Matthew Louis Gaetz II is an American lawyer and politician who has represented the 1st congressional district of Florida since 2017. As a Republican, he has become one of former President Donald Trump’s most influential legislative allies.
Gaetz grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, as the son of notable Florida politician Don Gaetz. He temporarily worked in private practice after graduating from William & Mary Law School before running for state representative.
From 2010 to 2016, he served in the Florida House of Representatives and gained national recognition for defending the state’s controversial “stand your ground” statute in the aftermath of the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2016 and reelected in 2018 and 2020.
Early Years
Matt Gaetz was born on May 7, 1982, in Hollywood, Florida. Vicky, his mother, was a pharmacist for nearly two decades. His father, Don Gaetz, was a politician and healthcare executive in the past.
Jerry Gaetz, Matt’s paternal grandfather, was a North Dakota politician who died on live television at the 1964 Republican National Convention after a heart attack. Don, Matt’s father, was 16 years old at the time and unfortunately witnessed his father’s death on live television.
Don successfully persuaded Congress in the early 1980s to establish the Hospice Care Reimbursement Act. This statute made Medicare cover hospice expenditures.
A year after the law was enacted, Don and his business partners transformed a non-profit hospice care agency run by a religious group into a for-profit organization called VITAS Healthcare.
In 2004, Chemed paid $400 million for the acquisition of VITAS. Chemed earns around $2 billion in annual sales due to its two key assets: VITAS and Roto-Rooter. According to a financial report, he submitted when he was a state senator, Don Gaetz’s net worth after the sale of VITAS was $25 million.
Matt Gaetz received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in 2003 and his Juris doctorate from the College of William and Mary. After graduating from William & Mary, Matt worked in a Fort Walton Beach law office.
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Financial Disclosures
Matt reported a net worth of over $1 million in 2010, although earning only $29 thousand that year. In 2016, Matt’s personal financial disclosure revealed a net worth of little less than $500,000. Since 2016, he has not released a financial disclosure.
Truman Show Residence
In 1991, Matt’s parents purchased a property in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for $125,000. The home of Jim Carrey, as Truman Burbank, and Laura Linney, as Meryl Burbank, was featured in the 1998 film “The Truman Show” as the residence of Jim Carrey and Laura Linney, respectively.
Matt would have been approximately 15 years old during filming. Matt Gaetz not only grew up in the neighborhood of “The Truman Show,” but also in the Trumans’ house.
In the film, the home’s address number was 36, which Don and Vicky kept displayed above the front door and a sign reading “The Truman House” outside the front gate.
Matt Gaetz’s Net Worth
Matt Gaetz is an American politician and attorney with a net worth of $700.000 as of 2022. In 2016, he was elected to Congress to represent Florida’s 1st district. He assumed his duties in January 2017.
Political Profession
Matt Gaetz represented the 4th district in the Florida House of Representatives from April 2010 to November 2016. In January 2017, he began serving as a representative from Florida’s first congressional district.
His district encompasses the majority of the Florida Panhandle, including his hometown of Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola. After completing law school, he worked for a local law company. According to reports, Matt Gaetz is an ardent admirer of President Trump.
Personal Life
In December of 2020, Gaetz proposed to Ginger Luckey. Palmer Luckey, the brother of Ginger, established the startup Oculus VR, which Facebook acquired in 2014 for $2 billion.
Imprisonment for Drunk Driving and Other Citations
In 2008, Gaetz was detained for driving under the influence as he returned to Okaloosa Island, Florida from a nightclub. According to reports, he initially denied drinking and then failed two field sobriety tests. The charges were eventually dismissed.
According to The Scripps Florida Investigative Team, Gaetz had 16 speeding tickets in Florida between 1999 and 2014.