Rahm Israel Emanuel was born on 29 November 1959, in Chicago, Illinois USA, of Jewish ancestry. Rahm is a politician best known for being the 55th and current mayor of Chicago. Prior to becoming mayor, he gained a lot of experience working in various government positions and offices. All of his endeavors have helped raise his net worth to where it is now.
How rich is Rahm Emanuel? As of early-2016, sources estimate that his net worth is at $14 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the political world. Rahm has also worked for an investment bank, and even with just the short time he worked there, he has managed to acquire considerable wealth.
Rahm Emanuel Net Worth $14 Million
Early in his life, Rahm didn’t seem like the type that would pursue a career in politics. He attended the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and then other schools including Romona School, Locust Junior High School and New Trier West High School. He was encouraged to take ballet lessons from the Evanston School of Ballet as well. Afterwards, he attended and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in Liberal Arts and would later finish his master’s degree in Speech and Communication at Northwestern University. During his time in Sarah Lawrence, he was elected to become part of the school’s Student Senate.
Emanuel started to work on his political career through Illinois Public Action. There he would spend some time on fundraisers and also focusing on Democratic politics. He would work for various politicians including Paul Simon during the U.S. Senate election in 1984, and Richard M. Daley’s campaign for Mayor of Chicago during 1989. He would also become national campaign director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Later, Emanuel served on the campaign finance committee for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, which Clinton won, with Rahm subsequently becoming a senior advisor and working at the White House from 1993 to 1998. He started as an Assistant to the President for Political Affairs, and then became Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He became well-known for his aggressive style, but in 1998 he resigned from his position to work on a career in finance.
He joined the investment banking firm Wasserstein Perella, and became the managing director of the company’s Chicago office in just a year. He was so successful that according to reports had made around $16.2 million during his two-and-a-half year stay in the company, significantly increasing his net worth.
In 2000, Emanuel was assigned by Clinton to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or Freddie Mac. He stayed there for a year before campaigning for the U.S House of Representatives in 2002. He won and occupied the seat vacated by Rod Blagojevich, going on and continuing his service for three terms as part of Illinois’s 5th congressional district. During his time there he became the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and after Barack Obama’s election became the White House Chief of Staff. In 2011, he resigned to contest the 2011 Chicago mayoral election, and eventually succeeded Richard M. Daley. In 2015, he also won his second campaign against Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
For his personal life, Emanuel has been married to Amy Merrit Rule since 1994; they have three children, and reside in the north side of Chicago, but makes yearly trips abroad. Rahm also participates in triathlons and is a follower of Judaism. Rumor has been spreading of his eventual end and possible resignation as mayor due to recent issues in the city, especially after the police shooting of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald.
