What Is Howard Dean's Net Worth?
Howard Dean is an American politician and lobbyist who has a net worth of $6 million. When he was running for President in 2004, Howard Dean released detailed financial disclosures that estimated his net worth at that time to be $4 million.
Howard Dean is best known for serving as the 79th Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election. From 1987 to 1991, Dean served as the 75th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. From 2005 to 2009, he served as the Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. Dean served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1983 to 1986. He was the top fundraiser and front-runner prior to the Iowa caucus in the 2004 election. He pioneered the use of Internet-based fundraising along with grassroots organizing
Early Life
Howard Dean was born on November 17, 1948, in East Hampton, New York. He is the son of Andrée Belden and Howard Brush Dean, Jr. His mother worked as an art appraiser, while his father was an executive in the financial industry. Howard grew up with three younger brothers. One of his brothers, Charles, was captured by the Pathet Lao and executed by the North Vietnamese while traveling through Southeast Asia in 1974.
Dean attended the Browning School in Manhattan until he was 13 years old. Then he went to St. George's School, a preparatory school in Rhode Island. He also attended Felsted School in the United Kingdom for a year in 1966. He completed his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1971 and then received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in 1978. Howard completed his medical residency at the University of Vermont.
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Career
Dean got involved in local politics in 1980 when he spearheaded a grassroots campaign to stop a condominium development on Lake Champlain. The effort helped launch his political career. He also volunteered for Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign that year and was a Carter delegate at the Democratic National Convention. In 1981, he was elected chairman of the Chittenden County Democratic Committee. He served in this position until he resigned in 1984.
In 1982, Dean was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 1984 and became the assistant minority leader. In 1986, he was elected Lieutenant Governor and was re-elected in 1988 and 1990. All were part-time positions. Throughout this period, he continued practicing medicine alongside his wife in their family medicine practice.
In 1991, Vermont Governor Richard A. Snelling died of sudden cardiac arrest. Howard assumed the office and was subsequently elected to five two-year terms in his own right. This made him the longest-serving governor in the state's history. From 1994 to 1995, he was also the chairman of the National Governors Association. Throughout his service, Dean focused on fiscal conservatism and balancing the state's budget. He also focused on healthcare issues, most notably the Dr. Dynasaur program, which ensured nearly universal health coverage for children and pregnant women in the state.
In 2002, Dean was listed as one of a number of potential presidential contenders for the 2004 presidential election. He announced his candidacy in 2003. By autumn of that year, he had become the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and was performing strongly in most polls and outpacing his rivals in fundraising. In his campaign, Howard emphasized health care, fiscal responsibility, and fighting lobby groups through grassroots fundraising and support. He also voiced his opposition to the U.S. plan to invade Iraq, which appealed to the more activist base of the Democratic party at a time when much of Democratic leadership either supported the invasion or was neutral. As a candidate, he received endorsements from the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and former Vice President Al Gore.
Ultimately, however, Dean's campaign was not successful. He finished third in the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses and made a speech that night that was widely considered to be harmful to his campaign thanks to a now-infamous awkward scream:
This began a string of losses for Dean and he later withdrew from the race. He then endorsed John Kerry.
The following year, Howard was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee after all his opponents dropped out of the race when it became apparent that Dean had enough votes. He served in the position from 2005 to 2009. During this time, he pledged to reform the Democratic Party using what he called the 50-State Strategy. The plan entailed ensuring that the party was committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country. The strategy arguably paid off in a historic victory as the Democrats took control over the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2006 mid-term elections. The strategy was also acknowledged by commentators as an important factor in allowing Barack Obama to compete against John McCain in traditionally red states during the 2008 presidential election. Obama won several states in 2008 that were typically red, including Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia.
In 2009, after his time as Chairman was over, Howard indicated that he would enter the private sector after spending nearly 30 years in politics. He became a contributor to various news networks and also served as the Senior Presidential Fellow at Hofstra University. He also served as a Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and as a visiting professor at Williams College. In 2018, he joined the advisory board of Tilray, one of the world's largest cannabis companies.
Personal Life
In 1981, Dean married fellow doctor Judith Steinberg, whom he met in medical school. They began a family medical practice in Shelburne, Vermont. In 1982, Dean joined a Congregational church after having a falling out with the local Episcopal diocese, as he had been raised Episcopalian. He has since stated that he is more spiritual than religious. His wife is Jewish, and the couple raised their children in a secular household, though both children self-identify as Jews.
