Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Aug. 6. Since then, we’ve fact-checked multiple online claims about Walz.
In mid-August, a meme posted on Facebook with over 17,000 shares claims Walz and his wife are worth $138 million. The meme also claims that Walz’s daughter, Hope, received $82,000 in student loan forgiveness.
“This is just shameful. It makes you wonder how a thing like this can even happen. It’s all explained in the comments,” the meme’s caption said.
But some people on social media questioned how a former school teacher could have a net worth of $138 million, while many others said the meme’s claims weren’t true.
VERIFY reader Sheila asked us to confirm whether Walz is actually worth $138 million.
THE QUESTION
Does Tim Walz have a net worth of $138 million?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, Tim Walz does not have a net worth of $138 million.
WHAT WE FOUND
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, do not have a net worth of $138 million, like a viral meme falsely claims. The Walz’s net worth is likely under $1 million, according to financial disclosure documents and the couple’s most recent tax return.
The meme was posted by a satirical Facebook page called “America - Love It Or Leave It.” The page’s intro section says that it is “a subsidiary of the America’s Last Line of Defense network of trollery.” It also says that “nothing on this page is real.” VERIFY has debunked other satirical claims from the America’s Last Line of Defense network in the past.
America - Love It Or Leave It acknowledged that the meme’s claim is false in a follow-up comment.
“It would appear that they’re lying about his net worth, which is estimated at a mere $330,000. I mean...come on. Are we ready to have a Vice President who lives just like the rest of us and understands the plight of the working middle class? What is this...China? So the evidence shows that the story isn’t true, which I can confirm because I just pulled it out of thin air,” wrote America - Love It Or Leave It.
VERIFY found that Walz and his wife have a net worth that’s somewhere between $112,003 to $330,000, according to a financial disclosure document filed in 2019 when he was a member of Congress, the couple’s 2023 tax return and a Wall Street Journal report.
Walz’s 2023 tax return shows he and his wife had a total income of nearly $299,000 that year, with $135,000 coming from pensions or annuities. A Wall Street Journal analysis estimated that the value of Walz’s four pensions and retirement benefits could add roughly $800,000 to the couple’s total net worth. However, Walz is not required to disclose assets, transactions or agreements associated with federal government retirement plans or benefits, according to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
Walz currently earns $127,629 a year as the governor of Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. The governor’s salary was increased to $149,550 by the state on July 1, 2024, but Walz chose to have his salary remain at $127,629, financial website Investopedia says.
Walz does not own a business, earn speaking fees or hold horse racing interests, according to a financial disclosure form filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board in late January. The form also shows that Walz doesn’t currently own a home.
In 2019, the Walz’s sold their home in Mankato, Minnesota, for $304,000 after they moved into the Minnesota governor’s residence in St. Paul. Walz and his family currently live in St. Paul’s Eastcliff mansion while the governor’s residence undergoes a $6 million renovation, according to local news outlets.
America - Love It Or Leave It also said it made up the claim that Walz’s daughter, Hope, received student loan forgiveness.
Hope Walz, 23, graduated from Montana State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a minor in women’s gender and sexuality studies, according to archives of her social media accounts. She is now a social worker in Montana, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota governor’s office told the Star Tribune newspaper.
VERIFY reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: No, Tim Walz no tiene un patrimonio total de 138 millones de dólares
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