George Elmer Pataki was born on 24 June 1945, in Peekskill, New York State, USA, of Austrian and Hungarian descent. George is a politician and lawyer best known to have served as the Governor of New York State from 1995 to 2006. He was previously the mayor of Peekskill, before holding the Governor’s position for three consecutive terms. All his endeavors have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is George Pataki? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in politics. He was also responsible for a lot of changes within New York. Prior to his political career taking off, he practiced law in private firms, and all of these have ensured the current status of his wealth.
George Pataki Net Worth $5 Million
After matriculating from Peekskill High School, George attended Yale University on an academic scholarship. He finished college in three years while serving in the Yale Political Union. He then went to Columbia Law School to get his Juris Doctor.
After his studies, he went to Plunkett and Jaffe, P.C. to practice law and met Michael C. Finnegan who would help him with his political career. His first political win came in 1981 when he became mayor of Peekskill, getting 70% of the vote. This continued with a re-election in 1983, garnering even more votes than the first time. The following year he became a part of the New York State Assembly and was subsequently re-elected in 1986, 1988 and 1990. Eventually George decided to battle Mary B. Goodhue in the primary hoping to get to the New York Senate, which he won with 52% of the votes. He eventually campaigned for the Senate, winning and then setting his sights on becoming a Governor.
He campaigned to be a governor in 1994, stating that he was frustrated on tax issues. Around this time he was not well known but he had endorsements from big political names. He was considered an underdog because he was fighting against Mario Cuomo who had now been the governor for three terms. Eventually he was endorsed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and subsequently won the campaign. He campaigned again in 1998 and in 2002, proving successful both times.
During his term, he was an advocate for tax cuts, and he also proposed the privatization of state entities. He advocated Native American casinos, and helped the creation of several of them in upstate New York. This was contested by some but he had stated that the revenue would be split by the state, municipal government and the tribe. He favored the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act which was mainly about gay rights, though he opposed same-sex marriage as Governor. He then restored the death penalty in 1995, but despite its restoration it was ruled out as unconstitutional and was never applied. Pataki also focused on giving health care programs to the poor and make open space preservation a priority.
For his personal life, he has been married to Libby Rowland since 1973, and they have four children. They currently reside in Garrison, New York, George is known to be a Roman Catholic.
