Ever since the United States waived its flag of inclusivity, we’ve seen more incumbent officials taking positions of power. Sonia Sotomayor is one of the most experienced associate justices of the Supreme Court in America.
It just so happens that she’s also Hispanic and the third female associate judge in history to take up the role. With great power comes better payouts and, of course, responsibility. With that in mind, here’s Sonia Sotomayor’s net worth, education, husband, and facts bundled up in one.
Who Is Sonia Sotomayor?
Since August 2009, Sonia Sotomayor has been the incumbent associate judge at the United States Supreme Court. She assumed power after former President Barack Obama nominated her for the position, one that she’s held for over four terms, under three presidents and counting. Sotomayor took over from retired associate justice David Souter who had served for almost two decades.
Husband
Sonia Sotomayor has only been married to one guy named Kevin Noonan. Their lives intertwined back in law school and culminated into a love so deep that it led to the altar at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. The only downside of their marriage was that they rushed into the whole thing, which led up to their divorce seven years later, in 1983.
While in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the associate justice went candid about her reasons for divorce falling on both parties. She was too engrossed with the work that she neglected him. At the same time, Noonan had insecurities about Sonia being more successful than him.
As it turns out, his fears came to pass when he ended up as a biologist and patent lawyer while she made waves in the government judicial system. Nonetheless, there were no hard feelings harbored between the former couple as both remained friends, even post-divorce.
Children
Aside from feelings, the other thing that was also missing from their seven-year marriage was having kids. The couple was too busy focusing on their individual careers that starting a family looked like the sort of thing that would derail them from their goals.
Shortly after the divorce, Sotomayor took some time off the dating scene to recuperate. However, love found her again, except only this time to a New York construction contractor named Peter White. They went as far as getting engaged in 1997, but nothing came out of it. Sadly, the relationship also ended in 2000 when the couple split. Like her ex-husband, she also didn’t start a family and kids with him.
Education
Sonia Sotomayor’s most significant motivation for quality education was the lack of in her parents’ part. Raised as a catholic by her single mother and grandmother, she attended Blessed Sacrament School in Soundview before joining the Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.
Upon graduation as a valedictorian in 1972, the hardworking young girl received a fully paid scholarship to attend a college of her choice. After a long debate on what to apply for, she settled on Princeton University for her start in law. By 1976, Sonia had graduated with a Summa cum laude before proceeding to Yale Law School. While here, she got her Juris Doctorate degree in 1979 before jumping to the job scene.
Net worth and Salary
The U.S. Supreme Court has been regarded as a millionaire’s club with six out of its nine justices with seven figures of net worth. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise to find Sonia Sotomayor’s net worth on this list as well. The figure is a good match, judging from the success stemming from decades worth of sacrifice to her law career.
Before Sonia became a Supreme Court justice, she worked as a judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the second circuit. Going further back, she served as the federal district judge for the Southern District of New York after receiving a nomination by President George W. Bush in 1991. As such, Sonia Sotomayor’s net worth tally’s to approximately $6 million with a reported annual salary of about $200K.
Away from her legal career, Sonia Sotomayor’s net worth also stems from her work as a senior lecturer at NYU and Columbia Law schools. The jurist also served as a board member of directors for the Puerto Rico Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Political Party
One of the biggest plays in the Democratic win during the Obama was identity politics. He identified a Latina woman with rich experience and nominated her as an associate justice of the supreme court. Similarly, he’s not the only president to nominate her for a role in the justice system.
Former American presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also nominated her for other similar roles in the legal department. To add on, Sotomayor is also very vocal about her democratic view on issues of race, gender, and ethnic identity.
Family
Sonia’s upbringing wasn’t the best as she’d hoped for. Her father, Juan Sotomayor, lived hand to mouth from his third-grade education and was a raging alcoholic. On the other hand, during World War II, Celina Baez worked as a telephone operator and practical nurse. When he died at age 42 from heart problems, he raised both Sonia and her younger brother Juan who grew up to become a physician and professor.
Ethnicity
Sonia Sotomayor is Hispanic, with her family roots tied to Puerto Rico.
Religion
According to the demographics of the Supreme Court, Sotomayor is one of six Catholics to be appointed in recent years.
Dead or Alive?
The highly influential justice is very much alive to preside and pass her ruling on high-profile cases. She was, however, diagnosed with diabetes from an early age, hence the origin of her death rumors. Similarly, the same gunman that shot dead Judge Esther Salsa’s husband and son.
Age and Birthdate
On June 25th, 1954, the Jurist was born in New York City, which makes her current age 66 years old.
Facts
- Sonia swore in Kamala Harris on January 3rd, 2021, as the first female, black-Asian-American Vice President in the History of the US.
- Her autobiography, My Beloved World, is one of New York’s Best Sellers. Similarly, Sonia has also published articles, forwards, speeches, and her 2018 novel, Turning Pages: My life Story.
- With Spanish as her first language, the Supreme Court Jurist didn’t perfect her English up until her time in Princeton.
- Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes and managed it by taking daily insulin injections.