What is Don Gaetz's net worth and Salary?
Don Gaetz is an American politician who has a net worth of $40 million. Don Gaetz is a former member of the Florida State Senate and businessman, but he is probably best-known or being the father of politician Matt Gaetz. Don earned his fortune as the co-founder of a hospice care company called VITAS Healthcare. In 2004, VITAS was acquired by the company that owns Roto-Rooter for $400 million. According to a financial disclosure made when he was a state senator, in approximately 2015, Gaetz's net worth was $25 million.
Early Life
Don Gaetz was born in Rugby, North Dakota, on January 22, 1948. His father, Jerry Gaetz, was a one-time mayor of Rugby and a state legislator. In 1964, Jerry was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota. Tragically, Jerry died of a heart attack while appearing at the 1964 Republican National Convention. Don, who was 16 years old at the time, saw his father die live while watching the event on television.
Don Gaetz graduated from Concordia College and earned his M.P.A. from Troy State University. In 1978, at the age of 30, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he took a job as a hospital administrator. While serving in this role, he successfully lobbied the state legislature to create hospice care programs for the dying. More specifically, he helped make Florida the first state in the US to have licensure law, which required those practicing in the hospice care space to have a license.
Don Gaetz speaks in 2016 (Photo by Johnny Louis/FilmMagic)
Business Career
In 1982, Gaetz was a primary figure in passing the Federal Hospice Care Reimbursement Act. This act made hospice care a benefit covered by Medicare. One year later, Don and a group of partners converted what had been a non-profit hospice organization called VITAS into a for-profit healthcare company called Hospice Incorporated. They eventually changed the company name to VITAS Healthcare.
Today, VITAS is the largest end-of-life healthcare provider in the US, operating in roughly 50 hospitals in 14 states plus the District of Columbia. Vitas employs roughly 12,000 healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses, social workers, and home health aides – and serves around 20,000 patients each day nationwide.
In 2004, VITAS was acquired by Roto Rooter's parent company, Chemed, for $400 million. Today, Chemed is a publicly traded company with a $7.5 billion market cap and $2 billion in annual revenue. Its two primary divisions are Roto-Rooter and VITAS Healthcare.
According to financial disclosures made while he was a state Senator, the sale to Roto-Rooter left Don Gaetz with a net worth of $25 million.
Political Career
Don Gaetz was elected to the Okaloosa County School Board in 1994, and he was re-elected in 1998. He then served as the Okaloosa County Superintendent from 2000 to 2008.
From November 2006 to November 2016 he served as a Member of the Florida Senate from the 1st district. Don Gaetz served as the President of the Florida Senate from November 2012 to November 2014.
Personal Life
Don and his wife, Victoria Quertermous, also known as Vicky Gaetz, have two children, including politician Matt Gaetz. Vicky worked as a pharmacist for more than two decades.
Truman Show House
Don and Victoria famously own and reside in the home that was used in the 1998 movie, "The Truman Show." The Gaetz house was used as the marital home of Jim Carrey, Truman Burbank, and Laura Linney, Meryl Burbank. Don and Vicky Gaetz bought the Santa Rosa Beach, Florida home in 1991. In the movie, the home's address number was 36, which Don and Vicky kept fixed above the front door and kept a sign outside the gate that said "The Truman House."
