What is Dick Cheney's Net Worth and Salary?
Dick Cheney is an American politician, author, and business executive who has a net worth of $150 million. Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States under President George W. Bush, and many consider him the most powerful vice president in the history of America. Cheney is best known for his extensive career within the Republican party and his lucrative roots in the private sector.
The bulk of Cheney's wealth comes from his tenure as the CEO of Halliburton, an oil services contractor. From 1995 to 2000, he earned $72.5 million in total compensation. This figure includes $12.5 million in base salary, $20 million in retirement benefits, and $40 million in stock options. He also received several million in deferred compensation and bonuses from Halliburton during his time as Vice President.
In 2000, Halliburton was the 22nd-largest military contractor in the US. By 2003, they had moved up to the seventh position. According to his 2008 wealth disclosure, Cheney's net worth was estimated to be between $20 million and $100 million, while President George W. Bush's net worth ranged from $7 million to $20 million at the time.
Early Life and Education
Dick Cheney was born Richard Bruce Cheney on January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He grew up in Casper, Wyoming, with his mother Marjorie, his father Richard, and his two younger siblings, Bob and Susan. His father worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a soil conservation agent, and his mother was a successful softball player in the 1930s. Cheney attended College View Elementary School (now Calvert Elementary) in Lincoln and Natrona County High School in Casper, where he was senior class president and the captain of the football team.
After graduating from high school, Cheney attended Yale University but dropped out less than two years later due to poor grades. After leaving Yale, he was arrested twice for driving while intoxicated in 1962 and 1963. He later attended Caspar College and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science. Cheney began studying for a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison but dropped out in 1966 to take a job as a staff aide to Governor Warren Knowles.
Political Career
In 1968, Cheney was awarded an American Political Science Association congressional fellowship and moved to Washington, DC, to work as an intern for Congressman William Steiger. From 1969 to 1970, Cheney worked under Donald Rumsfeld in the Office of Economic Opportunity and later served as a White House Staff Assistant and Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council. During Gerald Ford's administration, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff and worked as the campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.
Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, representing his home state of Wyoming. He was re-elected five times and served as Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. In 1988, Cheney was elected House Minority Whip but left the House in 1989 to serve as George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Defense, a position he held until 1993. Under his leadership, the Department of Defense directed military campaigns Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm. Cheney was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official during his tenure.
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Private Sector Career
Cheney left the Department of Defense after Bill Clinton took office in 1993. He joined the American Enterprise Institute and served his second term as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 2000, Cheney served as CEO and Chairman of Halliburton, for which he received a $20 million retirement package when he resigned to join George W. Bush's administration. In 2002, Halliburton's shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of securities fraud, which was settled for $100 million in 2016. In 2010, the Nigerian government filed corruption charges against Cheney and Halliburton, but the charges were dropped after the company agreed to pay a $250 million settlement.
Vice Presidency
Cheney served as George W. Bush's vice president from 2001 to 2009, significantly influencing White House policy, particularly in foreign policy, environmental policy, and the treatment of prisoners of war. He was instrumental in the administration's approach to the "War on Terror," publicly declaring that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda. Twice during his vice presidency, Cheney assumed the role of acting president while Bush underwent medical procedures requiring sedation.
On February 27, 2007, while Cheney was visiting Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield, a suicide bombing occurred outside the front gate, killing 23 people and wounding 20. The Taliban claimed responsibility, stating that Cheney was the intended target, authorized by Osama Bin Laden. Cheney was often criticized for his support of the administration's "enhanced interrogation program," which included waterboarding, and his approval rating was only 13% when he left office.
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Post-Vice Presidency
After the Bush administration, Cheney wrote two books with his daughter Liz: "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir" (2011) and "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America" (2015). He underwent a heart transplant on March 24, 2012, two years after his fifth heart attack.
Real Estate
On January 12, 2000, Cheney purchased a small lot in McLean, Virginia, for $1.35 million and began construction on a 12,765-square-foot home in 2008 after tearing down the original house. In 2005, he paid $2.67 million for a waterfront estate in Saint Michaels, Maryland, which he sold for $2.1 million in 2019. Cheney also owns a home in Wyoming.
Personal Life
Dick married his high school sweetheart Lynne Vincent in 1964. They have two daughters, Elizabeth (born on July 28, 1966) and Mary (born on March 14, 1969). Liz succeeded her father's congressional seat in 2017, and Mary was the Director of Vice Presidential Operations for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. Liz is married to Philip J. Perry and has five children, while Mary and her wife Heather Poe have two children. Cheney has publicly supported same-sex marriage and advocated for its legalization in Maryland in 2012.
On February 11, 2006, Cheney accidentally shot his acquaintance Harry Whittington while quail hunting in Kenedy County, Texas. Whittington sustained birdshot wounds and suffered a heart attack and atrial fibrillation. He survived, and Cheney was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Kenedy County Sheriff's Office.
