Rick Santorum Net Worth

What is Rick Santorum's Net Worth?

Rick Santorum is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who has a net worth of $6 million. A Republican, Rick Santorum represented Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district in the US House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995, represented Pennsylvania in the US Senate from 1995 to 2007, and unsuccessfully ran for president in 2012 and 2016. After leaving the Senate, Santorum became involved in consulting, private-practice law, and political commentary on television news channels.

Early Life and Education

Rick Santorum was born on May 10, 1958 in Winchester, Virginia as the second of three children of Catherine, an administrative nurse, and Aldo, a clinical psychologist. His father was an Italian immigrant, and his mother had Italian and Irish ancestry. Santorum grew up in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, in the latter state attending Butler Catholic School and Butler Senior High School. After his family moved to northern Illinois, he finished high school at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein. Santorum went on to attend Pennsylvania State University, from which he graduated in 1980 with his BA in political science. He subsequently went to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, earning his MBA in 1981. Santorum continued his education at Dickinson School of Law, where he received his JD in 1986.

Career Beginnings

While still in school in the 1970s, Santorum volunteered for Republican Senator from Pennsylvania John Heinz. Later, during his time in law school in the 1980s, he worked as an administrative assistant for Pennsylvania state senator Doyle Corman. Santorum also served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Senate Local Government Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee.

After earning his JD, Santorum passed the Pennsylvania bar and practiced private law for four years at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in Pittsburgh. At the firm, he successfully lobbied on behalf of the World Wrestling Federation to deregulate professional wrestling. Santorum left private practice in 1990 after he was elected to the US House of Representatives.

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US House of Representatives

In 1990, Santorum took up residence in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, the district represented by Democratic Congressman Doug Walgren. Santorum saw Walgren as politically vulnerable, and decided to run for his seat. With the help of Republican donor Elsie Hillman, he won the seat in the general election. Santorum went on to win reelection in 1992. During his first term, he was a member of the Gang of Seven, a group of freshmen Republican US representatives who exposed members of Congress involved in the House banking scandal.

US Senate

In 1994, Santorum was elected as a US senator representing Pennsylvania. He went on to win reelection in 2000 before losing his seat to Democrat Bob Casey Jr. in 2006. During his first term in the Senate, Santorum chaired the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform and contributed to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. In his second term, he became chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the party's third-ranking leadership role in the Senate. Santorum also founded the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom; was a leading sponsor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act; unsuccessfully introduced the National Weather Service Duties Act; and authored the failed Santorum Amendment, which he attempted to add to the No Child Left Behind Act to teach intelligent design in public schools.

US Presidential Campaigns

In mid-2011, Santorum formally announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 election. He went on to exceed expectations by winning 11 state primaries, putting him in second place behind eventual nominee Mitt Romney, but he ultimately suspended his campaign in April of 2012 following the hospitalization of his daughter Bella. Santorum went on to run for the Republican presidential nomination for a second time in 2016, but suspended his campaign early in the year.

Later Work

After leaving the Senate, Santorum became involved with the Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank the Ethics and Public Policy Center and joined the Fox News Channel as a political commentator. He also returned to private practice, joining the law firm Eckert Seamans, and became a member of the board of directors of Universal Health Services in Pennsylvania. Santorum later did consulting work for various companies, including Consol Energy, and wrote an op-ed column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2012, he created the nonprofit Patriot Voices to support conservative candidates and causes. The following year, he became chairman and CEO of the Dallas-based Christian film production company EchoLight Studios. Later, in 2017, Santorum joined CNN as a senior political commentator, a position he had until he was fired in 2021 for making racist comments about Native Americans.

Personal Life

In 1990, Santorum married nurse Karen Garver. They had eight children, but their son Gabriel was born prematurely and quickly passed away.

Real Estate

In 2007, Rick and Karen paid $2 million for a home in Great Falls, Virginia. They continue to own this home, and today it is worth an estimated $3 million.

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