Jean Bertrand Aristide was born on 15 July 1953, in Port-Salut, Sud Department, Haiti. He is a politician, best known for being the first president of Haiti to be democratically elected. He’s held the presidential position a few times despite coup d’etats, and all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Jean Bertrand Aristide? As of mid-2016, authoritative sources estimate a net worth that is at $800 million, mostly earned through a career in politics. He was previously involved in the church before fully pursuing politics. He also helped establish advances in the country’s social policies, and all of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Jean Bertrand Aristide Net Worth $800 million
Jean started his education in a school with priests of the Salesian order. After matriculating, he attended College Notre-Dame and graduated with honors. His educational pursuits did not stop there as he took novitiate studies and later philosophy at the Grand Seminaire Notre Dame. He also studied psychology at the State University of Hawaii, and after school he travelled to several countries. In 1982, he was officially ordained as a Salesian priest, and then spent a number of years opposing the dictatorships of the country. He led protests and delivered sermons that fought against oppression and tyrannical reign, becoming the voice of the masses. During this time, there were many attempts on his life and eventually the church removed him from the Salesian order because of his involvement in politics.
Aristide announced his presidential candidacy in 1990 and won in what was regarded as the first honest election in Haitian history.
However, just eight months after being elected, he was overthrown in a violent military coup. Prior to being overthrown, Jean put his hand to a number of reforms, and was starting investigations on human rights violations. After the coup, Aristide was sent into exile, and was supported by other countries. The possible involvement of the United States in the coup sparked a number of hearings, rumors and issues. During his exile, Jean spent time in Venezuela, and then went to the United States.
After many supported the return of Aristide to Haiti, US President Clinton allowed him to return, along with US troops, subsequently creating a new political party and being re-elected as president in 2001. His term lasted four years, until another coup was created following gang leader Amiot Metayer’s assassination. The rebel group conquered a significant portion of the country before invading the capital, and Aristide was again forced to leave the country. His family was also relocated to Jamaica with the help of the Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. Jean’s resignation from his position was filled with a lot of controversy, and rumors were surfacing that the United States was once again heavily involved in the affair.
Jean and his family lived in South Africa where they were taken care of by the government. He returned to Haiti in 2011, after seven years of exile, to be greeted by thousands of supporters, but has since largely avoided involvement in politics.
For his personal life, he married Mildred Trouillot in 1996 and they have two daughters. Aside from politics, he has released several publications over the years.
