Last Updated on February 26, 2024
Joseph Manchin III is an American businessman and politician who’s the current senior United States Senator from West Virginia, a position he has held since 2010.
Prior to becoming West Virginia senior senator, Manchin also served as the state’s governor. He first won the 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election before successfully defending the seat in 2008.
Joe Manchin Quick Facts
Full Name: | Joseph Manchin III |
Popular Name: | Joe Manchin |
Nicknames: | N/A |
Birth Date: | August 24, 1947 |
Age: | 75 years |
Parents: | John Manchin and Mary Gouzd |
Siblings: | Had 5 siblings |
Birth Place: | Farmington, West Virginia, United States |
Nationality: | American |
Ethnicity: | Mixed (Italian and Czechoslovak) |
Religion: | Christianity |
Education: | Farmington High School and West Virginia University |
Marital Status: | Married to Gayle Conelly Manchin (since 1967) |
Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
Children: | Heather Bresch-Manchin, Joseph IV Manchin, and Brooke Manchin |
Net Worth: | USD 10 million |
Source of Wealth: | Salary from Political Offices Held and Business Ventures |
Height: | 6′ 4″ (1.91 m) |
Weight: | In kilograms: 78 kg; In pounds: 171 lbs. |
Early Life and Career Information
Early Life
Joseph Manchin III was born on August 24, 1947, in Farmington, West Virginia, United States, to John Manchin and Mary Gouzd. His father was a businessman who owned a carpet and furniture store, whereas his mother was a homemaker.
Joe Manchin received his high school diploma from Farmington High School in 1965. He later proceeded to West Virginia University on a football scholarship. However, Manchin was forced to hang his boots prematurely after suffering a career-ending injury. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Business Administration.
Career Information
Joe Manchin launched his political career shortly after graduating from the university. In 1982, Manchin became a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Four years later, he was elected to the state’s senate and served in that capacity until 1996.
Joe Manchin first participated in the West Virginia gubernatorial elections in 1996. However, he lost to Charlotte Pritt in the Democratic primary elections. In 2000, Manchin was elected Secretary of State from West Virginia.
In 2004, the ambitious politician won the West Virginia gubernatorial election by a landslide margin. He replaced the then scandal-riddled governor Bob Wise who decided not to seek reelection. Manchin easily defended his gubernatorial seat in the 2008 elections, thrashing his Republican challenger Russ Weeks with slightly under 70% of the vote.
Joe Manchin became West Virginia senior senator in 2010 after beating Republican Party’s John Raese with 53% of the vote. He has successfully defended his senatorial seat to date.
Joe Manchin’s Net Worth
According to his financial disclosure, Joe Manchin had a net worth of $6 million when he first assumed office as the senior senator from West Virginia in 2010. That was enough to place him among the wealthiest U.S senators at the time, a position he has generally maintained since then. As at November 1, 2022, the decorated politician had a net worth of $10 million.
Joe Manchin’s fortunes are a cumulative sum of salaries from lucrative political positions held as well as business ventures. As a senior senator, Joe takes home $174,000 in annual salary. And as a businessman, Manchin is best known for being the founder of a coal brokerage firm known as Enersystems.
Credible reports indicate that Manchin’s non-public shares of Enersystems account for approximately 30% of his net worth. According to the senator’s 2020 financial disclosure, his shares in the brokerage company were worth $1 to 5 million, depending on fluctuations in coal prices. The same disclosure revealed that Manchin earned $5.2 million in Enersystems dividends from 2011 to 2020 and $500,000 in 2020.
Joe Manchin’s assets also include a few real estate properties.
Manchin and his wife Gayle own a $250,000 houseboat in Washington, D.C., christened “Almost Heaven.” The lifeboat serves as the couple’s residence when they’re in the District.
The Manchins’ also own a townhome in Charleston, West Virginia. They own yet another property in Charleston, a riverfront home located near the banks of the Kanawha River which they purchased in January 2021 for $765,000.
Lessons from Joe Manchin
1. Be your own man (or woman)
Joe Manchin is renowned for breaking ranks with his fellow Democrats on topical issues, most notably Medicare for All and minimum wage. He has also voiced fierce opposition to President Joe Biden‘s ‘Build Back Better’ plan.
2. Build relationships
Manchin attributes his illustrious political career partly to his willingness to forge meaningful relationships. Although he’s a Democrat, the senator has made tons of resourceful friends across the political divide.
3. There’s no honor in grandstanding on sensitive issues
Politicians worldwide are known to hardline on issues that affect the average Joe in the name of defending their parties’ ideals. But a few visionary leaders, such as Senator Joe Manchin, are an exception to that rule.
Famous Quotes by Joe Manchin
• Economic development is what’s going to make mountaintop removal palatable.
• Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that’s not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor. Often times it is a teacher.
• Millions and millions of people are proud gun owners, and they do it responsibly and by the law.
• Wherever there is one job on the verge of being lost, I will fight to save it. Wherever there is one company looking to grow in West Virginia, I will fight to make that growth a reality.
• Whoever is president, my first priority is the same – as always. I look for what’s best for West Virginia and the nation as a whole.
Conclusion
Joe Manchin is a decorated American politician who has left his prints in the sands of time on several issues. The accomplished senator has a net worth of $10 million as at November 2022.