$30 Million
What was Gore Vidal’s Net Worth?
Gore Vidal was an American writer who had a net worth of $30 million at the time of his death in 2012.
Gore Vidal was well-known for his witty, incisive works that questioned social and cultural norms throughout history. His most well-known novels include “The City and the Pillar,” “Julian,” “Myra Breckinridge,” and “Lincoln.” Vidal was also active in politics, running unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives and the US Senate in 1960 and 1982, respectively.
Vidal’s primary subject matter as a political essayist was the history of the United States and societal issues. His political and cultural essays have appeared in The Nation, The New Statesman, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire magazine over the years. Gore Vidal, as a novelist, investigated the nature of corruption in public and private life. With the introduction of a male homosexual relationship in his third novel, The City and the Pillar, he offended the sensibilities of conservative book reviewers. He investigated gender roles and sexual orientation as social constructs established by social mores in Myra Breckinridge. Throughout his career, he was no stranger to political feuds, including famous feuds with Truman Capote, William F Buckley, and Norman Mailer.
Gore Vidal Biography
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, known as Gore Vidal, was born on October 3, 1925, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was the only child of Eugene Luther Vidal and Nina S. Gore. Vidal’s father, a U.S. Army officer and accomplished athlete, was also linked to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The name “Gore” was added to Vidal’s birth name during his baptism in 1939. However, he later dropped his two first names, opting for the distinctive moniker “Gore Vidal.”
Gore Vidal Family Background:
Gore Vidal came from an influential family. His maternal grandfather was Senator Thomas Pryor Gore, and his mother, Nina Gore, was a socialite who had connections in the world of theater and politics. She was married three times, including to Hugh D. Auchincloss and Robert Olds, and had affairs with notable figures like actor Clark Gable. Through his family’s various marriages and relationships, Vidal had half-siblings, step-siblings, and step-relatives, including Hugh D. “Yusha” Auchincloss III, who was related to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Gore Vidal Education:
Vidal attended prestigious schools in Washington, D.C., including Sidwell Friends School and St. Albans School. He had a close relationship with his maternal grandfather, Senator Gore, who was blind, and often served as his Senate page and reader.
In 1939, Vidal embarked on his first European trip with colleagues and a professor from St. Albans School. He visited Rome and Paris, which would become significant influences on his literary work. However, the outbreak of World War II forced him to return home prematurely. During his trip, he met Joe Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, father of John F. Kennedy.
Vidal later attended the Los Alamos Ranch School and transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He contributed to the school newspaper, the Exonian.
Gore Vidal Military Service:
Rather than pursuing higher education, Vidal enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He served as an office clerk in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and eventually became a maritime warrant officer (junior grade) in the Transportation Corps. He served as the first mate of the F.S. 35th, a US Army Freight and Supply (FS) ship based in Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. Due to health issues, including hypothermia and rheumatoid arthritis, he was reassigned to duty as a mess officer.
Gore Vidal’s early life was marked by his family’s prominence, exposure to influential figures, and his own experiences in the military. These early experiences would shape his later career as a writer, political commentator, and public intellectual.
