The justices of the Supreme Court are worth a collective $64 million, and some of their finances—and relationships with the ultrawealthy—have attracted ethical scrutiny.
By Kyle Mullins and Zach Everson, Forbes Staff
The nine justices on the Supreme Court are as close to sovereigns as one can get in America: they sit on high, don robes, serve until they die or abdicate, enjoy a government salary for life, abide by their own ethics code and proclaim definitive rulings that can upend our economy, our politics and our personal lives. To understand the high court and its role in society, we have to understand the people on it—and few things tell you more about someone than their finances.
Forbes dug deep into the checkbooks of the justices. There are some similarities: They’re all multimillionaires with nice homes and access to a generous pension plan that will keep them comfortable long after they retire. Most teach law school classes on the side, and side hustles as authors have helped some pad their accounts. But the ways each justice made the bulk of their money over the years range from private practice to lucky real estate investments to old-fashioned inheritance. And they keep their wealth invested in everything from run-of-the-mill mutual and index funds to vacation homes, Oklahoma mineral rights and shares in blue-chip stocks like Boeing and Raytheon, raising eyebrows about conflicts of interest. (For every justice, Forbes reached out to the Court for comment. A court spokesperson declined to comment.)
Added together, the Supreme Court is worth an estimated $64 million. Chief Justice John Roberts alone is responsible for nearly 40% of that sum: The wealthiest of all, he’s worth an estimated $25 million. He and the other five conservatives are on average over $5 million richer than the three liberal justices, who account for just 17% of its collective wealth.
Here’s a guide to every Supreme Court member’s money, spanning from way before they touched a torts textbook up to today.
Justices are listed in order of seniority.
Alex Wong-Getty Images
John Roberts
Chief Justice of the United States | Appointed by George W. Bush (2005) | Age: 69 | Net Worth: $25 million
Roberts alternated between private practice and government for his early career, helping him build both political connections and a small fortune. A multimillionaire before he became a federal judge in 2003, he chose political power—but his wife, also a prominent lawyer, continued to earn big bucks. Roberts ascended to chief justice in 2005 and stayed in the stock market, allowing his nest egg to swell as the economy boomed. Today, John and Jane Roberts have an estimated $20 million in liquid assets, in addition to homes in Maryland, Maine and Ireland and a multimillion-dollar pension waiting for the chief justice when he retires. See more.
Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice | Appointed by George H.W. Bush (1991) | Age: 75 | Net Worth: $4 million
There is no question that Thomas’ life is a genuine American success story. Born in the Georgia low country, he started out in segregated public schools, then advanced to Catholic schools for blacks, the seminary, Holy Cross and finally to Yale Law School. Eventually he made a name for himself and climbed to the heights of the U.S. judicial system. But his life has also been replete with mistakes, including his tendency, going back decades, to reach for a lifestyle he could not afford. Like most people who achieve the American Dream, Thomas has had plenty of people helping him along the way. Today he is worth an estimated $4 million, largely thanks to his high-profile position. See more.
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Samuel Alito
Associate Justice | Appointed by George W. Bush (2006) | Age: 73 | Net Worth: $10 million
Despite a career entirely backed by taxpayers, Alito is the second-wealthiest member of the high court. Worth a modest $2 million when he took his seat in 2006, his net worth ballooned in the 2010s when he benefited from the oldest money-making trick in the book: inheritance. Today, Alito owns homes in Virginia and New Jersey and sits on a generous pension and an investment portfolio worth an estimated $5 million. Unlike any other justice besides Roberts, he owns holdings in a multitude of publicly traded companies, which have sparked ethics questions and forced the conservative to recuse himself from plenty of cases over the years. See more.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice | Appointed by Barack Obama (2009) | Age: 69 | Net Worth: $5 million
Sotomayor was raised in poverty in the Bronx, but worked her way first to the Ivy League and eventually to the Supreme Court. Once there, she parlayed her pioneering story into lucrative book deals, which have provided $3.8 million in earnings since she joined the court, though her staff’s promotion of her work has drawn ethical scrutiny. The first Latina justice’s Manhattan apartment has exploded in value as real estate there has soared, and equity in her D.C. home has grown as well, helping boost the size of her nest egg. Finally, Sotomayor became eligible for a multimillion dollar pension when she turned 65. See more.
Olivier-Douliery/AFP-Getty/Images
Elena Kagan
Associate Justice | Appointed by Barack Obama (2010) | Age: 63 | Net Worth: $4 million
Unlike many of her colleagues, Kagan hasn’t inked any million-dollar book deals, nor has she enjoyed high-paying stints in private practice, married rich or accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from wealthy friends. She does not appear to be a prolific spender. For Kagan, it’s just been the slow and steady accumulation of wealth while working at the heights of academia and government that have helped her amass her fortune. See more.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Neil Gorsuch
Associate Justice | Appointed by Donald Trump (2017) | Age: 56 | Net Worth: $8 million
The Colorado-born Gorsuch owes much of his education, his early career and fortune to the East Coast. New York and D.C. treated him well: After a lengthy tenure as a student at Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, he made millions in private practice before George Bush elevated him directly to a Tenth Circuit judgeship. He loved life on a Colorado farm, but a decade later, he headed back east as Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court pick, reestablishing a conservative majority on the nation’s highest bench. A sizable investment portfolio and a $2.5 million Maryland home make up his net worth today. See more.
Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Brett Kavanaugh
Associate Justice | Appointed by Donald Trump (2018) | Age: 59 | Net Worth: $2 million
Kavanaugh, the son of a lobbyist and a judge, has had a comfortable life, even if his net worth doesn’t quite stack up to that of his wealthier colleagues. The son of a lobbyist, he spent most of his pre-judicial career in the public sector, then secured a lifetime appointment as a judge in 2006. After a decade—and a bitterly contentious nomination process—he made it onto the Supreme Court. His largest asset is his Maryland home, and he has some pensions and savings from his time in government. Other than that, there’s nothing else—he has not reported owning any rental real estate, private business or stock portfolio. His financial future, thanks to a generous judicial pension, looks bright nonetheless. See more.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Amy Coney Barrett
Associate Justice | Appointed by Donald Trump (2020) | Age: 52 | Net Worth: $4 million
The New Orleans-born justice spent nearly her entire career in academia before becoming a judge. After graduating from Notre Dame Law School—the only member of the Court who did not get their J.D. from Harvard or Yale—she clerked and tried private practice, but found herself right back at Notre Dame as a professor within a couple years. She and her husband, also a lawyer, studiously saved and had seven children even as they advanced their careers; she became a judge in 2017 and a justice in 2020. Today, Barrett owns a multimillion-dollar Virginia home and a sizable investment portfolio, with more money from a book deal coming soon. See more.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Associate Justice | Appointed by Joe Biden (2022) | Age: 53 | Net Worth: $2 million
Raised middle class and still one of the youngest justices, Jackson is tied with Brett Kavanaugh as the least-wealthy member of the Court. After Harvard, she became a self-described “professional vagabond,” bouncing from job to job and between private and public legal practice while balancing work and family—but eventually secured a lifetime appointment to the judiciary after a few years on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Today, she and her surgeon husband are worth around $2 million, most of which is their D.C. home, but that’s expected to change soon when she cashes checks from a lucrative book deal. See more.
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