Replacing Jen Psaki in the hot seat, Karine Jean-Pierre is the latest White House Press Secretary. She has become a symbol of change as the first black and openly gay person to take up the role. Despite the milestone, she is inheriting a difficult situation with the US facing huge problems such as inflation and supply chain issues.
Previously she worked in several notable positions in the government and media. As of 2023, Karine Jean-Pierre has a net worth of $2 million and makes $180,000 per year.
Early Life
Karine was born on August 13, 1977 in the French region of Fort-de-France, Martinique. Her parents are of Haitian origin, and she was raised with two younger siblings.
At the age of five, her family moved to Queens Village, New York. There, Jean-Pierre’s father worked as a taxi driver, and her mother was employed as a home health aide.
In 1997, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the New York Institute of Technology. She then went to Columbia SIPA, and served in the student government. This was where she discovered her passion for politics.
Early Career
The French native was first hired by New York Councilor James Gennaro as the head of Legislative and Budget Affairs. She later joined Walmart Watch as an outreach coordinator in 2006.
In 2004, she was a Regional Political Director for John Edwards’ presidential campaign. She also held the same position when Barack Obama ran for office in 2008. During Obama’s first term, she was promoted to White House Office of Political Affairs’ Director.
Karine helped with Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. In 2016, she was chosen as spokesperson for MoveOn.org while assisting Martin O’Malley’s presidential campaign. She moderated a MoveOn forum featuring Kamala Harris and had to intervene physically to stop a protestor who jumped on stage.
Becoming White House Press Secretary
In 2019, Jean-Pierre joined NBC News and MSNBC as a political commentator. In the same year, she published her first book titled Moving Forward, which encouraged people to engage in politics.
In 2020, she was recruited as a Senior Adviser to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and was named Principal Deputy Press Secretary by the Biden-Harris transition team.
When Psaki announced her departure as Press Secretary, she was chosen as her replacement. With this, Karine Jean-Pierre became the 35th White House Press Secretary, the first black LGBTQ person to achieve such a feat.
Net Worth and Earnings
After working a considerable amount of time in government and media positions, it is safe to say that Jean-Pierre has built up a nice fortune. In her previous roles as Senior Adviser and Principal Deputy Press Secretary, she was paid $155,000 annually.
Now, she still has multiple income streams. First is her book sales, lecturing at Columbia University and as White House Press Secretary, where she earns $180,000 per year. This gives her an estimated net worth of $2 million.
Persona Life
Karine is in a relationship with a woman named Suzanne Malveaux. She is a prominent television news journalist on CNN. The power couple are currently raising their sweet daughter in Washington, D.C.
