Timothy Eugene Scott is a South Carolina Republican politician and businessman with a net worth of just over a million dollars, according to Forbes.
He currently serves as a US Senator and is also running for president. Scott has made a name for himself in both politics and business and he is well known in the politics of South Carolina, where he served in various positions.
He was selected for the position of United States senator from South Carolina in 2013, won the special election in 2014, and was reelected in 2016. This made him the first African-American senator from South Carolina since Reconstruction, and the seventh African-American to serve in the U.S. Senate.
As a senator, he is fondly remembered for his role in the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which aimed to spur economic growth and reduce tax burdens for businesses and individuals. Born on September 19, 1965, in North Charleston, South Carolina, Scott was raised by a single mother in a low-income household. He did not allow his difficult background to affect his aspiration, politically or business-wise.
“Growing up in a single-parent home left me a bit disillusioned about life. My parents divorced when I was around the age of 7. By the time I entered high school, I was completely off track. My mother was working hard, trying to help me to realize that there was a brighter future, but I really couldn’t see it,” Scott wrote.
Education was important in his family, which made Scott embrace it. He went to R.B. Stall High School and continued to Presbyterian College in 1988, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science.
As a teen, Scott worked part-time at a movie theater and ordered fries and water every day from a nearby Chick-fil-A. The owner of Chick-fil-A, John Moniz, eventually took an interest in him and catered for his education. He also influenced Scott’s conservative ideas.
After college, Scott became a successful insurance salesman, and subsequently an owner of an insurance business, before venturing into politics. Moniz tragically died when Scott was only 17, however, he credits his one-time mentor for how far he has come as a businessman and a politician.
Scott’s breakthrough came when he won election to the U.S. House, guaranteeing him a $174,000 annual salary. The salary was nearly triple the $60,000 he had paid himself as the owner of an insurance business, according to Forbes.
After assuming office in 2011, he the US Presidential hopeful sold his firm for more than $500,000. Prior to that, he was writing books and authored alongside former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, and eventually earned more than $700,000 as an author between 2017 and 2022, the magazine added.
With his net worth, Scott owns completely or partially five properties, including one in D.C. and four in the Palmetto State. Forbes added that real estate accounts for the majority of his net worth. What is more, he also holds a federal pension that’s worth an estimated $265,000 after 12 years on Capitol Hill.
His other portfolio includes a collection of equity holdings, including shares in blue-chip names like Apple, Boeing, Coca-Cola, and Target.
