This is the second in a series that explores the personal fortunes of President Trump’s cabinet officials. See more on Mike Pence, Steven Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross and Betsy DeVos.
William Barr made his name serving as attorney general for two presidents, George H. W. Bush and Donald J. Trump. But he made his fortune out of office, collecting more than $50 million in compensation as an executive and director for some of America’s largest companies.
Today Barr, who did not comment for this story, has an estimated net worth of $40 million, after accounting for taxes, personal spending and modest investment returns. That figure is more precise than what’s on Barr’s public financial disclosure report, a document that deals only in broad ranges and shows assets worth somewhere between $24 million and $74 million.
The money started piling up around 1993, when Bush left the White House and Barr reentered the private sector. The next year, Barr became general counsel at telephone giant GTE Corporation. When GTE merged with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon in 2000, Barr stayed onboard as executive vice president and general counsel. From 2001 to 2007, he raked in an average of $1.7 million in annual salary and bonuses, according to documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Barr also received valuable stock options, some of which he traded while at the company, collecting an estimated $3 million after taxes from 2003 to 2007.
Barr’s $40 Million Fortune
The attorney general piled up tens of millions in the private sector.
The Verizon job came with other benefits. Barr got a $31,000 flexible spending allowance, $10,000 or so for financial planning, plus use of the company jet for personal purposes. The biggest benefit, however, came upon retirement. Barr stepped down from the company at the end of 2008, receiving a $17.1 million distribution from Verizon’s income deferral plan, according to an SEC filing. On top of that, company documents also detail an additional $10.4 million separation payment for Barr.
At the time, the global economy was in a tailspin. Corporate pay was under close scrutiny, and Barr’s exit package made for an easy target. An independent research firm named the Corporate Library graded Verizon with a “D,” noting “high governance risk” and “very high concern” in executive pay. In a filing, Verizon specifically pointed to Barr’s pay package in connection with the assessment.
Retiring did not mean Barr was done working. The year after he left Verizon, he joined the boards of two publicly traded companies, Dominion Resources and Time Warner. From 2009 to 2018, Dominion paid Barr $1.2 million in cash and granted him another $1.1 million in stock awards, according to SEC filings.
Time Warner paid him $970,000 in cash and $1 million in equity awards for serving on its board from 2009 to 2016, when the company agreed to combine with AT&T. That deal was lucrative for Barr—he disclosed $1.7 million of income related to it on his financial disclosure report. But the merger was troubling to Trump, whose Justice Department tried to block it. During his confirmation hearing, Barr promised to recuse himself from the case as attorney general.
Barr also served on the board of Och-Ziff Capital Management, joining in 2016, the same year a firm subsidiary pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Och-Ziff agreed to pay $412 million in penalties. It also paid Barr $190,000 in cash and $530,000 in stock awards from 2016 to 2018. The attorney general no longer serves on the boards of Och-Ziff, Dominion Resources or Time Warner.
In 2017, Barr signed on to work with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which has an unusual connection to the Trump administration. The firm pays an estimated $8.4 million in annual rent to lease part of a San Francisco skyscraper in which President Trump owns a 30% stake. While at Kirkland, Barr represented machine-maker Caterpillar. Two weeks after federal agents raided the manufacturer’s offices, the company’s CEO announced he was bringing on Barr “to take a fresh look at Caterpillar’s disputes with the government.” A spokesperson for Caterpillar said the company was “very pleased” with Barr’s work. Before taking office, the attorney general promised to recuse from any matters involving the company, “if necessary.”
