Info
Category:
Richest PoliticiansDemocrats
Net Worth:
$4 Million
Birthdate:
Jun 24, 1946 (77 years old)
Birthplace:
Scranton
Gender:
Male
Height:
4 ft 10 in (1.4859 m)
Profession:
Politician, Economist, Professor, Writer, Author, Commentator
Nationality:
United States of America
💰 Compare Robert Reich's Net Worth

What is Robert Reich's Net Worth?

Robert Reich is an American political economist, professor, author and political commentator who has a net worth of $4 million. Robert Reich has worked in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Robert Reich was Secretary of Labor who served under President Bill Clinton. Robert Reich was born on June 24, 1946 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Dartmouth College where he earned an A.B. suma cum laude in 1968. He then won a Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford University to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He went on to receive a J.D. from Yale Law School. He is the current Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Some of his past educational positions include former professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government as well as a former professor of social and economic policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University. He has formerly served as a contributing editor for The New Republic, The American Prospect, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of more than a dozen books, and is a political commentator on many television news programs.

Early Life

Robert Reich was born on June 24, 1946 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to parents Mildred and Edwin Reich. His father owned a women's clothing store. As a child, Reich was diagnosed with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, known as Fairbank's disease, a bone disease that results in short statute among other symptoms. While growing up, the condition made him a target for bullies. He often sought the protection of older boys, one of whom was Michael Schwerner. Schwerner was one of the three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan in 1964. Reich later cited this event as inspirational to him as he pursued a career in public service.

Reich attended John Jay High School in Cross River, New York. He received a National Merit Scholarship and majored in history at Dartmouth College, graduating summa cum laude in 1968. He then won a Rhodes Scholarship to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at University College, Oxford. While studying there, he first met Bill Clinton, also a Rhodes Scholar. He later earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where he was classmates with Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, Clarence Thomas, and Richard Blumenthal. Following his graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Frank M. Coffin, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Career

From 1974 to 1976, Reich served as an assistant to U.S. Solicitor General Robert Bork, whom he had studied antitrust law with while at Yale. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed him director of the Policy Planning Staff at the Federal Trade Commission. From 1980 to 1992, Reich taught at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he also wrote a series of books and articles like "The Next American Frontier" and "The Work of Nations."

After Bill Clinton won the Presidential election in 1992, he appointed Reich to head economic policy for the presidential transition. He joined the administration as Secretary of Labor. In the early days of the administration, Reich was seen as one of the most powerful members of the Clinton cabinet. He was close to the president and also had an ambitious agenda for the Department of Labor. He called for more federal spending on jobs training and infrastructure. He also was a member of the National Economic Council and advised the president on health care reform, education policy, welfare reform, national service initiatives, and technology policy. He also worked closely with independent government agencies like the Federal Communications Commission in order to encourage them to take a labor-focused approach to regulation. However, his power in the administration waned as the years passed, primarily because Clinton was also being advised by a number of other political figures who were more concerned with the federal deficit and too much government spending.

In 1996, Reich decided to resign to spend more time with his teenage sons. In April of 1997, he published a book, "Locked in the Cabinet," that detailed his experience working for the Clinton administration. The book received criticism for embellishing on some events and some accused Reich of merely being upset at the administration for not following more of his advice.

In 2002, Reich ran for the Governor of Massachusetts, though he lost in the Democratic primary to Shannon O'Brien. He was the first gubernatorial candidate to support same-sex marriage. He also pledged support for abortion rights and strongly condemned capital punishment.

Robert Reich net worth

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Meanwhile, Reich became a professor at Brandeis University. Many of his students from Brandeis made up his 2002 campaign staff. In 2006, he joined the faculty of UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. He is also a member of the board of trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2008, Reich endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States. In 2016, he endorsed Bernie Sanders and both Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in 2020.

Reich has been active in sharing his political views and commentary on social media. In 2015, he founded Inequality Media, which produces videos and interviews on Facebook. In 2017, he began producing a "Resistance Report" program which provides contextual analysis of White House and Cabinet activities which he posts on Facebook and YouTube. In late January 2020, he launched a new YouTube weekly talk show called "The Common Good" along with Inequality Media.

Reich has also published many books over the course of his career. Some of his notable publications include "Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America" in 2004, "Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life" in 2007, "Economics in Wonderland" in 2017, "The Common Good" in 2018, and "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It" in 2020. He has also written two plays, "Milton and Augusto" and "Public Exposure." In 2013, he made a documentary called "Inequality for All" with Jacob Kornbluth. A few years later, he again partnered with Kornbluth to make "Saving Capitalism."

Personal Life

In 1973, Reich married British-born lawyer Clare Dalton in Cambridge, UK. They had two sons together – Sam and Adam. Sam became the CEO of the comedy website Collegehumor while Adam became a sociology professor at Columbia University. The couple divorced in 2012. Reich subsequently married photographer Perian Flaherty.

Real Estate

In 2000 Robert paid $500,000 for a home in Berkeley, California. Today this home is worth around $2 million.

All net worths are calculated using data drawn from public sources. When provided, we also incorporate private tips and feedback received from the celebrities or their representatives. While we work diligently to ensure that our numbers are as accurate as possible, unless otherwise indicated they are only estimates. We welcome all corrections and feedback using the button below.
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