What Is Maxine Waters' Net Worth?
Maxine Waters is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has a net worth of $2 million.
According to her most recent wealth disclosure, Maxine Waters listed $1.5 million worth of assets and $1.4 million worth of liabilities. Her most valuable asset is her home, which is valued between $1 and $4 million, depending on the current real estate market and recent comparable sales.
Waters became the United States representative for California's 43rd congressional district in 1991. She is best known for her outspoken oppositional stances, her concern for those suffering from homelessness and poverty, and her blatant dislike for several other politicians.
Early Years
Maxine Moore Carr was born on August 15, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the daughter of Remus Carr and Velma (Moore) Carr. Remus left the family when Maxine was two years old, and Velma raised Waters and her twelve siblings alone.
Maxine graduated from Vashon High School, a public school in St. Louis, before she relocated with her family to Los Angeles, California, in 1961. There, she became employed as a garment factory worker, a telephone operator, and – in 1966 – an assistant teacher in the United States Department of Health and Human Services early childhood program Head Start in one of its southern Los Angeles locations.
Waters graduated from Los Angeles State College in 1971, with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Politics
In 1973, Maxine was hired as chief deputy to David Surmier Cunningham Jr., a Los Angeles City Councilman. In 1976, she was elected to the California State Assembly, where she went on to serve seven terms and later attained the position of Democratic Caucus Chair for the Assembly.
In 1990, Waters was elected to the United States House of Representatives for California's 29th Congressional District. The district was renumbered 35 in 1992 and 43 in 2012.
Maxine has the most seniority of the black women serving in Congress and the second-highest seniority in the California congressional delegation, behind former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
In 2008, Waters was a Democratic National Convention superdelegate, endorsing New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the party's nomination, later transferring her endorsement to Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
In 2012, Maxine became the ranking member of the United States House Committee on Financial Services.
Waters chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999 and the United States House Committee on Financial Services from 2019 to 2023.
Controversies
In 1992, during the Los Angeles riots, Maxine led the chant "No justice, no peace" at a rally and helped to deliver relief supplies. She blatantly objected to the upheaval being referred to as a "riot" and explained that she felt it was an understandable rebellion against injustice.
Waters was openly opposed to the 8-year Iraq War and highly critical of Republican presidents George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush – who she referred to as a "racist" – and Donald Trump, referring to Trump as a "bully," a "shameful racist," and an "egotistical maniac." Trump responded to Waters' comments by referring to her as a "low IQ individual."
Maxine has also spoken critically of Democratic president Barack Obama, whom she felt was not sufficiently supportive of African Americans. Obama responded by telling Waters to stop complaining, grumbling, and crying and resume the work that was to be done.
In 2019, Maxine voted to impeach Donald Trump and referred to him as "the worst president in the history of the United States."
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Charges of Being Unruly, Corrupt & Inciting Violence
On July 29, 1994, Waters continuously interrupted a speech being given by Republican Peter King who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives. Carrie Meek, the United States representative for Florida's 17th congressional district and the presiding officer, called the behavior "unruly and turbulent" and threatened to have the sergeant at arms present Waters with the Mace of the United States House of Representatives – a formal warning to desist. As a consequence of her actions, Maxine was suspended from the White House for the remainder of the day.
The non-profit watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington included Waters on its list of corrupt Congress members in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011. Another non-profit watchdog organization, Citizens Against Government Waste, declared her to be Porker of the Month in June 2009 as a result of her plan to obtain an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.
Waters was then accused by a House panel of an ethics violation concerning her efforts to assist the black-owned and managed Massachusetts company OneUnitedBank in receiving federal aid. Her husband was a stockholder in the company and its former director, and the executives of OneUnitedBank had also been major contributors to her campaigns.
In 2010, the House Ethics Committee charged Waters with violations of ethics rules after she arranged meetings between OneUnitedBank and officials from the United States Treasury Department. On September 21, 2012, after a lengthy investigation, the House Ethics Committee submitted a report which cleared her of all charges.
In 2018, the Republican Jewish Coalition requested that several members of Congress, including Maxine Waters, resign due to their connections with American religious leader Louis Farrakhan – the leader of the anti-Semitic organization Nation of Islam.
In 2018, Maxine was accused by right-wing politicians of inciting violence when she advised people at a rally to harass administration officials of Donald Trump if they crossed paths with them.
Two years later, following the death of George Floyd, the trial judge categorized Waters' comments on the matter as "abhorrent" and as "disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch." Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy accused Maxine of attempting to incite violence once again. On April 19th, he introduced a resolution in the House to censure Waters and her "dangerous" comments. The next day, the House voted to block the resolution. Maxine later said that her comments were taken out of context.
In 2018, Waters appeared on Time Magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People" of the year. Some, however, were not happy with that influence. On October 24, 2018, packages containing pipe bombs were sent to two of her offices and intercepted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They were among 16 packages sent to several Democratic Party politicians between October 22nd and November 1st of that year. In 2019, Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. admitted to sending the pipe bombs to critics of Donald Trump. Sayoc was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
Accolades
Waters has received the Bruce F. Vento Award from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Personal Life
Maxine is married to her second husband, NFL football linebacker Sidney Williams, who also acted as the United States Ambassador to the Bahamas during Bill Clinton's administration. The couple resides in Los Angeles, California.
