DeSantis' net worth sees nearly 18% increase. What makes up the Florida governor's finances?
DeSantis on Tuesday filed an annual financial-disclosure report that showed he had a net worth of $2,087,550 as of Dec. 31, up from $1,773,157 at the end of 2023.
DeSantis' book deal continues to boost his finances
It was the third consecutive year that DeSantis got a financial boost from his 2023 book, "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival."
DeSantis received $625,500 in 2024 from HarperCollins Publishers LLC, the same amount as in 2023. The publishing company also paid $1.25 million to DeSantis in 2022.
The book was released in February 2023 as DeSantis prepared to formally launch a presidential campaign. He dropped out of the Republican presidential race in early 2024.
Before the book deal, DeSantis posted a net worth of $318,986 in 2021. His net worth jumped to $1,174,331 in 2022.
Assets, income and liabilities contributing to the governor's millions
State elected officials are required to file financial-disclosure forms by July 1 each year that list income, assets and liabilities. Generally, the forms show financial information from the end of the previous year.
Other than the money from HarperCollins Publishers, DeSantis' only income in 2024 was $141,400 from the state, according to the newly filed report. Living with his family at the governor's mansion, DeSantis did not report real estate holdings.
At the end of 2024, DeSantis had $573,109 in USAA checking and savings accounts; $1.31 million in a savings account with Interactive Brokers; $99,803 in a thrift savings plan, a type of retirement savings and investment plan; and $116,859 in the Florida Retirement System.
DeSantis' only reported liability was $15,095 in student-loan debt.
At the end of 2023, DeSantis' USAA accounts totaled $351,078; a savings account with Interactive Brokers was at $1.26 million; the thrift-savings plan stood at $95,592; and the Florida Retirement System account held $84,196.
How other state elected officials compare financially
Meanwhile, state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson also reported a double-digit percentage jump in his net worth in 2024. Simpson posted a net worth of $19,775,803 as of Dec. 31, up from $16,903,558 at the end of 2023.
A big part of the increase was due to the inclusion of a joint Charles Schwab money-market account holding $3.54 million, which wasn't part of his 2023 figures.
Simpson was paid $139,628 by the state in 2024, according to his report. He also reported income of $1.183 million in 2024 from Belly Wadding, LLC, which is tied to IHOP restaurants in Florida; $33,663 from Simpson Farms, Inc. in Pasco County; and $12,600 as a member of the Board of Directors of BankFlorida in Dade City.
Other statewide offices have seen turnover this year, with DeSantis appointing former Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate and former state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis getting elected to Congress in a special election. DeSantis in February also appointed his former chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to replace Moody as attorney general.
Nevertheless, Moody and Patronis filed updated financial-disclosure reports.
Moody reported a net worth of $4,426,804 as of Jan. 21, her last day as attorney general. That was down slightly from $4,428,428 at the end of 2023.
Patronis reported a net worth of $9.25 million as of March 31, up from $8.16 million at the end of 2023.
Also, Florida International University President Jeanette Nuñez, who stepped down as lieutenant governor early this year, reported a net worth of $2.45 million on Feb. 16, her final day in the statewide position. That was up from $2.086 million at the end of 2023.
DeSantis has not named replacements for Nuñez and Patronis.
A report for Uthmeier wasn't available on the Florida Commission on Ethics website Wednesday morning.
Financial-disclosure reports are due by July 1, but officials have a grace period until Sept. 1 before fines of $25 a day — for up to 60 days — may be imposed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
39 minutes ago
- Axios
Democrats go nuclear in redistricting arms race
Top Democrats are speaking — and acting — in increasingly existential terms over the audacious Trump-backed push to redraw Texas' congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. Why it matters: The proposed Texas map is designed to net the GOP up to five House seats — potentially enough to decide the majority for President Trump's Republicans in his final two years in office. For many Democrats, this moment is an inflection point in the party's Trump-era identity crisis — one that could determine whether "fighters" or "folders" carry the torch into 2028. "This is a war. We are at war. And that's why the gloves are off, and I say bring it on," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared at a press conference Monday, accusing Texas Republicans of a "legal insurrection." Zoom in: More than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled Texas on Sunday — fanning out to deep-blue Illinois, New York and Massachusetts — to prevent the GOP-controlled legislature from voting on the new map. Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened them with daily $500 fines, felony bribery charges if the fines are paid for by donations, and the possibility of removal from office. The Texas state House issued civil arrest warrants for the Democrats who fled the state, though the warrants are only enforceable inside Texas. Zoom out: Outside Texas, key Democratic governors have launched an aggressive counteroffensive to try to neutralize the GOP's redistricting push. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is eyeing a November special election that would sideline the state's independent redistricting commission and ask voters to approve a new, legislature-drawn map favoring Democrats. In New York, Hochul said Democrats have "no choice" but to pursue a constitutional amendment to authorize new maps — though it wouldn't appear on the ballot until 2027 at the earliest. In Illinois, where the congressional map is already heavily gerrymandered, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to protect fleeing Texas Democrats and left the door open to further revisions of the state's map. Between the lines: Newsom, who's made no secret of his presidential ambitions, has openly accused Trump of "rigging" the midterms and suggested California could redraw its map to eliminate all nine GOP-held seats. His push for a referendum in just three months will be a legal and political high-wire act that — if successful — could become the defining achievement of his career. "If this works and Dems win the House in 2026 by <5 seats, 'I saved us from a second MAGA Republican trifecta' is a hell of a platform for Newsom to run [for president] on in 2028," tweeted Democratic pollster Adam Carlson. The intrigue: Hochul, who is running for re-election in 2026, has emerged as an unlikely face of the Democratic resistance. She called Monday for disbanding New York's independent redistricting commission and embracing partisan hardball, telling reporters that she's "tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back." "I cannot ignore that the playing field has changed dramatically, and shame on us if we ignore that fact and cling tight to the vestiges of the past," Hochul said. The bottom line: Both sides are keenly aware that a Democratic victory in 2026 would grind Trump's agenda to a halt and potentially lead to his third impeachment.
Newsweek
40 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Republican Says State's GDP Has Plunged 6% Due to Trade War—'Troubled Time'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Republican congressman has warned that tariffs are having an outsized impact on his state's economy. "We're now in a troubled time," Nebraska Representative Don Bacon told CNN on Monday. "And honestly, in Nebraska, the GDP here has decreased by 6 percent over the last year," he continued. "And it's all about trade. It's all about getting corn and soybeans out the door." Why It Matters Tariffs have not yet made successive dents in America's economic growth rate this year, with GDP rebounding strongly in the second quarter from an import-driven contraction in the first. Extra reprieve has been provided by the temporary scaling back of China's duties, and tariff-lowering trade deals being struck with a handful of nations. However, many economists still expect tariffs to create headwinds for the U.S. economy in the coming months, with certain states—those reliant on imports and vulnerable to any reciprocal actions—expected to feel an outsized impact. What To Know Bacon, a centrist member of the GOP and frequent critic of President Donald Trump's trade policies on both economic and constitutional grounds, appeared to be referencing first-quarter GDP growth figures, state estimates of which were released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in June. Alongside Iowa, Nebraska's 6.1 percent decline was the worst in the nation. This compared to a nationwide drop of 0.5 percent, with 39 states seeing contractions over the period. "What we're seeing is basically a recession economy in Nebraska and Iowa right now," Bacon said in a separate interview. Agriculture plays a central role in the economies of Nebraska and Iowa, which are among the leading national producers of corn, soybeans and wheat. Farmers and agricultural experts who spoke with Newsweek recently said that tariffs could further strain the sector's already narrow margins, both through the negative impact on commodity prices and potential retaliatory actions damaging their exports. GOP Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska at a press conference at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska on June 30, 2025. GOP Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska at a press conference at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska on June 30, 2025. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP U.S. GDP rebounded strongly in the second quarter, increasing at a better-than-expected annual rate of 3.0 percent according to last week's advanced estimates from the BEA. The bureau said this reflected a "downturn in imports and an acceleration in consumer spending." July 29 also saw the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgrade its global growth forecasts, owing to a weaker dollar, the extensions placed on tariff deadlines, and a general drop in the expected impacts of the "trade shock." The U.S. was among the countries to see an upgrade, its GDP growth forecasts for both 2025 and 2026 increasing by 0.1 percent. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump, reacting to last week's GDP growth estimates, said: "The number of 3 percent—the pace in the second quarter—we smashed all expectations. They thought it would be maybe a little bit less than 2, and it was 3, a little bit more than 3." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "Today, GDP growth came in above market expectations, and yesterday, consumer confidence rose. Americans trust in President Trump's America First economic agenda that continues to prove the so-called 'experts' wrong. President Trump has reduced America's reliance on foreign products, boosted investment in the U.S., and created thousands of jobs—delivering on his promise to Make America Wealthy Again." Thomas Sampson, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, told Newsweek that there exists "too much uncertainty over the future of U.S. trade policy" to make confidence predictions about GDP growth in the future. "But I do expect the tariff increases to act as a small drag on the U.S. economy," he added, "slightly reducing growth compared to what would have been achieved otherwise." Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, told Newsweek: "The second quarter GDP report has a great headline, but details were weaker. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers (Core GDP) grew at the weakest pace since the fourth quarter of 2022. Tariff uncertainty, a wait-and-see attitude among businesses, and sour consumer sentiment weighed on business and consumer spending in the second quarter. "Combining the volatile first and second quarters, real GDP grew a sluggish 1.2 percent annualized in the first half of 2025," he added. "This is a big slowdown from its 2.8 percent increase in 2024 and 2.9 percent increase in 2023." What Happens Next? The BEA will release another set of estimates for second-quarter GDP growth later this month, followed by final estimates and state-by-state data in September. Bacon announced in June he would not be seeking reelection in 2026.
Politico
40 minutes ago
- Politico
Black Hawk pilot launches challenge to battleground House Republican Nick LaLota
'My entire life's been kind of grounded in service,' Gallant told POLITICO in an interview. 'I've always placed the mission first throughout all of my careers, and I'm doing the same now. This is what I want to do to make Washington and government work again for the people.' He's got a rocky road ahead. Gallant, 36, will face a two-term House Republican who defeated his last Democratic opponent by more than 10 points. LaLota and his predecessor, Lee Zeldin, now the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, have held eastern Long Island for Republicans since 2014. LaLota had a $1.7 million campaign war chest at the end of June, according to his most recent federal filing. Democrats are hoping the path to winning control of the House in 2026 will run through New York's suburbs. They want to topple LaLota on Long Island and Rep. Mike Lawler in the Hudson Valley, though both are formidable incumbents. The party is also defending four districts held by Democrats, including Reps. Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi on Long Island. LaLota bested his 2024 Democratic challenger, former CNN host John Avlon, by attacking the Democratic Party at large as too woke and portraying Avlon as a wealthy outsider, tagging him in news releases with the label (D-Manhattan). Gallant, by contrast, describes himself as a 'blue-collar guy' born and raised in Suffolk County. Both he and LaLota live just outside of the boundary of the 1st Congressional District. But the Democrat's upbringing, he said, helps him understand first-hand the cost-of-living crisis facing many Americans. 'I came back from a deployment from '22 to '23,' Gallant said of his time in the Middle East. 'I went away and was able to fill a grocery cart for $150 and came back and can hardly fill a grocery bag for $150, so it's terrible.' LaLota is seeking a third term in a district that Cook Political Report does not yet include on its list of competitive races. Lawler's seat, in contrast, is ranked 'lean Republican.' The GOP incumbent is confident about his reelection prospects. The Navy veteran, who previously was chief of staff to the Suffolk County Legislature, like other blue-state Republicans, is touting a state and local tax deduction cap increase as a hard-fought victory this year.
