Are Tim and Gwen Walz as rich as the average politician? And what's with that awkward handshake? Here's what you probably didn't know about their marriage.
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00:00Are Tim and Gwen Walls as rich as the average politician? And what's with that awkward handshake?
00:06Here's what you probably didn't know about their marriage.
00:09Tim and Gwen Walls have a Midwestern love story. Tim was born and raised in Nebraska,
00:13while Gwen has spent most of her life living in Minnesota. Both former educators, the two
00:18met while teaching in rural Nebraska in the early 90s. The first teaching gig for them
00:22both.
00:23We shared a classroom with a divider right down the middle."
00:27A couple of years after their wedding, they moved to Mankato, Minnesota, a mid-sized town
00:31in the southern part of the state, and got teaching jobs at the same high school. The
00:35two educators have always been passionate about inclusivity, especially when it comes
00:39to their students. When they taught in Mankato, both Tim and Gwen were sure to make safe spaces
00:44for LGBTQ plus students. In the late 90s, Tim became the staff advisor for the Gay-Straight
00:49Alliance at the high school he and Gwen taught at. He told the Star Tribune of his position,
00:53It really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was
00:57married.
00:58Gwen, meanwhile, was noted for creating a positive and safe environment. A former student
01:02told the Associated Press,
01:04"...I'd never heard a teacher ever talk about gay issues from the front of the classroom.
01:08That act meant the world to me. It made me feel welcome in the place where I'm supposed
01:12to learn."
01:13Tim and Gwen Walls' marriage hasn't been all roses and sunshine. The two have struggled,
01:18including while they were trying to add children to their family. The couple wasn't able to
01:22conceive naturally, which led them to seek fertility treatment. Luckily, they were living
01:27just over an hour away from Rochester, Minnesota, home of the Mayo Clinic, which is widely considered
01:32the best hospital in the United States. For seven years, Gwen and Tim tried to conceive
01:36a child with the help of intrauterine insemination, or IUI. It was a long road, which Tim spoke
01:42about at his first campaign rally in 2024.
01:45"...and I remember praying every night for a call for good news. The pit in my stomach
01:50when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn't worked."
01:55Reproductive healthcare is still a topic Tim is passionate about. In response to J.D. Vance's
01:59views on the procedures, he wrote on X,
02:01"...even if you've never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has.
02:05J.D. Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others."
02:11Though Tim and Gwen Wall struggled to conceive, they were able to welcome two children into
02:15their family, a daughter named Hope and a son named Gus. They were living in Mankato
02:20when their children were born, and they remained there until Tim became governor of Minnesota
02:24in 2019. The family then relocated to St. Paul. Speaking with NPR News, Tim said about
02:30the move,
02:31"...while we'll miss the first house we bought as two public school teachers, starting a
02:34family, we're grateful and excited about this next chapter of our lives. We're having fun
02:38getting to know our new neighborhood in St. Paul."
02:41The Uptowner Café and Grand Ole Creamery have quickly become family favorites. Like
02:45all true Minnesotans, Tim and Gwen have raised their children to enjoy a fair, as evidenced
02:50by this cute 2023 Instagram post.
02:52"...but then we're gonna go get some food, corn dog. I'm vegetarian. Turkey then? Turkey's
02:58meat. Not in Minnesota, turkey's special."
03:01A career in politics isn't cheap. It's expensive to run a campaign, making politics a playground
03:06for the extremely wealthy. While Donald Trump's net worth fluctuates, he's steadily worth
03:10at least a couple billion. Barack Obama has an estimated net worth of $70 million. Even
03:16Kamala Harris and J.D. Vance are multimillionaires, with their estimated net worths sitting at
03:20$8 million and $10 million, respectively.
03:24But politicians don't have to be wealthy to be elected and have an impact, as evidenced
03:28by Tim Walls. Tim and Gwen spent their life working in education, a historically low-paying
03:34Of course, Tim has had other sources of income. He served in the military until 2005 and then
03:39in Congress for several years before becoming the governor of Minnesota. Still, none of
03:44them have been especially lucrative. Though they certainly live well above the poverty
03:48line, Tim and Gwen have nowhere near the assets other high-profile political figures in the
03:52United States have.
03:53According to The Wall Street Journal, they don't own any stocks, and they don't own any
03:57real estate. The couple sold their home in Mankato, Minnesota, when Tim was elected governor.
04:02The couple's only investments are their pensions, and in 2019, their net worth reportedly landed
04:07in the six-figure range. Their financial report card certainly isn't nothing, but it pales
04:12in comparison to some of Tim's colleagues.
04:15Tim Walls garnered many supporters across his home state. In 2023, his gubernatorial
04:20approval rating was 54 percent, which is a celebratory figure for politicians. But, as
04:25noted, Minnesotans have wondered why Gwen isn't involved in politics herself. Luckily
04:29for those people, Gwen has had an influence on her husband's policies. For instance, one
04:34of Tim's biggest achievements as governor of Minnesota has been his criminal justice
04:38reform, and it's an issue that's long been important to Gwen, too.
04:42"...until we are all equal and have equality, none of us are equal and have equality."
04:51But Gwen doesn't want to take too much credit. In her eyes, her husband is the one doing
04:55the major work while she fulfills her duties as Minnesota's first lady. As reported by
04:59the Star Tribune, she says,
05:01"...Tim is the governor and makes the governor decisions. We have a lot to do, and everyone
05:05has a role and part in it. It is my responsibility to find my way forward in this new role, with
05:10respect and awareness."
05:12Running for a major position in politics means being open to scrutiny, and Tim and Gwen know
05:16that from experience. For example, during his first official rally in Philadelphia,
05:21they had an interaction on stage that caught everyone's attention. While Harris and her
05:25husband Doug embraced with a kiss, Tim and Gwen went a different route. They shook hands
05:30and hugged each other with one arm. Some found the interaction odd, namely Donald Trump's
05:34VP pick, J.D. Vance. He joked in a conversation with the Daily Mail,
05:38"...I know that when I see my wife after a big speech, what I really want to do is give
05:42her a nice, firm handshake. It's just a completely bizarre response."
05:47Donald Trump Jr. also attempted to take a shot at Walls, calling the handshake weird.
05:52Despite the criticism, Tim and Gwen have remained united, and very much in love. On
05:56June 4th, 2024, Tim and Gwen celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Two years prior,
06:02Tim marked the day with a photo posted to X. He wrote,
06:05"...in 1994, on this day, we were surrounded by our family and dear friends. Today, we
06:11remain most grateful for them and each other."