US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s financial disclosure statement reveals that the seventh-most tenured justice’s net worth has surpassed two million dollars, thanks in part to connections with corporations including AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
The 23-page-report released Wednesday indicates that Alito, who
was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006, is actually
only the fifth-wealthiest among the nine justices. However,
Alito’s previous filing was a mere eight pages long and ranked
him as the eighth-wealthiest judge with a 2011 income between
$380,000 and $1.1 million.
His 2012 filing revealed a net worth between $2.3 and $6.2
million. At least six and possibly as many as eight of the
justices are millionaires, according to the Center for Public
Integrity, with Justice Anthony Kennedy the only judge known to
have a net worth of less than one million dollars.
Alito’s colleagues on the bench turned in their 2012 financial
disclosures by June, although he was granted and extension for
undisclosed reasons.
Alito lists trusts and investments with Pepsico, Abbott
Laboratories, Boeing, Caterpillar Inc. and Proctor and Gamble
among his holdings, along with the aforementioned and other
companies.
His financial interests have caused a conflict of interest in
multiple cases, excusing Alito from the bench several times over
the past year.
Alito did not hear Chevron v. Naranjo last year, when Ecuadorian
natives sought damages against the Chevron oil, gas and energy
company for pollution. Wednesday’s disclosure shows that Alito
received a dividend of less than $1,000 in Chevron, which is now
worth between $15,001 and $50,000.
He was also recused from the October ruling in Hepting v.
AT&T, when the Electronic frontier Foundation sued the
telecommunications giant over claims that it had cooperated with
the government to monitor customer communications.
Alito is consistently ranked among the most conservative justices
on the Supreme Court and, in recent years, has made headlines for
rolling his eyes as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read her decision
and mouthing “Not true” during President Obama’s 2010
State of the Union address.