What is Gabby Giffords's Net Worth?
Gabby Giffords is a retired politician and gun control activist who has a net worth of $20 million. Gabby Giffords represented Arizona's 8th congressional district in the US House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012. In early 2011, she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and mass shooting outside of Tucson, and since then has relearned how to walk, speak, write, and read. With her husband, US senator from Arizona Mark Kelly, Giffords launched the gun control nonprofit and super PAC Americans for Responsible Solutions, now known as Giffords.
According to Gabby's 2011 financial disclosure, she and Mark were worth just $2 million at that point in time. According to his 2019 financial disclosure, Mark and his Gabby Giffords now have a combined net worth of between $10 and $30 million. The family's fortunes increased as Mark became a highly sought-after and highly paid public speaker. They also earned money from book deals, business consulting and corporate board memberships. Since January 2019 Mark earned as much as $8 million from his various endeavors. He earned $1.9 million from 64 paid speeches since January 2018.
Early Life and Education
Gabby Giffords was born on June 8, 1970 in Tucson, Arizona to Gloria and Spencer. Her mother was a Christian Scientist, and her father was Jewish. As a teenager, Giffords attended University High School. She went on to attend Scripps College, graduating with her bachelor's degree in 1993. Giffords also spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Chihuahua, Mexico. She subsequently went to graduate school at Cornell University, earning her master's degree in regional planning in 1996.
Career Beginnings
After college, Giffords moved to New York City and became an associate for regional economic development at Price Waterhouse. She eventually moved back to Arizona and became CEO and president of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local chain of auto service centers her grandfather had founded. In 2000, the business was sold to Goodyear.
Arizona Legislature
Giffords began her political career in the Arizona State House of Representatives, where she served from 2001 to 2003. After that, from 2003 to 2005, she served in the Arizona State Senate. During her tenure, Giffords focused on issues of healthcare access and childhood education. She worked on the bipartisan Children's Caucus, which sought to improve healthcare and education for kids in Arizona.
US House of Representatives
In 2006, Giffords ran for the US House of Representatives to represent Arizona's 8th congressional district. After winning the primary, she won the general election by defeating Republican Randy Graf. Giffords won reelection in 2008, beating Tim Bee, and won reelection again in 2010, beating Jesse Kelly. As a US representative, she advocated for immigration reform, renewable energy, a higher minimum wage, and increased federal funding for stem cell research. Giffords was also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition.
Attempted Assassination and Recovery
During an event with constituents in early 2011, Giffords was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and mass shooting near Tucson. Nineteen people were shot and six were killed. Giffords received life-saving first-aid assistance from her intern Daniel Hernández Jr. before she was sent to the hospital. Doctors were able to successfully perform emergency surgery, during which they removed part of her skull to avoid further damage to the brain. Initially placed in an induced coma, Giffords slowly began to regain consciousness and show signs of cognitive and motor ability. She continued to recover over the ensuing months and years thanks to physical therapy and further medical operations. Giffords also had speech, music, and occupational therapy.
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Gun Control Advocacy
Giffords resigned from the US House of Representatives in early 2012 so she could focus on her recovery. Since then, she has devoted much of her time to gun control advocacy. With her husband, she launched the nonprofit and super PAC Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was created to support candidates fighting for gun control legislation. The organization later merged with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords. In 2022, Giffords founded the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention to reduce gun violence in American communities. Also that year, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Biden.
Personal Life
In late 2007, Giffords married US Navy captain and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. The pair had first met in 2003 on a trip to China as part of a trade mission sponsored by the National Committee on US-China Relations. Kelly would later be elected as a US senator from Arizona in 2020.
Following her shooting in 2011, Gifford co-authored a memoir with her husband and Jeffrey Zaslow entitled "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope." In early 2012, it was announced that the next US Navy littoral combat ship would be named USS Gabrielle Giffords in her honor. The ship was christened in 2015.
