Dianne Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman in 1933. She died in 2023 after a long political career that included positions with the San Francisco and United States governments.
During her life, Feinstein was one of the country’s most prominent and influential politicians. Her political career began in San Francisco, where she served as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and, later, the city’s Mayor.
She was a highly influential voice within the Democratic Party. She contributed to several laws and policies that have helped shape American culture. For example, she contributed to the Federal Assault Weapons Ban legislation passed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Feinstein also supported abortion rights and called upon the Senate to pass laws protecting federal reproductive rights when the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, a decision many say continues to jeopardize bodily autonomy, religious freedom, and other personal liberties.
Dianne Feinstein Political Views
Feinstein publicly supported a public healthcare option that would have expanded healthcare access to all Americans. (However, she did not support a single-payer system because she worried it would give the government too much control over healthcare providers.)
Similarly, she supported the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and defended the law numerous times throughout her career. Other healthcare positions include supporting:
- Increased regulations that would treat tobacco products as drugs.
- Giving Medicare the power to negotiate prices for bulk prescriptions.
- Expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (she also voted to block President G. W. Bush’s veto that would have prevented the Senate from adding 2 to 4 million children to the program).
She opposed decriminalizing or legalizing cannabis throughout most of her career. In fact, she was the only Democrat in 2015 to vote against legislation that would have limited the influence of federal cannabis laws in states that had legalized medical marijuana.
Her rationale was that cannabis is a gateway drug that leads to hard drug use. She did, however, vote in later years to let veterans use medical cannabis in states that had legalized marijuana.
Dianne Feinstein’s Net Worth
Most of Dianne Feinstein’s wealth comes from her marriage to Richard Blum, who founded Blum Capital in 1975. They likely had a net worth close to $100 million at the time of her death.
Some people criticized Feinstein for her husband’s business dealings. For example, he had connections to the People’s Republic of China. Blum’s businesses also benefited from U.S. government contracts. The couple insists that Feinstein’s influence played no role in securing these contracts.
Blum also benefitted financially from owning a 75% stake in Tutor Perini Corporation, a company that won several military contracts to support the U.S. government’s occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Feinstein voted in favor of the Iraq War in 2002. She even voted to extend the Patriot Act in 2012, which gave the NSA power to continue conducting mass surveillance that could target American citizens.
Feinstein and Blum were criticized in 2009 when Feinstein wrote legislation that gave the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation $25 billion.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Agency had previously given several grants to CB Richard Ellis, a real estate business owned by Blum. Some saw this as an attempt for Feinstein to “thank” the agency for assisting her husband’s business. The $25 billion was all tax-payer money.
Who Is the Wealthiest Senator?
Senator Feinstein was one of the top 10 wealthiest senators when she died, but she wasn’t nearly as wealthy as Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott.
Senator Scott’s estimated net worth comes to at least $300 million. He earned much of that money by creating Columbia Hospital Corporation, one of the country’s largest hospital networks.
Senator Feinstein was worth about $88 million in 2022.
Other extremely wealthy senators include:
- Sen. Mark Warner (D – Virginia): $215 million
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R – Utah): $175 million
- Sen. Mike Braun (R – Indiana): $137 million
- Sen. Ron Johnson (R – Wisconsin): $78 million
- Sen. John Hoeven (R – North Dakota): $47 million
- Sen. James E. Risch (R – Idaho): $42 million
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R – Kentucky): $34 million
Was Dianne Feinstein Married?
Dianne Feinstein was married three times. First, she married Jack Burman, who worked in the city’s District Attorney’s office. They had one daughter together and divorced after a three-year relationship.
Feinstein’s second husband was neurosurgeon Bertrand Feinstein, whom she married in 1962. He passed away in 1978.
In 1980, Feinstein married Richard C. Blum, an investment banker. They remained together until his death in 2022.
Was Dianne Feinstein Ever a Mayor?
Dianne Feinstein served as San Francisco’s 38th mayor from November 27, 1978 to January 8, 1988.
She had previously run for the office twice but had unsuccessful campaigns. She became acting mayor in 1978 after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone, who had defeated her in an earlier campaign for the office.
Moscone, along with Supervisor Harvey Milk, was assassinated by former-supervisor Dan White, who was convicted of manslaughter and only served five years in prison for his crime.
Feinstein had a mixed reputation among San Franciscans but managed to hold the mayor’s office for about a decade.
She successfully sought federal financial assistance to rebuild San Francisco’s failing trolly system. She also changed city policies to allow more high-rise buildings, potentially leading to San Francisco’s eventual role as a business and tech hub.
However, she also angered many San Francisco residents by vetoing legislation that would have extended the benefits of city employees to their domestic partners.
How Long Is a Senate Term?
U.S. Senate terms last six years. Dianne Feinstein assumed her Senate seat in 1992 and remained in the position until her death in 2023, so she spent about 30 years in office.
She announced in early 2023 that she wouldn’t run for reelection in the 2024 election.
During Feinstein’s time in the Senate, she served as:
- Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee (2009 to 2015)
- Chair of the Senate Narcotics Caucus (2009 to 2015)
- Chair of the Senate Rules Committee (2007 to 2009)
These appointments gave her considerable influence over the Senate’s activities and policies.
How Old Was Dianne Feinstein When She Died?
Dianne Feinstein lived to be 90 years old. She was born on June 22, 1933 and passed away on September 29, 2023.
Did Dianne Feinstein Have Children?
Dianne Feinstein had one child, Katherine, with her first husband, Judge Jack K. Berman.
Katherine Feinstein served as the Presiding Judge of the San Francisco County Supreme Court from 2010 to 2012.
She has also served on the Medical Board of California and as president of the San Francisco Fire Commission.
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