Paul Manafort Net Worth 2018: You Won’t Believe How Rich He Is
Paul Manafort has been in the press quite a bit lately, and all you ever seem to hear about him is the highly lucrative contracts he inked with Russian politicians for his consulting services. Although there’s much to be learned about Manafort’s potential involvement with the Russians, one things’s for sure, Manafort is a guy who knows how to make money!
But just how much is Paul Manafort worth? We’ll take a closer look at Manfort’s net worth below and all of the contributions to his total income.
Paul Manafort’s Net Worth: The Beginnings
Paul Manafort has been a longtime lobbyist and political consultant. Manafort’s background is actually in law; he graduated from Georgetown University with a JD. In the 1970’s Manafort began his career, by practicing law with the firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.
While Manafort likely enjoyed the salary given to associates at law firms, the money he made here was likely to be peanuts next to what he went on to enjoy.
A few years later, Manafort transitioned to lobbying. Now, here’s where Manafort likely began to rake in the cash. Manafort became a founding partner of the lobbying firm, Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly.
With the highest paid lobbyists earning in the millions of dollars, Manafort was sure to have established his resume for lucrative contracts at this time.
Manafort first became involved with politics during the Reagan administration when he acted as a delegate hunt coordinator. Then, with successive presidents, he took on a large political role, acting as an advisor to George H.W.’s bid for presidency in 1988 and again for Bob Dole’s bid for presidency in 1996.
Paul Manafort’s Shady International Dealings
With his long-running political contacts in hand, Manafort then took on inking some of the highest paying consultation gigs ever heard of. But what Manafort’s services always seemed to have in common was a set of controversial foreign leaders.
For instance, in 1985, Manafort’s lobbying firm signed a $600,000 contract with Jonah Savimbi, leader of the Angolan rebel group. Later, Manafort accepted a $900,000 contract to lobby for Ferdinand Marcos, and then a $1 million annual contract with Mobuto Sese Seko.
Paul Manafort’s lobbying company has also established contracts with the governments Dominican Republic, Kenya ($750,000 each year between 1991 and 1993) and Nigeria ($1 million in 1991). Manafort also received $400,000 from the Kashmiri American Council between 1990 and 1994.
But no contract has been as lucrative for Manafort as have his contract with Ukranian politicians and Russian oligarchs.
Manafort negotiated an annual $10 million contract with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska promote Russian interests in US politics, business and media coverage. In 2014, on returning to becoming an advisor to Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych’s political following, Party of Regions, Manafort reportedly received $12.7 million in cash payments.
Manafort is a pro at using other people’s money in his most risky ventures: At one point during the presidential campaign, Manafort’s shell companies in Cyprus owed over $17 million to Russian interests. These reportedly included Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Manafort insists those debts no longer exist.
Paul Manafort Net Worth 2018
So how much wealth has Paul Manafort accumulated with all of his political ventures? Much of his wealth is distributed around the world, often in opaque banking systems. Given the information we have, we estimate Paul Manafort net worth at $50 million. However, that’s a very rough estimate, and he may have up to an additional $250 million+ in foreign assets.
Photo credit: ABC
