Marianne Williamson Net Worth

What is Marianne Williamson's Net Worth?

Marianne Williamson is an American New Age self-help author, speaker, and activist who has a net worth of $3 million. When she ran for Congress in 2014, Marianne listed her net worth as ranging between $1 and $5 million. A financial disclosure in 2019 pegged her net worth at between $700 thousand and $2.5 million.

Marianne Williamson rose to mainstream prominence in the early 1990s with her first book, "A Return to Love," as well as through her frequent appearances as Oprah's spiritual advisor on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Later, in 2014, she unsuccessfully ran as an independent to represent California's 33rd congressional district, and unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat in both 2020 and 2024.

Early Life and Education

Marianne Williamson was born on July 8, 1952 in Houston, Texas as the youngest of three children of Sophie and immigration lawyer Sam. Her father was a Russian Jewish immigrant, and she was raised in the Conservative Jewish faith, attending Congregation Beth Yeshurun. Williamson was educated at Bellaire High School, and after graduating, studied theater and philosophy at Pomona College in California. In 1973, she dropped out of college and began living an itinerant existence. Williamson moved to New Mexico, where she lived with her boyfriend in a geodesic dome and took classes at the University of New Mexico. She subsequently moved to Austin, Texas and took classes at the University of Texas at Austin. Williamson then moved on to New York City with the aim of becoming a cabaret singer. Instead, she fell into a deep depression after the end of a relationship and became caught in a web of substance abuse and existential despair.

Spirituality and Writing

Williamson experienced an epiphany in 1976 when she read Helen Schucman's book "A Course in Miracles." She developed a passion for the book and its ideas, and began exploring spirituality and metaphysics as a way out of her existential discontent. In 1979, Williamson returned to Houston and began turning her life around. She ran a metaphysical bookstore coffee shop, sang in a nightclub, and had what she called a "spiritual surrender." In 1983, Williamson moved to Los Angeles, California, where she soon became an in-demand public speaker on spiritual issues. Later in the decade, she began giving monthly lectures in New York, and after that she was being hired to speak around the world. Williamson also became the spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan.

In 1992, Williamson published her first book, "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles." Based on her deep relationship with Helen Schucman's book "A Course in Miracles," Williamson's book continues her journey of finding inner-peace through acts of love and spiritual surrender. "A Return to Love" was a major hit, spending 39 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Williamson promoted the book on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and continued to make frequent appearances on the show as Oprah's so-called spiritual advisor. Since the release of "A Return to Love," Williamson has authored several more self-help books, including "The Healing of America" (1994), "Enchanted Love" (1999), "Everyday Grace" (2002), "A Course in Weight Loss" (2010), "A Politics of Love" (2019), and "The Mystic Jesus" (2023).

Political Campaigns

Williamson launched her political career in 2014 when she ran as an independent for California's 33rd congressional district in the US House of Representatives. She ran on a platform promoting such issues as women's and LGBTQ rights and campaign finance reform. Ultimately, Williamson finished fourth with 13.2% of the vote. In early 2019, she officially announced her campaign for president, and that June she moved to Des Moines, Iowa in advance of the 2020 caucuses. Williamson went on to participate in the Democratic primary debates, where she gained notoriety for her New Age spiritual rhetoric and claim that she was going to "harness love for political purposes." She ultimately suspended her campaign in early 2020 and endorsed Bernie Sanders.

Williamson went on to run for president again in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries, challenging incumbent Joe Biden. Although she announced the end of her campaign following poor results in the Nevada primary, she reentered the race a few weeks later after coming in third in Michigan. Williamson suspended her campaign again in June, but then reentered the race yet again in early July amid calls for Biden to drop out of the race. She suspended her campaign for the third and final time at the end of July. Later in the year, Williamson announced her campaign for chair of the Democratic National Committee, but eventually withdrew and endorsed Ken Martin, who ended up winning.

Charity and Activism

In 1987, Williamson co-founded the Center for Living in Los Angeles. Mostly focused on helping HIV/AIDS-afflicted gay men, the organization also offered such services as meditation, massage, counseling, and housework. Williamson opened another Center for Living in 1989, in New York City. However, her reportedly overbearing management style created conflict between staff and the board, and she stepped down from both Centers in 1992. Williamson also resigned from her nonprofit Project Angel Food, which had been operated by the Center in Los Angeles. Later in the decade, she co-founded the nonprofit Global Renaissance Alliance, which invited people to pray for national peace and prosperity. Renamed the Peace Alliance in 2004, the group moved its focus to grassroots education and advocacy. Among her other charitable endeavors, Williamson sat on the board of Results, which works to find long-term systemic solutions to poverty.

Personal Life

Williamson was briefly married to a Houston businessman in 1979, in a marriage that she stated lasted "for a minute and a half." She has one child, a daughter named India, who was born in 1990. Williamson resides in Washington, DC.

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