Edwin Washington Edwards was born on 7 August 1927, in Marksville, Louisiana USA, of French and Creole descent. Edwin is a politician, who’s best known to have served as a US Representative for Louisiana’s 7th congressional district from 1965 to 1972. He was also the 50th Governor of Louisiana, serving four terms. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Edwin Edwards? As of early-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $10 million, mostly earned through a career in politics. He is well known for being part of Louisiana politics, but was eventually charged with corruption as well as racketeering. He’s since returned to politics after imprisonment, so most of his activities have contributed to his wealth.
Edwin Edwards Net Worth $10 million
Edwin originally had plans to be a preacher, serving in the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He also served in the US Navy Air Corps during the end of World War II, but after returning home, he attended the Louisiana State University Law Center, graduated and started practicing law. In 1954 he started foraying into politics by becoming a member of the Crowley City Council, in which he stayed until he was elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964. He served there for less than two years before entering the US House of Representatives, where he stayed for three full terms. In 1971, he won the governorship of Louisiana, defeating a field of 17 candidates, and during his term, he started reorganizing Louisiana’s charter, and became one of the most flamboyant politicians in the history of the state. He appointed a lot more women and black people to higher positions compared to previous administrations. He also took advantage of the oil and gas industry after the huge boom of the 1970s. However during this time, he started becoming the topic of ethics controversies including receiving illegal campaign contributions.
After his second term, he was barred from seeking a third term which led him to leave politics temporarily. He returned in 1983 to run again for the governor position against David Treen, which he won and would start his third term as governor in 1984. However during economic problems of the 1980s, his popularity also started to decrease. He also stood trial for bribery, obstruction of justice, and mail fraud in 1985 of which he was acquitted, but his popularity continued to decline as the case brought out numerous issues. He began making unpopular budget cuts which didn’t help his waning popularity, and he was defeated in his campaign against Buddy Roemer.
Roemer would struggle during his term as governor, so Edwards made his second comeback in 1991 against neo-Nazi David Duke. During Edwin’s last term as governor, he promoted casino gambling which led to issues of gambling-related corruption. He was caught through an FBI videotape which showed he was giving money to Congressman Cleo Fields. Eventually, he was found guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, extortion, and racketeering. He was put to prison until 2011, and was then put on three years of probation which ended early in 2013. In 2014, he tried his hand at Congress once again, but lost against Garret Graves in only the second loss of his political career.
For his personal life, it is known that Edwin’s first marriage was to Elaine Schwartzenburg. They had four children and divorced in 1989 after 40 years of marriage. In 1994 he married Candy Picou however they divorced in 2004 while Edwin was in prison. In 2011, he married Trina Grimes Scott and the two would become part of the show “The Governor’s Wife”. They have a son.
