Alex Padilla Net Worth 2024

Alex Padilla net worth 2024: Alejandro Padilla is an American politician and engineer serving as the junior United States senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 32nd secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021. Keep reading to find more information about Alex Padilla net worth.

Early life and education

Padilla is one of three children of Santos and Lupe Padilla, both of whom emigrated from Mexico, specifically from Jalisco and Chihuahua, before meeting and marrying in Los Angeles, where he was born.

He grew up in Pacoima, Los Angeles, and graduated from San Fernando High School in the northeast San Fernando Valley. Padilla earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1994. He graduated from the Coro Fellows Southern California Program in 1995.

Career

After graduation, he moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.

Padilla is a former member of the governing board of MIT and president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), which has a membership of more than 6,000 Latino U.S. officials.

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He serves as chair of the Los Angeles Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association, elected in July 2005.

Padilla began in politics as a member of the Democratic Party in 1995, in substantial part in response to California Proposition 187, which excluded illegal immigrants from all non-emergency public services, including public education, but which he felt was motivated by a broader nativism that demonized legal and illegal immigrants alike.

His first professional role was as a personal assistant to Senator Dianne Feinstein. He then served as a campaign manager for Assemblyman Tony Cardenas in 1996, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo in 1997, and State Senator Richard Alarcon in 1998, all Democrats. All won their respective elections.

On July 1, 1999, at age 26, Padilla was sworn in as a member of the Los Angeles City Council. Two years later, his colleagues elected him council president. Padilla was the first Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council, defeating incumbent Ruth Galanter.

After retiring as president of the Los Angeles City Council, Padilla was elected to the State Senate in 2006, defeating Libertarian Pamela Brown. He was reelected in 2010 with nearly 70% of the vote over Republican Kathleen Evans.

U.S. Senate

In August 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. After they won the general election, Padilla was mentioned as a possible choice as Harris’s replacement in the Senate.

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In December 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would appoint Padilla to the seat, making him California’s first Hispanic senator. During the speculation about whom Newsom would select, the senior senator from California, Dianne Feinstein, supported Padilla.

Most Latinos, who are 40% of California’s population, supported Padilla’s appointment, but some Black leaders, who wanted another Black woman to replace Harris, criticized it. San Francisco Mayor London Breed called Padilla’s appointment “a real blow to the African American community”.