Janet Yellen Net Worth: How Much Money Did She Earn?

By Aarush Sharma On Dec 11, 2022

Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist who has served as the 78th United States Secretary of the Treasury since January 26, 2021.

She was the Federal Reserve’s 15th chair from 2014 to 2018.

Yellen is the first woman to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.

What is Janet Yellen’s Net Worth and Salary?

Janet Yellen is an American economist who previously served as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve System from 2014 to 2018.

Janet Yellen has a $16 million net worth. Joe Biden announced in November 2020 that Janet would be Treasury Secretary in his administration.

Janet and her husband, Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof, control assets worth between $8 and $20 million, according to a financial filing released ahead of her term as Treasury Secretary.

Net Worth:	$16 Million
Date of Birth:	Aug 13, 1946 (76 years old)
Place of Birth:	Brooklyn
Gender:	Female
Profession:	Economist, Professor
Nationality:	United States of America

Early Life

Janet Yellen was born in Brooklyn, New York City on August 13, 1946, to Anna, an elementary school teacher, and Julius, a physician.

She has an older brother named John and is of Polish Jewish ancestry. Yellen graduated from Fort Hamilton High School as class valedictorian.

She then attended Brown University’s Pembroke College, where she earned a BA in economics in 1967 summa cum laude. In 1971, Yellen received her MA and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University.

Career Beginnings in Academia

After receiving her doctorate, Yellen joined the faculty of Harvard University as an assistant professor of economics. She taught there from 1971 to 1976 before being hired by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as an economist.

Last week, I discussed what I see in 2023 for American consumers with @NorahODonnell @60Minutes. I’m hopeful the labor market will remain healthy and know the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to do all we can to continue lowering costs for Americans. pic.twitter.com/nWtsFuHNsT

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) December 12, 2022

Yellen studied international monetary reform at the Fed. She joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in 1980, where she conducted macroeconomics research and taught undergraduate and MBA students.

Yellen was promoted to full professor in 1985 and has twice received the Haas School’s award for an outstanding teacher.

Federal Reserve and Council of Economic Advisers

President Clinton appointed Yellen to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors during her leave from Berkeley in 1994. She left the Federal Reserve in early 1997 to become chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.

With the CEA, Yellen oversaw a landmark report on the wage disparity between men and women.

The report concluded that the pay disparity was caused by workplace discrimination. Yellen left the CEA in 1999 to return to teaching at Berkeley.

Return to Federal Reserve

Yellen became the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in 2004. She served until 2010 when she left to become Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors under President Obama.

Following that, in 2013, Yellen was nominated to succeed Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve, the first time a vice chair had been elevated to that position. Furthermore, she became the first woman to lead a central bank in the United States, as well as the first Democrat to do so since Paul Volcker in 1979.

During Yellen’s tenure, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2006. Just before leaving office in 2018, Yellen made an unprecedented move by sanctioning Wells Fargo in response to systemic consumer abuses.

Overall, Yellen is regarded as one of the Federal Reserve’s most successful chairpersons. During her tenure, the unemployment rate fell from 6.7% to 4.1%, the lowest in 17 years.

Personal Life

Yellen married fellow economist George Akerlof, whom she met in the Federal Reserve cafeteria, in 1978.

The couple lived in London for two years, where Akerlof taught at the London School of Economics; he has also taught at Georgetown University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Yellen and Akerlof have a son named Robert, who is an economics associate professor at the University of Warwick.

Yellen and Akerlof have frequently collaborated on research projects, particularly on poverty and unemployment. Yellen is also a philatelist, with a postage stamp collection estimated to be worth between $15,000 and $50,000.