Tim Walz's Net Worth Revealed

Forbes

The Minnesota governor has pensions galore from his decades in the public sector. A gig as VP could make him richer.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylemullins/2024/08/08/heres-how-much-kamala-harris-vp-pick-tim-walz-is-worth/#:~:text=It%20also%20left%20him%20the,at%20just%20over%20%241%20million.  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, here's how much Kamala Harris' VP pick Tim Walz is worth.

00:07At a raucous Tuesday evening rally in Philadelphia, his first since being picked as Kamala Harris'

00:12running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz walked through his own working-class background.

00:18A former public school teacher, an Army National Guardsman who served six terms in Congress and

00:23has led Minnesota since 2019, Walz has spent the better part of his life in public service.

00:30Such a career helped shape his political views. It also left him the least wealthy politician on

00:35a major party ticket this election cycle. Forbes estimates that Walz's net worth stands at just

00:41over $1 million. Neither Walz nor his wife Gwen, also a long-time public school teacher, appear to

00:48own any stock or a single bond, per the last financial disclosure he filed as a member of

00:53Congress in 2019. The Walzes also don't own a home, having sold their five-bedroom Mankato,

01:00Minnesota residence soon after he became governor. There are no signs he owns any

01:05businesses or pulls in any income besides his roughly $128,000 gubernatorial salary.

01:12Instead, nearly all of the Walzes' wealth stems from government pensions earned through their

01:17state, federal, and military careers. While around 13 percent of Americans have a defined benefit

01:23pension, the Walzes seem to have at least four, worth around $1 million in total, making up

01:28virtually their entire nest egg, according to Forbes' estimates. Born in West Point, Nebraska,

01:35in 1964, Walz worked on the family farm during the summers. At age 17, his father, a Korean War

01:42veteran and school administrator, took him to enlist in the National Guard, beginning more

01:47than two decades of mostly reserve military service starting before Walz even graduated

01:52high school. After several years in the Guard and in other odd jobs, including processing mortgage

01:58loans and building grain silos, Walz went to Shadrin State College on the GI Bill, earning a

02:04social sciences degree in 1989. Then he followed his father's path again and began a career in

02:10education. He and Gwen, an English teacher, met soon after and married in 1994. The couple soon

02:18moved back to Minnesota, Gwen's home state, and bought a home near Mankato West High School for

02:23$145,000. Walz taught social studies, chaired a gay-straight alliance, and led the school's

02:30struggling football team to a state championship in 1999. Walz filed with the Federal Election

02:36Commission in February 2005 for a congressional race and retired from the military in May.

02:43Though Senator J.D. Vance and others have lobbed attacks at him for abandoning his unit,

02:47they did not receive an alert order to prepare for deployment to Iraq until July, after his

02:53retirement. This according to a statement from Minnesota National Guard Army Lieutenant Colonel

02:58Ryan Rossman on Wednesday. Walz's more than two decades almost certainly earned him a pension

03:04that he would have begun receiving when he turned 60 this year. Forbes estimates that income stream

03:10to be worth between $200,000 and $350,000. In 2006, Walz won that seat in Congress,

03:18beating a six-term Republican incumbent. His new salary was $165,200, a figure that would rise to

03:26$174,000 by the time he left office. While in Congress, Walz cut a moderate rural figure,

03:33earning the endorsement of the Pro-Gun Rights National Rifle Association and high scores from

03:38the pro-environment League of Conservation Voters. He left office in 2019 with a pension that,

03:44thanks to the ability to double dip into his active duty years in the military, Forbes estimates is

03:49worth upwards of $475,000. In 2019, Walz became Minnesota's governor. The salary reduction to

03:58about $128,000 may have stung a bit, but it came with housing in the governor's mansion in St.

04:04Paul. The Walzes sold their Mankato home for just over $300,000, likely keeping little cash

04:10after paying off their mortgage. Walz won re-election in 2022. As governor, he has access

04:17to a 401k-style retirement plan. Assuming he's been making his contributions, Forbes estimates

04:23that he could have around $100,000 in the account today. For full coverage, check out Kyle Kahn

04:30Mullins and Leo Kamen's piece on Forbes.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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