With United States’ Vice President Kamala Harris on her way to creating history as she campaigns for the upcoming Presidential election, her husband Douglas Emhoff is also joining a list of unique firsts. Ahead of the D-day, let us look at the career and net worth of second gentleman Douglas Emhoff along with his earnings and personal life.
Before holding office as the first ever second gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff was a well-known attorney. His current role makes him the first Jewish spouse of a President or Vice President, and if the elections go in Harris’ favour, Emhoff shall become the first-ever first gentleman of the country.
Now, in the middle of all the campaigning and debates, Emhoff has been silently supporting his wife in every way — from participating in the Democratic National Convention Speech to travelling extensively to spread her cause. In between, he also shares candid moments about his relationship and marriage that show how authentic the couple is.
As the race to White House intensifies between current Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, we delve into Emhoff’s net worth, earnings, profession, and personal life details.
Decoding Douglas Emhoff’s net worth, earnings, assets and personal life
Douglas Emhoff’s profession and career
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Specialising in complex litigation and intellectual property law, Douglas Emhoff has amassed an enormous wealth from his distinguished legal career, adding to his net worth.
Emhoff started out with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman before moving to Bingham McCutchen. In the late 1990s, he joined Belin Rawlings & Badal. In 2000, Emhoff cofounded the firm Whitwell Jacoby Emhoff. The firm was later acquired by Venable.
Before becoming the second gentleman, Emhoff served as a managing director of Venable’s West Coast offices. In 2017, he left Venable but held a partnership stake and started at DLA Piper, earning quite lucratively — reportedly between USD 1-1.5 million per annum. He dealt with entertainment and intellectual property law, primarily in their California and Washington, D.C. offices.
What is Douglas Emhoff’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Douglas Emhoff currently has a net worth of around USD 8 million in 2024.
Besides being the second gentleman of the US, Emhoff made around USD 1 million annually as an entertainment lawyer. Tribune states that Emhoff and Harris’ combined net worth is around USD 13.8 million.
His earnings and investments
In 2020, Forbes estimated that since Harris and Emhoff married in 2014, “he has generated more than three-quarters of the couple’s combined USD 11.5 million in earnings.” For instance, in 2019, Harris released 15 years of her tax returns, which dated back to 2004. It was the year she became San Francisco’s district attorney and earned around USD 142,000, marking her first year in office, according to tax filings. Over the next six years, her wages steadily increased and reached USD 202,000 in 2010, when she was elected California’s attorney general. In her first year as the attorney general, in 2011, she made USD 159,000.
In 2014, Kamala Harris married Douglas Emhoff and their net worth saw a sharp rise. While she had a total earning of USD 1.7 million between 2004 and 2014, their combined earning stood at USD 11.5 million between then and 2019. “They’ve earned USD7.7 million since Harris became a senator,” states Forbes. The media house also estimated that in 2019, their combined fortune stood at USD 6 million.
Emhoff’s earnings also came from several smart investments in companies like Caterpillar, American Express, Home Depot, St. Jude Medical, Comcast, Dominion Resources, Monsanto and Medtronic. According to a 2024 ABC article, in 2015, before Harris ran for Senate, Emhoff sold most of these holdings. “From 2015 until 2019, Emhoff reported dozens of publicly traded investments known as “excepted investment funds,” according to annual reports filed by Harris when she was a senator,” the report stated.
Later in December 2020, right before Kamala Harris was elected Vice President in the Joe Biden administration, Emhoff announced he would leave his law firm. He joined Georgetown University as a faculty member and earned around USD 200,000 per annum.
The couple raked in a net worth of USD 8 million in 2023, a hike from USD 7 million in 2021.
Douglas Emhoff’s education, family and personal life
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The second gentleman of the USA, Douglas Emhoff was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1964 to Jewish parents Mike and Barbara. He has two siblings — Jamie and Andy. He was raised in Matawan, New Jersey before the family moved to Los Angeles, California when he was around 16. Douglas Emhoff earned a B.A. from California State University, Northridge and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
In 1992, Emhoff married film producer Kerstin Mackin but they called it quits in 2010. He has two children with her, Cole and Ella, who they continue to co-parent. Harris also shares a good equation with them who call her Momola.
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He met Kamala Harris over a blind date in 2013. Emhoff’s close friend, PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin set it up and the two clicked immediately. He texted her from an LA Lakers game and she replied “Go Lakers” despite being a Golden State Warriors fan. Perhaps that did the trick as they got married less than a year later in intimate ceremonies respecting his Jewish and her Indian heritage.
Douglas Emhoff: The first second gentleman of the USA
As the second gentleman of the country, Douglas Emhoff used his position to campaign for his wife’s presidential run against former President Donald Trump. He is a champion of women’s rights and women empowerment and has given speeches to make young boys look up to Harris as a strong woman president.
He also advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, gender equality, workplace equality, child care, equal pay and better reproductive health.
As a Jewish person, Emhoff is also involved in instilling religious harmony and honouring his culture — from celebrating Hanukkah in the White House to affixing Mezuzahs on the doorposts of the Vice President’s Residence. Emhoff also raises his voice against antisemitism and religious hatred.
Douglas Emhoff’s assets
Vice President Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff have tried to keep their financial disclosures as open as possible. In fact, when she released 15 years of her personal tax returns, it was the most of any 2020 presidential candidate.
According to ABC, Harris used to own a condo in Washington DC. She sold it in 2021 for USD 1.85 million. The couple currently owns a house in Brentwood, California. Emhoff bought it in 2012 for USD 2.7 million.
He prefers a quiet and private life but never misses an opportunity to share anecdotes of how he met Harris, glimpses of their dating days and even spends quality family time with his children. As the elections draw near, like the Vice President, the second gentleman, too, is travelling the lengths and breadths of the USA to campaign and invigorate the voters.
(Hero and featured image: Courtesy Doug Emhoff/ @douglasemhoff/ Instagram)
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Trinetra is an ardent foodie and bibliophile who writes about films, travel, food and lifestyle. As a writer and literature student, slam poetry and storytelling are her go to jam. When not working, Trinetra is busy looking for her next place to visit or binge-watching Instagram videos for travel inspiration.
