expand to cities around the world. Among his other notable endeavors, Sliwa unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee in the New York City mayoral election in 2021 and 2025.

He rose to prominence in the late 1970s, when crime in New York was at its peak, by organizing unarmed citizen patrols to deter subway violence and street crime. Though initially controversial and criticized by law enforcement, the Guardian Angels gained credibility over time and expanded internationally, operating in dozens of cities around the world.

Before founding the Guardian Angels in 1979, Sliwa worked as a night manager at a McDonald's in the Bronx, where he witnessed firsthand the rising tide of urban crime. His hands-on, confrontational approach to public safety earned him both praise and scrutiny. He has often been a polarizing figure, accused at times of staging incidents for publicity, but he remained a vocal advocate for community policing and citizen empowerment.

Sliwa transitioned into radio during the 1990s, co-hosting shows on WABC and other stations, where his combative style and strong political opinions—often conservative and populist—further elevated his profile.

Election-Related Filings and Disclosures

Curtis Sliwa has twice been a candidate for New York City mayor (in 2021 and again in 2025), which required him to file personal financial disclosure statements with the city. As a participant in NYC's public campaign finance program, Sliwa was required to submit a financial disclosure to the Conflicts of Interest Board detailing his income, assets, and liabilities. These filings are not posted online in full, but available reports and media coverage suggest that Sliwa did not report significant personal wealth or complex holdings. His campaign finance filings show that while he raised and spent over $6 million in the 2021 mayoral race (including about $4.2 million in public matching funds), those were campaign funds, not personal assets.

Aside from his regular earnings and basic accounts, Sliwa's disclosures did not list substantial assets like real estate or major investments, and no business interests beyond his nonprofit role were recorded in those statements. There is no evidence that he holds significant business equity or investment accounts; his financial situation appears straightforward, centered mainly on income from his radio career and a few personal accounts. Overall, Sliwa's official disclosures portray relatively limited personal assets compared to many other political figures.

Radio Career and Income

Sliwa's primary source of income has long been his career as a talk radio host. He has worked in New York radio since the 1990s and currently hosts a program on WABC-AM. His earnings have fluctuated over time, with one of the steepest drops occurring in the early 2010s when his salary reportedly fell from about $688,000 down to $120,000 per year. That drastic pay cut had a lasting effect on his finances, and Sliwa has cited it as a reason for difficulty meeting certain obligations.

In recent years, his WABC earnings have reportedly remained in the low-to-mid six-figure range, though far below the high-six-figure salary he once earned. Beyond his radio work, Sliwa does not report any outside employment, consulting roles, or business income. His financial disclosures list no paid board positions or investment earnings. Essentially, his day job in broadcasting provides the bulk of his income, supplemented only by small-scale media appearances and occasional speaking engagements.

Child Support and Financial Disputes

One of Sliwa's most significant financial liabilities has been his child support obligations. When he divorced his third wife, Mary Paterson (Galda), in 2012, Sliwa agreed to pay $144,000 per year in child support for their son. However, after his income declined, he reportedly fell behind on payments. In April 2023, Mary Paterson filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court alleging that Sliwa had accumulated more than $530,000 in unpaid child support by failing to pay the full amount for several years.

Court documents claim that Sliwa unilaterally reduced his biweekly payments around 2015 and never caught up, creating a large arrears balance. His attorney has not disputed the figure publicly; instead, Sliwa has said that his reduced income made it impossible to maintain the original support amount after his salary was cut from about $688,000 to $120,000. The ongoing litigation over the $530,000 debt remains a matter of public record.

This is not the first time Sliwa's finances have been contested in court. During divorce proceedings in 2013, his ex-wife accused him of diverting roughly $405,000 from their marital assets to another purpose. She alleged that Sliwa had used the money to build a secret "nest egg" for two children he had fathered with Queens politician Melinda Katz. Sliwa denied wrongdoing, and Katz's representatives called the claim frivolous, but the episode underscored that Sliwa's personal finances have long been under scrutiny. Between the large support obligations and reduced radio income, Sliwa has publicly acknowledged that his finances have been strained for over a decade.

Financial Snapshot

Approximate Assets:

• Cash and personal accounts: ~$100,000
• Retirement or savings: modest, possibly under $100,000
• Real estate: none
• Vehicles: none

Liabilities:

• Child support arrears: ~$530,000 (plus ongoing payments)

Early Life and Education

Curtis Sliwa was born on March 26, 1954, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to a Catholic family of Polish and Italian ancestry. He has a pair of sisters. As a teenager, Sliwa was first educated at the Jesuit high school, Brooklyn Prep, but was eventually expelled. He ended up graduating from Canarsie High School. In his youth, Sliwa worked for the Daily News as a delivery boy. One day, while on his route, he rescued several people from a burning building. Sliwa was awarded a trip to the White House for his act of courage.

Career Beginnings

Early in his career, Sliwa served as a night manager of a McDonald's restaurant in the Bronx.

(Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The Guardian Angels

In response to the crime wave gripping New York City in the late 70s, Sliwa founded the Magnificent 13, a civilian group devoted to combating crime and violence on the New York City Subway system. He soon renamed the organization the Guardian Angels. Originally, the group trained its members in karate so they could help prevent crime without the use of weapons. Members also fulfill legal requirements so they can make citizens' arrests. Unarmed crime prevention continues to be the main goal. The group's rules stipulate that Guardian Angels must always be in uniform during their safety patrols, with their red berets being a signature identifier.

The Guardian Angels have attracted both high praise and scathing criticism over the years. New York City mayor Ed Koch initially opposed the group before coming around, while Lieutenant Governor Mario Cuomo was an early supporter. Various controversies also surrounded the Guardian Angels' actions, and in 1992, Sliwa admitted that he and the group had faked various heroic subway rescues for the sake of publicity. Sliwa also admitted to having lied about being kidnapped by off-duty transit police officers. Despite the controversy, the Guardian Angels continued to expand, going on to establish chapters in more than 130 cities around the world.

Radio Career

In 1990, Sliwa began his radio career on New York City's WABC-AM. He spent four years there, after which he moved to WNYC. Sliwa went on to become a populist conservative talk show host, hosting a variety of radio programs on WABC starting in 1996. At the beginning of the new millennium, he began co-hosting "Curtis and Kuby in the Morning" with lawyer Ron Kuby; the show ran for eight years. Subsequently, Sliwa became the host of "Curtis Sliwa LIVE" and began hosting both the morning and evening drive-time shows on WNYM-AM.

Political Career

On the political front, Sliwa initiated a successful hostile takeover of the Reform Party of New York State in 2016. In the subsequent midterms, the Party lost its ballot access. Sliwa ultimately switched to the Republican Party and, in 2020, announced his candidacy for the New York City mayoral election. He went up against his former friend Fernando Mateo for the Republican nomination, a battle that turned the pair into acrimonious rivals. Sliwa ended up clinching the nomination but was routed by Democratic candidate Eric Adams in the general election.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Assassination Attempt

In 1992, Sliwa was kidnapped and shot by two men after he entered a stolen taxi near his home in Manhattan's East Village. Hit in the groin and legs, he was ultimately able to foil the kidnappers by jumping through a front window of the moving vehicle. One of the alleged culprits was mobster John A. Gotti, who was eventually charged; however, the charges were dropped after three failed attempts to try him in court. The other culprit in the attack was Gotti's associate Michael Yannotti, who was charged but acquitted.

Personal Life

Sliwa married Lisa Evers in 1981. At the time, she was the national director of the Guardian Angels and co-hosted a radio program on WABC-AM. The pair eventually divorced in 1995. Five years after that, Sliwa wed Mary Galda, who also served as the national director of the Guardian Angels. Together, they had a son named Anthony before divorcing in 2012. Sliwa went on to date attorney and activist Nancy Regula, whom he married in 2018. The couple resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with a bevy of rescue cats.

Real Estate and Living Arrangements

Curtis Sliwa does not own his primary residence. He and his wife, Nancy, rent a one-bedroom apartment on West 73rd Street in Manhattan's Upper West Side, with an estimated rent of about $3,675 per month. They moved into the unit in 2024 after years of living in a much smaller apartment—a 320-square-foot studio on West 87th Street—which Sliwa shared with his wife and up to 16 rescue cats. The studio was rent-stabilized, reflecting his modest means during and after his 2021 mayoral campaign.

There are no records of Sliwa owning any property in New York City or elsewhere. He has no known real estate investments, and his financial disclosures list no ownership of homes, condos, or land. During his past relationship with Melinda Katz, Sliwa lived in her Forest Hills residence, which belonged to her. He has rented continuously since then, making his housing an expense rather than an asset. Sliwa does not own a car and relies on public transportation, reinforcing the simplicity of his lifestyle.

Business and Investment Holdings

Sliwa's most recognized enterprise is the Guardian Angels, the volunteer crime-prevention organization he founded in 1979. The group is a nonprofit entity known as the Alliance of Guardian Angels, Inc., and it has historically operated on a very modest budget. Financial filings from 2019 show the organization reporting about $252,000 in revenue and ending the year with zero net assets. Sliwa drew no salary from the nonprofit, and the filings show no paid compensation for officers or directors.

The Guardian Angels have struggled to remain financially solvent and have fallen behind on required IRS filings, which at one point put their tax-exempt status in jeopardy. For Sliwa personally, the organization provides public visibility but no financial benefit. He frequently solicits donations to keep the group running, describing it as a shoestring operation.

Aside from the Guardian Angels, Sliwa has not disclosed any private business interests, stock holdings, or major investment accounts. He is not known to own or operate any company, and his campaign filings list no corporate equity or dividends. While he likely maintains basic bank accounts and perhaps a small retirement fund, there is no evidence of significant investment income. His financial profile is simple: earned income from radio, a checking account, and routine living expenses.

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