Here’s How Much Andrew Cuomo Is Worth

Forbes

The former New York governor’s political star soared, collapsed and now may rise again. His finances, though, have been on a steady upward trajectory, thanks to a book deal and a nuclear startup.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylemullins/2025/06/23/heres-how-much-andrew-cuomo-is-worth/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, here's how much Andrew Cuomo is worth.

00:05In 2017, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a program that would provide tuition-free college

00:11at New York's public universities for families making under $125,000 per year.

00:17In a speech hailing the legislation, he tied its support for middle-class families to his own life story.

00:24He told the crowd, quote,

00:25When you grow up in Queens, you grow up middle class. You grow up part of a working family.

00:30We're not rich in Queens, but that's okay.

00:33At the time, the former cabinet secretary, New York attorney general, and son of a former New York governor

00:39had already departed the middle class.

00:42Most of his money, per his financial disclosures filed at the time,

00:45sat in a blind trust with between $1.75 and $2 million in it.

00:50A healthy sum, though not shocking for a 59-year-old lawyer at the head of the fourth-largest state in the country.

00:57Today, Forbes estimates Cuomo is worth about $10 million, a roughly five-fold gain in less than a decade.

01:05Not bad for a politician who resigned in scandal just under four years ago.

01:09During the height of his pandemic popularity, he signed a $5.2 million book deal,

01:14much of which he got up front. An incredible sum for a governor.

01:18Out of office, he returned to a private and lucrative legal practice in 2022.

01:24Then, two years later, Cuomo, who shut down one of New York's nuclear power plants as governor,

01:30joined the advisory board of a nuclear company,

01:32earning him stock options worth over $4 million as of last Friday's market close.

01:38Unlike most politicians Forbes tracks, Cuomo owns no real estate,

01:42meaning he's missed out on the strong property market of the last decade.

01:45Instead, he forks over $8,000 monthly to rent a two-bedroom apartment in midtown Manhattan.

01:52Today, Cuomo is attempting a political comeback by running for mayor of New York City

01:57and competing in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 24.

02:00The likely frontrunner has been ahead in the polls,

02:03but is facing a strong challenge from state assembly member Zoran Mamdani,

02:07though Cuomo may run on a different party's line if he loses,

02:10setting up a four-way mayoral race alongside the incumbent Eric Adams

02:14and whoever the Democrats and Republicans nominate.

02:18Deep-pocketed billionaire donors have lined up to back him,

02:21including over $8 million from former mayor Michael Bloomberg

02:24and $500,000 from hedge funder Bill Ackman.

02:28Cuomo was born in Queens in 1957.

02:32Around the time he graduated high school,

02:33his father, Mario, entered politics and became governor in 1982.

02:37Andrew Cuomo spent a year as a gubernatorial aide taking a $1 annual salary.

02:44Then he pivoted to his own legal career.

02:46He also founded a non-profit called Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged,

02:50or HELP, to support homeless people on the side.

02:54In 1991, Cuomo headed up the city's Commission on the Homeless.

02:57That experience catapulted him into the federal government.

03:01President Clinton elevated him to Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary in 1997,

03:05giving Cuomo a $150,000 salary and control of a $26 billion budget by the end of his term.

03:13In the early 2000s, Cuomo retreated to private practice for several years,

03:18making big bucks, reportedly $289,000 in 2003 and $819,000 in 2005,

03:25while he worked at a real estate company.

03:27He also wrote his first book, Crossroads, The Future of American Politics, in 2003.

03:34It flopped, selling just 161 print copies,

03:37according to data from Serkana BookScan, an industry data service.

03:41He ran for attorney general in 2006,

03:44using that post as a stepping stone to run for governor in 2010.

03:48He won, earning him a raise from $152,000 to $179,000.

03:53In 2012, the earliest year for which disclosures are available,

03:59his only major asset other than his federal pension was his blind trust,

04:03with a value between $1.75 and $2 million.

04:06It stayed that way even as he wrote his second book,

04:09which earned him several hundred thousand dollars from advances in royalties in 2013, 2014, and 2016.

04:16All Things Possible sold about 4,100 print copies, according to Serkana.

04:21In 2019, as he kicked off his third term as governor,

04:25he got a raise to $200,000.

04:28Cuomo's wealth jumped far more than that.

04:31His blind trust was worth $4.75 million to $5 million at the end of the year,

04:36though it's not entirely clear where he got the money.

04:39In July 2020, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic,

04:43he signed a $5.2 million book deal,

04:46coming out the winner in a bidding war between publishing companies.

04:48He published his third book, American Crisis,

04:52Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, in October that year.

04:56By the end of 2020, his blind trust sat at between $7.5 and $7.75 million.

05:04For full coverage, check out Kyle Kahn Mullins' piece on Forbes.com.

05:10This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:12Thanks for tuning in.

05:18You...

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