Nikki Haley Net Worth 2024: Making $10 Million in Consulting, Politics, Books & More

Nikki Haley is a prolific American consultant, politician, and author who grew to prominence as the 116th governor of South Carolina before becoming world famous for his candidacy in the 2024 GOP presidential primary campaign.

As of 2024, Nikki Haley’s net worth is estimated at $10 million, a significant rise from the $1 million she had a few years back.

Haley served fourteen years in public office, deciding that the next move for her was to aim for the presidential position (if she ever thought she could win).

On March 3, 2024, she became the first woman to win a Republican Party presidential primary contest.

Even though Nikki Haley withdrew from the race after a series of embarrassing election results, her story is both unique and inspiring.

Nikki Haley’s Net Worth Breakdown:

When prominent figures in politics submit their candidacy for major roles such as senator or president, they are obliged to disclose details on their net worth.

However, these forms are often imprecise, providing the public with broad ranges.

For instance: Haley’s disclosure form reported her book royalties as being between $100,000 and $1 million, a massive margin.

Nonetheless, through diligent research, we’ve compiled extensive data on Haley’s net worth and its components. Over the recent years, the American politician has significantly boosted her fortune – by millions. Here’s how her net worth breaks down:

5 Interesting Facts about Nikki Haley

1. First Female Governor of South Carolina: Nikki Haley made history as the first woman and first person of Indian descent to serve as the Governor of South Carolina, a position she held from 2011 to 2017.
2. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Haley was appointed by Donald Trump to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018, where she was known for her staunch defense of Israel and her critiques of international human rights organizations.
3. First Indian-American Woman to Run for President: In 2023, Nikki Haley launched her presidential campaign, becoming the first Indian-American woman to run for the Republican nomination.
4. Successful Author: Haley has written several books, including the best-sellers “With All Due Respect” and “If You Want Something Done,” earning significant royalties that contributed to her growing net worth.
5. Strong Advocate for Business and Economic Growth: During her time as governor, Haley worked to bring large corporations, such as Boeing, to South Carolina, which created thousands of jobs and boosted the state’s economy.

Latest News & Controversies

• Endorsement of Donald Trump: After suspending her 2024 presidential campaign, Nikki Haley endorsed Donald Trump in May 2024. However, her relationship with Trump has remained somewhat tense. Despite her endorsement, Haley has publicly mentioned she has not forgotten some of Trump’s past personal attacks on her during the primary, which still strains their political ties.
• Potential Re-engagement with Trump’s Campaign: There have been recent speculations about Haley rejoining Trump’s campaign efforts in a formal role. Trump’s team has reportedly been reaching out to Haley, hoping to utilize her appeal, particularly to women voters, in battleground states. Haley has stated that she’s willing to assist if needed, which could mark a notable political reunion.
• Support for Kamala Harris among Haley’s Former Supporters: Interestingly, some of Haley’s former supporters have shifted their backing to Vice President Kamala Harris after Haley’s exit from the GOP primary, potentially impacting the 2024 election dynamics. This suggests a divide among her voter base, particularly those who are critical of Trump.
• Intrigue with the Trump Family: A recent social media interaction between Nikki Haley and Ivanka Trump has fueled speculation that Haley may be mending her relationship with the Trump family. Haley’s like on Ivanka Trump’s Instagram post was seen as a possible sign of improving relations between Haley and the Trump camp, with some speculating that she could play a larger role in the 2024 presidential campaign efforts.

Early Life, Education, and Family

Nimarata Nikki Randhawa was born in Bamberg, South Carolina on January 20, 1972.

Her parents are immigrant Sikhs originating from Amritsar, Punjab, in India.

Her father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, worked as a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, while the mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa, was a lawyer who graduated from the University of Delhi.

In 1984, Nikki Haley’s father received a scholarship from the University of British Columbia, so he and his wife immigrated from India to Canada for him to pursue higher education.

When he received his PhD from the university in 1969, the family moved once again, this time to South Carolina in the United States, where Ajit taught biology at Voorhees College.

Nearly three years later, the family expanded to include their daughter Nimarata, who would later become the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Haley has a sister and two brothers. As a child, she attended Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, from which she graduated in 1989. She later enrolled at Clemson University, where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and finance in 1994.

Both of Haley’s parents were educators.

Her father was a professor until 1998 when he retired, while her mother Raj taught for seven years in different public schools in Bamberg, followed by her venture in entrepreneurship when she opened a clothing boutique called Exotica International in West Columbia.

Raj Randhawa started her business, Exotica International Inc., in 1976. Her beginnings were modest, having started with a gift boutique housing a small selection from different countries.

2In 1980, the store expanded to Orangeburg and started selling apparel, followed by the expansion to Columbia in a 10,000-square-foot facility on Highway 378.

By 1993, the family expanded their business by opening a male Exotica store called The Gentlemen’s Quarters. Only twelve years old at the time, Nimarata Randhawa was helping out her mother in the popular clothing store, doing some bookkeeping for them.

The family’s clothing business thrived for over three decades before the mother decided to retire and closed both stores in 2008.

Nikki Haley’s family came to the United States in search of opportunities, but they didn’t struggle in their native India. The family’s clothing business propelled them to a higher status in society, earning quite a lot in the three decades it operated.

The profits from the business allowed the Randhawas to acquire a $1.15 million home on Lake Murray, followed by a hefty purchase of a Lexington strip mall, for which they paid $1.3 million.

Nikki Haley’s Family

In 1996, Nikki Haley married Michael Haley, celebrating in Methodist and Sikh ceremonies. Today, the couple has two children, Rena and Nalin.

A year after the wedding, Nikki Haley converted to Christianity, though she still attends Sikh services on occasion.

Nikki Haley Net Worth: From CFO to Politics and Consulting

Even though her family was wealthy at this point, Haley had modest earnings as a young adult. She initially worked for a waste management company called FCR Corporation.

Upon her graduation in 1994, Haley rejoined the family business, where she served as the chief financial officer and the bookkeeper.

Early Career

After her marriage to Michael Haley in 1996, Nikki Haley became actively involved in civic affairs. Two years later, the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce named her to the board of directors.

By 2003, she was named to another board of directors, the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. That same year, she also became treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners, obtaining the position of president of the organization a year later.

Even at this point, it was evident that Nikki Haley was destined for a strong career. She chaired the 2006 Friends of Scouting Leadership Division Campaign and chaired the Lexington Gala to raise funds for a hospital. Not only that, but she was a member of several other boards including:

• Lexington Medical Foundation
• West Metro Republican Women
• Lexington County Sheriff’s Foundation

Haley Runs for the South Carolina House of Representatives

In 2004, Nikki Haley ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives in the Republican primary, to represent District 87 in Lexington County.

She initially ran thinking that Larry Koon was not going to seek reelection. However, Koon reentered the race later on and she decided to challenge him.

This turned out to be a monumental decision for her career since Haley defeated Koon 55-45 percent in the runoff and ran unopposed in the general election, becoming the first Indian-American to hold office in South Carolina.

Reportedly, the legislative job was paying $22,000 a month.

In 2006, Haley was unopposed for re-election to her second term in office and, in 2008, she once again won with 83% of the vote, beating Democrat Edgar Gomez to the position.

While serving in her position in the South Carolina House of Representatives, Nikki Haley also worked at the Lexington Medical Center, holding a fundraising position that paid her $110,000 a year.

She also reportedly worked with Wilbur Smith Associates, a mass transit consulting firm, though her earnings from the position remain undisclosed.

Haley Runs for Governor of South Carolina

In May 2009, Nikki Haley announced that she was running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina in the upcoming election.

She did so with the support of Mark Sanford, a fellow Republican, and the endorsement by Jenny Sanford, the first lady of South Carolina, and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney.

Three weeks before the primary, she also received a major endorsement from Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor.

The gubernatorial primary took place in June 2010 and ended with Haley receiving 49% of the vote, which forced another runoff election that same month. Haley won the runoff with a whopping 30% margin of victory.

When she defeated the Democratic candidate Vincent Sheheen (as expected), she was elected governor on November 2, 2010. This made Haley the third non-white American to hold the position of governor of a Southern state.

Following her first successful term, Haley served a second term as a governor, challenged in the Republican primary by Tom Ervin. She defeated Vincent Sheheen of the Democratic Party on November 4, 2014, being re-elected as governor.

Haley served as governor until January 2017, when she resigned from her position to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations. Her second term was set to expire on January 9, 2019.

“As a businessman, I expect you will appreciate my sense that returning from government to the private sector is not a step-down but a step up.” – she wrote in her resignation letter about her decision to once again return to the private sector.

United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley

On November 23, 2016, then-president-elect Donald Trump announced that he planned to nominate Haley for ambassador to the United Nations.

When he took office in January of the following year, he sent the nomination to the United States Senate. Two days later, she was confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations, making her the first Indian-American to become a cabinet official.

Subsequently, Nikki Haley resigned as governor of South Carolina with Henry McMaster taking her spot.

She was sworn in on January 25, 2017, by Vice President Mike Pence, replacing Samantha Power as ambassador to the United Nations.

As a United States ambassador, Haley was most notable for her extreme advocacy for Israel, as well as her strong defense of the withdrawal of the US from the Iran nuclear deal, orchestrated by the Trump administration.

She also withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

On October 9, 2018, Nikki Haley resigned as the UN ambassador, effective December 31 of the same year.

Her resignation came through exactly a day after Donald Trump mocked Christine Blasey Ford, who accused his Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, at a political rally in Mississippi.

She reportedly shared her plans with him months before, and Trump even raised the possibility that she might rejoin the Trump administration in a different capacity later on.

Interestingly enough, she would later turn on Trump to become the GOP candidate in the 2024 election.

The Former Governor and Ambassador Aims for the Presidential Seat

In February 2023, Nikki Haley announced her campaign for President of the United States, running against her former friend, Donald Trump.

She hinted at a potential run for the election during the Christians United for Israel summit, which took place in July 2022 in Washington DC Her formal announcement of the presidential candidacy was on February 14, 2023, when she became the second major candidate to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

As we mentioned, when he was elected president in 2016, Trump nominated Haley to the post of United Nations ambassador. She remained supportive of the Trump administration long after, saying that she ‘is not going to apologize’ for working with Trump.

However, in an interview in 2021 when Trump’s impeachment trial was underway, Haley shared the following:

“We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”

Following the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump and Nikki Haley were the only remaining Republican candidates in the primaries. She campaigned against him for nearly two months and defeated Trump in the Vermont and District of Columbia primaries.

However, after Trump defeated Haley in Super Tuesday contests in 14 different states, Haley suspended her presidential campaign on March 6, 2024.

Other dropouts from the 2024 presidential election are:

• Dean Phillips, the US representative, dropped out in March 2024
• Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, dropped out in January 2024
• Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, dropped out in January 2024
• Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, dropped out in January 2024 (you can see his net worth here)
• Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, dropped out in January 2024
• Tim Scott, US senator from South Carolina, dropped out in November 2023 (you can see his net worth here)
• Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, dropped out in December 2023 (you can see his net worth here)
• Mike Pence, former vice president of the United States, dropped out in October 2023
• Larry Elder, radio host, dropped out in October 2023
• Perry Johnson, businessman, dropped out in October 2023
• Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami, dropped out in August 2023
• Will Hurd, the former US representative from Texas’ 23rd district, dropped out in October 2023

The remaining candidates are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden.

Nikki Haley Net Worth: Other Businesses, Investments, & More

Even though she resigned from the position of ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley remained active in  political and business circles.

Let’s see what else she has invested in – and earned from over the years.

Stand for America

In 2019, the now-former governor and ambassador created a 501 advocacy group titled Stand for America. Even though the donors weren’t initially disclosed to the public, a Politico report later showed that Stand for America was funded by several billionaires including Scott Bessent, Stanley Druckenmiller, and Paul Singer, among others.

Boeing

In February 2019, the now-former United States ambassador joined the board of directors at Boeing. As part of Boeing’s board, she earned $700,000 for consulting services and $256,322 in cash and stock.

She left the board a year later but remained on the board of the United Homes Group.

She reportedly resigned because she disagreed with Boeing’s decision to request federal bailout funds during the pandemic.

Haley’s links to Boeing dated way back. Initially, she supported the economic development package of 2009 to incentivize the company to relocate its 787 Dreamliner production facility to North Charleston.

In her position as governor, she approved $120 million for the company’s expansion.

Haley’s decision to join the board of directors at Boeing was somewhat controversial, given the fact that she was extraordinarily kind to the company as governor of  South Carolina. Some critics argue that the massive salary she received from Boeing was little more than a corrupt gift for her actions to help the company as governor.

This kind of alleged arrangement is extremely common in the US political system, especially surrounding defense contractors like Boeing.

United Homes Group

Based on the personal financial disclosure form that was part of Haley’s presidential campaign, she is still on the board of United Homes Group, a major homebuilder in the Southeast, and she still owns stock in the company.

She owns between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of stock in the company.

Other Roles and Memberships

A bit over a month after she withdrew her presidential candidacy, Haley joined the Hudson Institute as the Walter P. Stern Chair.

“Nikki is a proven, effective leader on both foreign and domestic policy,” stated Hudson President John P. Walters.

“In an era of worldwide political upheaval, she has remained a steadfast defender of freedom and an effective advocate for American security and prosperity. We are honored to have her join the Hudson team.”

In 2021, Nikki Haley was chosen to replace David Wilkins in Clemson University’s Board of Trustees, a lifetime position.

Haley is also a senior adviser at Prism Global Management. She reportedly offered consulting services to the company and earned between $100,000 and $1 million in consulting fees from this company alone.

Speaking Engagements

A lot of Nikki Haley’s fortune stems from her speaking engagements.

Over the years, Haley delivered a large number of speeches and earned between $1.2 and $12 million from speaking engagements before she entered the presidential race, according to the financial disclosure form.

According to Forbes, she earned $2.3 million from speaking events in 2022 alone so her lower bound estimate in the filing is clearly too low.

She reportedly earns an honorarium between $100,001 and $1 million and has spoken at the Barclays Services Corporation in New York, and the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Montreal, among others.

Authorship

Nikki Haley has published three books to date. Her first book “Can’t Is Not an Option” was published in 2012, earning her $475,000 in advances from Penguin Books. The book sold around 5,000 copies.

In 2019, Haley published her second book “With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace”, which reportedly sold 100,000 copies.

The filing of Ms. Haley also showed that she earned between $100,000 and $1 million in royalties for her 2022 book titled “If You Want Something Done,” though she never reported royalties on her previous books. She received a $350,000 advance for this book.

Real Estate Assets

Having accumulated an incredible net worth of millions in only a few years, the former governor of South Carolina was able to splurge a little.’

She and her husband Michael Haley bought a 5,700 square foot, $2.4 million island home on Kiawah Island, near South Carolina in 2019, valued at $4.7 million by Forbes a year back.

She also used her significant net worth to bail out her parents who were struggling financially at the time.

What Can We Learn from Nikki Haley’s Story?

Nikki Haley, born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, has had a long and extensive career in the political and business worlds. Her story has many leadership lessons to teach us.

For starters, Nikki Haley exemplifies what it means to be one of the boldest women in politics – and in life.

Her decision to run for governor of South Carolina, despite facing challenges, highlights her determination to break barriers and create opportunities – for herself and other women. Her successful campaign and subsequent terms as governor of South Carolina demonstrate that tenacity and boldness.

Furthermore, Haley’s career showcases a diverse range of accomplishments and roles, teaching us that one can succeed in different fields as long as they are hard-working and passionate about their job.

Haley worked in the public office and the private sector, serving in various capacities.

This diversity in work and experience underscores the importance of adaptability. Over the years, Haley stepped into each role with a commitment, leading to continuous growth in her career.

Despite the value of diversification, her controversies also warn of the dangers of the intersection of business and politics.

No matter whether she had the best intentions as governor or not, taking the role of a member of the board of Boeing after helping the company tremendously as governor only spurred accusations of corruption.

Nikki Haley’s net worth, which has grown significantly in the last few years, reflects her strategic decision to create diverse income streams. Haley worked tirelessly, earning from her positions in public office, corporate boards, book royalties, and speaking engagements.

Haley’s early life, marked by her involvement in the family’s clothing business and her education at Clemson University, highlights the significance of a strong educational foundation. She created a solid groundwork that supported her future success.

Finally, despite facing setbacks, Haley’s political career is a lesson in perseverance. Haley’s ability to rise to the most prominent positions and remain a key player in American politics demonstrates that a setback can be a stepping stone, not a failure.