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John Hickenlooper’s net worth is more of a mystery than other candidates. This is because he’s one of a few candidates who hasn’t shared his net worth ranges through financial disclosures yet. But here is what we do know about how much he’s worth so far.
Hickenlooper requested an extension request until August 15, 2019 before disclosing his net worth, Open Secrets shared. So while many other 2020 candidates have at least shared an estimated range of their net worth, Hickenlooper won’t be revealing his until mid-August.
The extension request was filed on June 24 for a 45-day additional extension for his financial disclosure report. It was granted through August 15. You can read the request here.
The rest of his net worth takes some piecing together. A 2010 Denver Post editorial estimated his net worth as being between $5 million and $10 million. That’s the closest estimate we have so far.
In fact, an editorial in 2010 bemoaned that candidates including Hickenlooper hadn’t released their tax returns. It did note that he was a “millionaire.” So it seems like the mystery surrounding his net worth has been in play for quite some time, even before his presidential run.
We do know a little more about his assets, however. In 2007, he sold his interest in seven restaurants for $5.8 million, the Center for Public Integrity shared.
So far, Hickenlooper has raised $3.13 million for the presidential race, according to OpenSecrets. Most of that (more than $2.6 million) is from large individual contributers. Then 14 percent is from small contributions of less than $200, totaling $464,468. Finally, he has $4,653 from PAC contributions.
Hickenlooper graduated from Wesleyan University and first worked as a field geologist for an oil company. He lost his job after a commodities crash, and then opened a brewery in Colorado, Business Insider reported. This success helped him later launch a successful bid to be mayor of Denver. He served as mayor for six years.
In 2008, Hickenlooper was considered to be the frontrunner for a U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Ken Salazar, but Michael Bennet was ultimately chosen for that seat. Then in 2010, Hickenlooper was considered a potential governor candidate in Colorado. But he said he wouldn’t challenge Salazar if he chose to run. Salazar later decided not to run and instead endorsed Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper was ultimately elected with 51 percent of the vote. He won again in a tight election in 2014.
Hickenlooper has been focused on balancing the budget while in office, Business Insider noted. He cut government spending to do so and ended many regulations that oversaw private businesses in the state.
He’s since become a strong proponent for marijuana legalization, noting that sales more than doubled from 2014 to 2018, reaching $141.3 million and providing a lot of revenue for the state. This falls in line well with his desire to save the state money and keep the budget balanced. It’s likely that he will take that same mindset and continue it if he won the presidency.