Pete Hegseth was sworn in as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense in January 2025. A military veteran with combat experience, he is tasked with overseeing the military, maintaining national security, and advising President Trump on military and national security issues.
As Defense Secretary, Hegseth is sixth in line to succeed the president, just behind Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Yet, he’s stepping down from his duties as a contributor to Fox News, and will take what appears to be a very large pay cut.
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Here’s how much Hegseth is worth and how he made his money.
Pete Hegseth raked in millions of dollars giving speeches and as a Fox TV host. As Defense Secretary, he’s taken a steep pay cut.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
What is Pete Hegseth’s net worth?
Hegseth has a net worth of about a million dollars or so, based on a financial disclosure report to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in an August 2024 filing.
His assets included exchange-traded funds valued at between around $380,000 and $850,000.
Related: Donald Trump’s net worth a month into his second term
Assets of his third wife Jennifer Rauchet, a producer at Fox News, were included in the disclosure, and hers are greater. Rauchet’s assets amounted to between around $905,000 and $2.3 million and included mutual funds and individual stocks such as Alphabet (GOOGL) , Blackstone (BX) , and Oracle (ORCL) .
The couple has cash savings of between around $69,000 and $180,000, and up to $50,000 in Bitcoin.
Together, Hegseth and Rauchert have a combined net worth of around $3 million to $4 million, which is in line with Forbes’ estimate of $3 million.
Hegseth and his wife share a 77-acre home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, that Forbes estimated was worth about $3.2 million. The financial disclosure showed that they held a 20-year mortgage of between $1,000,001 and $5 million with a 5.8% rate. Forbes reported that the home was purchased for a little over $3.4 million a few years ago, and the couple is now paying over $19,000 per month on the $2.5 million remaining mortgage.
The financial report showed that Hegseth earned $4.6 million as a TV host with Fox News Network from January 2022 to November 2024, indicating that he was taking in $2.4 million a year. He also reported $900,000 in income for speaking engagements in 2023 and 2024, and royalties of between $100,001 and $1 million from his 2022 book “Battle for the American Mind.”
Related: Marco Rubio’s net worth: From Florida legislator to secretary of state
What is Hegseth’s salary as Secretary of Defense?
As Defense Secretary, Hegseth makes $250,600 a year — about a tenth of his salary as a co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend.
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Peter Brian Hegseth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 6, 1980. He grew up in nearby Forest Lake. His father Brian Hegseth grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota.
Education and military career
Hegseth graduated from Forest Lake Area High School, where he played football and basketball and was its valedictorian in 1999.
Hegseth went on to Princeton University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in politics in 2003. At the Ivy League school, he was a vocal publisher of The Princeton Tory, a conservative publication. He was also a player on the varsity basketball team and was active in the school’s ROTC program.
After Princeton, Hegseth received a commission as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard. He joined the investment bank Bear Stearns as an analyst, but four months into his job, he was deployed to Iraq. His other active-duty deployments were in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and Hegseth served in different staff positions in the National Guard.
According to his Defense Department biography, Hegseth’s military awards include two Bronze Star Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
In 2013, he graduated with a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
More on net worth:
JD Vance’s net worth: From venture capital to senator to VPMarco Rubio’s net worth: From Florida legislator to secretary of stateScott Bessent’s net worth: From hedge fund chief to US Treasury Secretary
Hegseth’s post-military career
After his graduate studies, Hegseth became a Fox News contributor and authored five books. His first was “In the Arena,” which covered leadership and was published in 2016.
His latest, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published in 2024, focuses on issues that undermine the strength of the U.S. military.
Related: Scott Bessent’s net worth: The new Treasury Secretary’s wealth in 2025
How does Pete Hegseth spend his money?
Hegseth isn’t known to spend on expensive items.
Hegseth has a large blended family that he supports. He and his third wife Jennifer Rauchet have a daughter together, and he is stepfather to her three other children. Hegseth also has three children from his second marriage.
Hegseth’s home and real estate
Aside from the Tennessee home, Hegseth has a rental house in Baltimore, Maryland, which his financial disclosure showed contributed as much as $1 million in income, but he put the value of that home at zero or less than $1,000. A listing in his financial disclosure put a mortgage on investment/rental property at between $100,001 and $250,000.
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