J.D. Vance's age, net worth, children, spouse, parents, books, career, profiles
James David Vance, commonly known as J.D. Vance, is a member of the Republican Party. He is the party's vice presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election. The politician, author, venture capitalist, and Marine veteran is known for his book, Hillbilly Elegy.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
J.D. Vance is one of America's best-selling authors. His book was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017 and a finalist for the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Here is all you need to know about the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
Profile summary
| Full name | James David Vance (né Bowman; formerly Hamel) |
| Other names | J.D. Vance |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 2 August 1984 |
| Age | 40 years (as of 2024) |
| Place of birth | Middletown, Ohio, United States of America |
| Current residences | Ohio, Washington, DC, and Virginia, United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White (Scots-Irish) |
| Zodiac sign | Leo |
| Religion | Christianity (Catholic) |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Hair colour | Dark brown |
| Eye colour | Blue |
| Marital status | Married |
| Spouse | Usha Vance |
| Children | 3 |
| Biological father | Donald Ray Bowman (1959–2023) |
| Mother | Beverly Carol (née Vance) |
| Step-father | Bob Hamel |
| Siblings | 1 |
| Alma mater | Middletown High School, Ohio State University, and Yale Law School |
| Profession | Politician, author, venture capitalist, and Marine veteran |
| J.D. Vance’s Instagram | @senatorvance |
| X | @JDVance |
| TikTok | @jd |
| @JD Vance@Senator JD Vance |
Who is J.D. Vance?
James David Vance is a politician, author, venture capitalist, and Marine veteran. He is the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023. He is the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
How old is J.D. Vance?
J.D. Vance’s age is 40 years as of 2024. He was born on 2 August 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, United States of America, and his Zodiac sign is Leo. He has residences in Ohio, Washington, DC, and Virginia.
His nationality is American, and his ethnicity is White (Scots-Irish). In the past, the famous politician was an atheist. However, J.D. Vance is now a practising Christian who refers to himself as a staunch Christian.
J.D. Vance’s family background
J.D. Vance's parents are Donald Ray Bowman and Beverly Carol (née Vance). He has an older sister named Lindsay Ratliff.
His biological father, Donald Ray Bowman, was born in 1959 and passed away in 2023. Donald and Beverly Carol parted ways when the politician was a toddler.
His mother remarried twice. When she got married to her third husband, Bob Hamel, she changed his name to James David Hamel to remove his father's name. She used an uncle's name to preserve his nickname, JD.
The American politician's childhood was not rosy. On the contrary, he was raised in poverty. His mother struggled with substance addiction.
As a result, his maternal grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, took him in together with his sister. Papaw and Mamaw moved from Kentucky's Appalachia to Ohio, where they raised their two grandchildren.
Source: Original
J.D. Vance’s education
After his elementary studies, the politician, author, and Marine veteran joined Middletown High School. After graduating high school in 2003, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a military journalist with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
In 2005, he was deployed to Iraq for six months in a non-combat role. He did photography and wrote articles for the Public Affairs Office.
Following his return from Iraq, he was did media relations. He served in the US Marine Corps for four years and attained the rank of corporal before retiring.
After exiting from the US Marine Corps, he joined Ohio State University in September 2007. He graduated with a with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Philosophy (with highest honour) in August 2009.
After graduating from Ohio State, the seasoned politician attended Yale Law School. He graduated in 2013 with a Juris Doctor degree.
Career
After graduating from Yale Law School, J.D. Vance worked for Republican Senator John Cornyn. He then served as a law clerk for a year for Judge David Bunning of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
He later joined Sidley Austin, where he had a brief career as a corporate lawyer before relocating to San Francisco to become a venture capitalist. Between 2016 and 2017, he was a principal at Mithril Capital, Peter Thiel's firm. He was a CNN contributor in 2017 and 2018.
In 2019, he sat as a member of the board of advisors of the With Honor Fund. The fund helps veterans run for office. He also served on the board of advisors of American Moment. American Moment is a networking and training organisation for young conservatives. It is affiliated with Project 2025.
Authorship
In June 2016, the famous politician published his memoir Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. The memoir detailed his childhood and upbringing.
His book was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. In 2022, he published A Relevant Faith: Searching for a Meaningful American Christianity.
J.D. Vance’s movie
In April 2017, it was announced that Hillbilly Elegy would be released as a movie after Ron Howard signed on to direct the film version of the book. The movie was released on 11 November 2020 in select theatres and on Netflix.
Our Ohio Renewal
In late 2016, the politician moved back to Ohio, where he founded a non-profit organisation called Our Ohio Renewal. Our Ohio Renewal focused on education, addiction, and other issues affecting the society. The organisation closed down after about two years.
Investments
In 2017, J.D. Vance joined an investment firm called Revolution LLC. He was tasked with expanding the Rise of the Rest initiative. The initiative focused on expanding investments in underserved regions outside Silicon Valley and New York City.
In 2019, the famous politician co-founded a venture capital called Narya Capital. He has also invested in a Canadian online video platform called Rumble.
In 2019, J.D. and Chris Buskirk co-founded the Rockbridge Network. From March 2017 to April 2021, J.D. was on the board of directors of AppHarvest, a startup firm. AppHarvest went bankrupt in 2023 while owing over $340 million.
Political journey
In 2018, J.D. considered running for the US Senate but decided not to. In April 2021, he expressed interest in running for the Senate seat after Rob Portman vacated. He launched his Senate campaign on 1 July 2021.
He won the Republican primary on 3 May 2022. On 8 November 2022, he won the general election. He was sworn into the Senate as a member of the 118th United States Congress on 3 January 2023.
On 31 January 2023, J.D. Vance endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. On 15 July 2024, Trump announced that he had chosen Vance as his running mate.
Source: Getty Images
J.D. Vance’s net worth in 2024
The famous politician's net worth remains unconfirmed in the public domain. Even so, it is apparent that he is doing well financially.
According to his financial disclosure form, he has between $4 million and $11 million in assets to his name. He only has $750,000 to $1.5 million in liabilities. He owns properties and has a stake in two businesses.
Reports show he has three 529 education savings accounts for his children. The three 529 accounts for his children are worth between $31,000 and $115,000 in total.He owns a residential estate that yielded $15,000 to $50,000 in rental income from 2023.
His biggest asset is his Schwab brokerage account. The account is valued at between $2.2 million and $7.5 million. His investments are in bond funds and passively managed exchange-traded stocks.
Marriage and children
J.D. is married to Usha Vance (née Chilukuri). Usha is of Indian-American ancestry. Her father immigrated to the United States of America in search of greener pastures.
Usha was born and raised in San Diego, California. She met J.D. at Yale Law School, where they were classmates. They started a romantic relationship and dated for a while before getting married in 2014.
When asked if she was ready for the scrutiny that comes along with being the wife of a vice president, Usha Vance responded with the words below.
I don't know that anyone is ever ready for that kind of scrutiny. I mean, I think we found the first campaign that he embarked on to be a shock. It was so different from anything we'd done before. But it was an adventure. And so I guess the way that I'd put it is, I'm not rearing to change anything about our lives right now, but I believe in JD and I really love him. And so we'll just sort of see what happens with our life. We're open.
The couple has been blessed with three children. The lovebirds have two sons and one daughter. J.D. Vance’s children are Ewan Blaine, Vivek, and Mirabel.
Their oldest child, Ewan Blaine, was born in 2017. Vivek, the couple's second son, was born in 2020. Their daughter, Mirabel, was born in December 2021.
Source: Getty Images
Comments on childless women
In 2021, J.D. said the words below in an interview.
We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too
His words unleashed fury among women. Many have since reclaimed the age-old sexist trope as a call to action this election season. These words circulated online all over again shortly after Donald Trump named him as his running mate.
Many critics see the cat lady term as an insult to the growing number of women who do not have kids, by choice or otherwise. Later on, the politician defended his comments. He said he was not criticising people who do not have children but rather the Democratic Party for being anti-family and anti-child.
J.D. Vance’s height
The American politician is 6 ft 2 in or 188 cm tall. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes.
Trivia
- During his first year in college, J.D. Vance worked for Republican state senator Bob Schuler.
- He was one of 99 editors of The Yale Law Journal for volume 122.
- Professor Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, persuaded him to begin writing Hillbilly Elegy.
- He adopted his grandparents' surname of Vance as he was about to graduate from Yale.
- He bagged the Iraq Campaign Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his time in the US Marine Corps.
J.D. Vance is an American author, politician, venture capitalist, and Marine veteran. He is best known as the author of Hillbilly Elegy. He is Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 general election in the United States of America.
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