The 2021 Netflix film Worth is based on Kenneth Feinberg’s memoir “What Is Life Worth?” The film shows how Feinberg, an attorney, was asked by Congress to assign dollar values to the 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001.
Kenneth Feinberg Net Worth
The movie left many wondering: what is Kenneth Feinberg’s net worth? As a lawyer and one of the nation’s leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, Feinberg enjoys a lucrative salary.
In 2009, Reuters published an article revealing that Feinberg made $5.76 million in 2008 as a partner at his law firm located in Washington, D.C. The information was discovered in a government ethics filing obtained by Reuters after the Obama administration appointed Feinberg to be a compensation czar to set the pay for executives at seven of the nation’s largest companies. The article further explains that Feinberg’s assets include a stake in his law firm, numerous investments and two homes and were worth between $11 million and $37 million.
Reuters reports that in 2008, Feinberg reported gains on his investments, including dividends and received $53,624 from eight law schools, including his alma mater, New York University. In addition, Feinberg earned $32,200 from Strategic Settlement Advisors, Inc and he received nearly $1 million in 2008 after selling his stake in Jekyll Island, a real estate development company.
BP hired Feinberg to manage a $20 billion compensation fund after the company’s 2010 oil spill. According to Observer, Feinberg’s firm at the time, Feinberg Rozen LLP received a fee $850,000 a month for the first three months. According to the Washington Post, the firm increased their fee to $1.25 million a month from September 2010 to June 2012.
After graduating from NYU Law in 1970, Feinberg worked as Senator Ted Kennedy’s Chief of Staff. In 1983, a federal judge asked Kenneth to mediate a lawsuit filed by Vietnam veterans against Dow Chemical Company and six additional manufacturers of Agent Orange.
Feinberg didn’t have any mediation experience but was able to reach a $180 million settlement in about six weeks. According to Time, Feinberg earned $800,000 for his work. Bustle reports that Feinberg continues to work in victim compensation and he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Based on Feinberg’s financial success over the years, we estimate his net worth to be $55 million.
Kenneth Feinberg Wife: Diane Shaff
Earn The Necklace reports that Kenneth Feinberg is married to Diane “Dede” Feinberg formerly Diane Shaff.
Diane Shaff was born on January 21, 1949 and graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1970. After graduating, Shaff became a stockbroker in Manhattan, New York.
The Washington Post reports that Diane and Kenneth met in New York on a blind date. At the time, Kenneth was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and was actually late to his date with Diane because he was meeting with Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski.
The New York Times reports that Kenneth and Diane got married in 1975. After getting married, the couple moved to Washington, D.C. where they eventually had three children: Michael, Leslie and Andrew.
Kenneth Feinberg House
Reuters reports that Feinberg owns a $1.66 million house in Bethesda, Maryland and a $1.96 million home on Martha’s Vineyard.
In 2017, Boston Magazine published a story about Feinberg’s house in Martha’s Vineyard. The photos were captured by Bob O’Connor and can be seen in the slideshow below:
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