How much is Roger Stone worth?
| Net Worth: | $50 Thousand |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Political Consultant |
| Date of Birth: | August 27, 1952 (age 70) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.8 m) |
About Roger Stone
Roger Stone is a conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Yet he was most famous for being Donald Trump’s man on the hill and a significant force behind propelling the businessman into the United States Oval Office. He has worked as a paid consultant for many presidential candidates over the decades, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.
The right-wing consultant has been the subject of a Netflix original documentary, Get Me Roger Stone, and was recently sentenced to 40 months in prison after being found guilty of witness tampering, making false statements to congress, among five other counts. Fortunate for Roger… his buddy Donald pardoned him on December 23, 2020.
How did Roger Stone earn his net worth?
In 1980, Roger Stone teamed up with Charles Black and Paul Manafort to form the firm, Black, Manafort & Stone. As it happens, in 2018, Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts of tax and bank fraud. Back in the 80s and the 90s however, these guys were simply profiting off of their relationships formed on capitol hill. In fact, they were one of the first political consulting firms to work for Ronald Reagan’s presidential candidacy in 1980.
But putting presidents into office wasn’t really their line of work. In fact, in the early 1990s the firm received an estimated $3.3 million from their work with a number of dictators, according to “The Torturer’s Lobby”. The firm has represented, and lobbied the US Congress on behalf of Mohamed Siad Barre of Somalia, dictator Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, and Jonas Savimbi of Angola.
Which is incredible considering Amnesty International reported that 50,000 to 60,000 people were killed in what has been described as “state sponsored terrorism,” under Mohamed Siad Barre of Somalia’s rule. Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Sese Seko have likewise been accused of human rights violations.
Roger Stone earned a net worth that may have been as high as $4 million in the 1990s. However more recently Stone spent almost all of his wealth in legal fees fending off an indictment.
As of 2023, Roger Stone has maintained a net worth estimated to be $50 thousand.
Why is he so famous?
Stone has been a prominent figure in politics since the 70s and even pulling strings from the young age of 19, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that Stone became prolific and a big earner in political lobbying. Lobbying is described as the act of influencing the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials. Which I’m sure was right up Roger’s street.
In the 1980s, he co-founded Black, Manafort, and Stone with Paul Manafort and Charles R. Black Jr. The company became the biggest lobbying firm in the US. Relying on it’s high profile White House connections that Stone and associates regularly networked with, they brought in high paying clients, ranging from U.S. corporations and even foreign governments and dictators. The firm’s success continued in to the 1990s.
Stone’s profile grew exponentially through his role in Trump’s campaign to become president in 2016. After reports came in of Trump being sexist and misogynistic, it was allegedly Stone’s idea to go on the attack and accuse Bill Clinton of rape and Hilary Clinton of abusing the victims. His methods ultimately aided Trump’s entry in to the White House, which is something that Stone had wanted for a long time. In fact, it’s been claimed that it was Stone who triggered this butterfly effect, by putting the idea of becoming president in Donald’s head as far back as 1980.
In 2017, Stone’s infamy became a self fulfilling prophecy when the Netflix original, Get Me Roger Stone, was released. Stone has never cared much what people think about him, he actually has a somewhat refreshing attitude we feel. I don’t think he cares if people like him or hate him, he has a goal and applies the methods that he sees fit into accomplishing it.
We think he even gets thrills from being hated and that he is happy for liberals to document him, knowing that he would be painted in a bad light. In the documentary, Stone revealed his adoration of Alex Jones and proudly revealed a giant tattoo of Nixon’s face on his back.
Get Me Donald Trump
Roger Stone had apparently been grooming Donald Trump to run for the presidency for decades. Or he has at least been in the 45th President’s life for more than 30 years, according to The Atlantic. And although his pay for being Trump’s campaign advisor in 2016 was never disclosed; it’s estimated that Stone had already earned an estimated $5 million from his career.
Stone’s net worth isn’t all from his political career either, as the lobbyist has written several books that have sold insanely well. His best selling book of them all was 2013’s The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, which became a New York Times Bestseller. On top of that, Stone runs a website called Stone Cold Truth, and it sells merchandise relating to the political consultant, including posters, T-shirts, and strangely enough, signed rocks.
However as entrepreneurial as Roger Stone may be, I don’t think his merch is going to put a dent in the estimated $100,000 per month in legal fees he was paying through 2019 and 2020. It is speculated that Stone lost so much money mounting his legal defense, that he took to crowdfunding in at attempt to raise an estimated nearly $2 million. And although it failed to bring in the millions, it wasn’t a total failure netting a cool $100,000, according to CNBC.
During the last few years it’s speculated that Stone has lost almost every dime he has and was even forced to sell his luxury home in Fort Lauderdale (which can be seen in Get Me Roger Stone), leaving his family with an estimated just $50,000.
“Trysexual”?
Some of Stone’s other controversies include a scandal in the 90s in which he allegedly put out an advertisement for a man to join him and his wife in a threesome, though the lobbyist denies these allegations. However apparently Roger Stone has been quoted as saying that he is a “Trysexual”, according to BuzzFeed.
In 2018, Stone used the Proud Boys, which is a right-wing clan that encourages street violence, as security for several events and was seen drinking with several of them afterwards, at least according to Wikipedia. Most recently, Stone had been sentenced to 40 months after he was convicted on seven counts of felony. Lucky for him, Donald Trump pardoned him in 2020 just four days before he was due to start, according to CNBC.
What Made Him So Successful?
One of the reasons Stone has been successful is thanks to the way he commands the room and attacks his opponents. Most of Trump’s on stage persona seen today is supposedly based on what he learnt from Stone, with the way he refuses to answer questions, denies allegations thrown at him, and often blames other people for the same thing. According to Reuters, Stone has labeled himself a “dirty trickster” and “agent provocateur”, and the political fixer seems to take pride in being called such things.
A lot of Stone’s success also comes from his flamboyant personality and his idiosyncratic attitude. Stone stands out due to his somewhat odd appearance, he’s been described as a “dandy” who apparently boasts of having not bought off-the-rack since he was 17. He sometimes wears a diamond pinkie ring in the shape of a horseshoe, often in English tailoring, and has a large Richard Nixon tattoo on his back.
His loyalty to Richard Nixon, which borders on fanboy-ish, comes across in many ways too beyond body art. His office in Florida was known as the “Hall of Nixonia” due to all of the framed pictures, posters, and even fan art of the former president.
Overall, Stone has a charisma that even journalists literally fear, he has used his natural born talents to support candidates and lobby for various ends. And up until 2019, it seemed to be working out well for him.
Summing-Up
Stone might have spent more than three decades building a lobbying empire, as he networked with some of the most powerful people in the world, but his legacy seems to have taken a turn for the worse. On January 25, 2019, Stone was arrested and charged in an indictment with witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements. Although he was eventually pardoned by Donald Trump, it still cost him dearly.
In the peak of his career, Roger Stone had an estimated net worth of somewhere between $4 million $10 million. As of 2023, Roger Stone’s net worth is estimated to be just $50 thousand.
As mentioned though, fortunate for him Donald Trump went out on a limb and pardoned him. Or else he would be sitting in jail still, without a chance of channeling his entrepreneurial spirit and staging a Roger Stone comeback.
