How Did Al Gore Make His Money?

Al Gore began his political career in 1976 when Tennessee Rep. Joe. L Evins suddenly announced his retirement. At the time, Gore was pursuing a law degree at Vanderbilt University. He left school and narrowly won the seat by 3%. He served in the House of Representatives from 1978 to 1984. He then won a Senate seat that he held until 1993.

Gore unsuccessfully ran twice to become President. He finally entered the White House as Vice President to President Bill Clinton in 1993, remaining in the position for two terms.

He spent much of his time in the White House focused on economic issues and growing the technology industry, which helped lead to the dot com boom. He also contributed efforts to protecting the environment through education and worked with Congress to pass environmental regulations.

Gore ran for President in 2000, but he narrowly lost the race to George W. Bush after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Florida recount was unconstitutional.

Al Gore Post Vice Presidency

After Al Gore left the White House, he remained active in environmental advocacy. He wrote and co-wrote several books about environmentalism, including An Inconvenient Truth (2006), which was also released as a documentary.

The slide show he presents in the documentary helped position him as a winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Gore also became a prominent investment manager. Together with David Blood, he co-founded Generation Investment Management in 2004. Generation manages $31.1 billion.

Al Gore and Generation Investment Management

Generation Investment Management gave people a unique way to invest in environmentally friendly businesses. The company’s leaders believed they could earn significant returns by investing in sustainable businesses and mutual funds containing shares of sustainable businesses.

Gore and his co-managers also took a proactive approach to supporting sustainable businesses. They would search for companies they believed could do positive things for the world, socially and environmentally.

By supporting them, Generation Investment Management helped build brands that aligned with its ethics.

Al Gore Apple Board

Al Gore joined Apple’s board of directors in 2003 and remains one of only nine members overseeing the company.

The position pays about $377,000. Gore has also earned Apple stocks during his tenure.

At one point, he held 100,000 shares. He sold more than half of them in 2013. The shares were worth about $30 million in total.

How Much Is Al Gore Worth Now?

Some analysts tracking Al Gore’s career say that he has a net worth of about $300 million. About a third of that money comes from the sale of CurrenTV to Al Jazeera in 2012. Gore owned 20% of the media company, so he would have earned $100 million from the sale before taxes.

The reality is Al Gore’s net worth is likely considerably higher. With $32 billion under management at Generation, it’s quite likely Gore receives a generous cut of the annual fees as a co-founder. Even if fees were just 1%, the firm would enjoy revenues of $320 million annually, which means Al Gore may well earn close to $100 million annually.

Gore also makes money from writing books, making documentaries, and lecturing. The rest of his money comes from his role as an Apple board member and payments from Generation Investment Management.

How Did Al Gore Make His Money?

Al Gore was born into a financially stable family with powerful political connections. His father, Albert Gore, Sr., served Tennessee as a U.S. senator and representative. This likely helped position Al Gore for a prosperous career in politics and business.

The bulk of Gore’s fortune comes from making smart investments. Gore has largely bet on companies that value environmental and social justice ethics. For example, he likes to invest in corporations with strong DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.

Gore believes these businesses have an advantage over those that only care about profits. Today, ample evidence shows that companies with effective DEI initiatives tend to perform better than those without them.

Gore’s interest in environmental protection has also helped him invest in businesses that generate large returns. While it hasn’t always worked in his favor, most of the companies supported by Generation have delivered exceptional value.

Al Gore and David Blood: Friends and Business Partners

Al Gore and David Blood are long-time friends who decided to form — and rallied support for — Generation Investment Management.

Blood earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and served as the CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years before leaving to work with Gore.

David Blood also serves on the board of Dialight and On the Edge Conservation, which demonstrates his interest in environmental protection. He also serves as the chairperson of Social Finance UK and holds a co-chair position with the World Resources Institute.

Generation Investment Management Track Record

Overall, Generation Investment Management has a positive track record that shows investors can earn strong returns by putting their money into environmentally and socially responsible companies. The business’s 2023 Q1 investor letter shows that it hasn’t performed as well over the last year.

According to the investor letter, about 4% of the businesses Generation Investment Management bought underperformed. Typically, Generation has a 2.5% “mistake rate.” These observations show that Generation has made more mistakes within the last year than usual. The company has tried to remedy this by selling some of its biggest mistakes, including Alibaba and IndusInd Bank.

Generation also explains that supply chain disruptions interfered with its projections. Continued supply chain issues that started during the pandemic have made some companies less successful than expected. Investments that were once considered “truly excellent” have now fallen into the “very good” category.

Generation also says it has overpaid for some businesses in 2022.

In response, Generation Investment Management plans to keep a close eye on its portfolio and update its decision-making strategy. Hopefully, these adaptations will resolve recent problems and help Generation’s clients soon generate returns similar to those from a few years ago.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.