Jose Daniel Ortega Saavedra was born on 11 November 1945, in La Libertad, Nicaragua, and is a politician, best known for being the President of Nicaragua since 2007. He was previously leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990 and was also the Co-ordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Daniel Ortega? As of early-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through a career in politics. He’s well known for implementing leftist reforms around his country, and has been a notable figure in Nicaraguan politics for a long time, which has no doubt helped ensure the position of his wealth.
Daniel Ortega Net Worth $50 million
At a young age, Daniel was already taking part in political activities, and led to him joining the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). He was imprisoned for bank robbery, but was eventually released and exiled to Cuba, though he returned to Nicaragua in secret.
In 1979, he became a member of Junta of National Reconstruction, and after two years became the coordinator, effectively leader of the country, and started implementing social reform programs that saw the redistribution of land. The government also went on to launch a literacy campaign, which earned recognition from UNESCO. The FSLN also focused on health programs, including the construction of public hospitals and vaccination campaigns. In 1984, Ortega won the presidency after a general election, and took office the following year. It was one of the few times that a free election was held in the country after more than half a century. While working as the president, his net worth started to increase significantly.
In 1990 Daniel lost his re-election bid against Violeta Barrios de Chamorro., and ran again in 1996 and 2001, but lost on both occasions.
His policies changed over time to reflect his Roman Catholic beliefs and his favor of democratic socialism. Eventually, he created a controversial pact between FSLN and the Constitutional Liberal Party, and in 2006 Ortega became president once again after winning just 38% percent of the vote, but 38 seats in the congressional elections and the FSLN became the largest representation in the parliament.
After Daniel was inaugurated for his second presidency, he went on to visit Iran. He also worked on other reforms such as labor rights, scholarships, transport subsidies, and other policies that hoped to reduce poverty in the country. In 2009 he changed the constitution to allow himself to run for president again, and he was re-elected in 2011. Three years later, the term limits for presidency were abolished, allowing candidates to run for an unlimited number of five year terms.
In 2016, it was reported that Ortega’s family owns three free-to-air television channels which have helped increase his net worth.
For his personal life, it is known that Daniel married Rosario Murillio in 1979; they remarried in 2005 to have it recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. They have three children together and she has three other children from a previous marriage – he adopted one of the stepdaughters through a court case. In 1998, Daniel was accused by his stepdaughter of sexual abuse though it was eventually settled out of court. He denied all allegations though the daughter has not withdrawn them.
