Joe Manchin is a Senator from West Virginia; he is well-known for his moderate stances on legislation as well as his ability to work “across the aisle” with his Republican colleagues. Manchin has recently created a stir in Washington due to his stance on the Build Back Better bill. However, Manchin has long been known as one of the most conservative Democrats on Capital Hill. Manchin has served in his current seat since 2010, and he has served West Virginia in the position of state governor. Manchin’s conservative stance has given him electoral success in a heavily Republican state.
| Celebrated Name: | Joe Manchin |
| Real Name/Full Name: | Joseph Manchin III |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 74 |
| Birthdate: | August 24, 1947 |
| Birthplace: | Farmington, WV |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height: | 6 ft. 3 in. |
| Weight: | 172 lb. |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Wife/Spouse | Gayle Manchin (nee’ Connelly) |
| Children/Kids: | Two Daughters: Heather and Brooke; One son, Joseph IV |
| Dating/Girlfriend Name: | N/A |
| Is Joe Manchin Gay? | No |
| Highest Political Office: | United States Senator |
| Profession: | Businessman and Politician |
| Colleges Attended: | West Virginia University |
| Degrees: | Business Administration (Bachelor’s) |
| Salary: | $174,000 annually |
| Net Worth in 2021: | $10 million |
Biography: Early Life and Family
Joseph Manchin II was born in Farmington, West Virginia on August 24, 1947. Joe was the second eldest of five children born to John Manchin and Mary Gouzd Manchin. Manchin can trace his lineage to Italy; his surname is a derivative of the Italian name Mancini. Manchin’s father could trace his Italian heritage to the town of San Giovanni in Fiore. His mother’s family has Czech roots; his mother’s parents immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia.
Joe’s hometown of Farmington is one closely associated with coal mining, and many of Manchin’s votes have to do with the coal mining industry. Manchin bases many of his votes on his constituency in West Virginia; he is quoted as saying, “If I can’t go home to West Virginia and explain why I voted for (a piece of legislation), then I can’t vote for it.”
Manchin’s family is no stranger to politics. Both Manchin’s father and grandfather served as the mayor of Farmington. Both of them were also businessmen. John Manchin owned a furniture store and his paternal grandfather owned a grocery store. John’s brother (Joe’s uncle) A.J. Manchin served West Virginia as a member of the House of Delegates. He also served the state of West Virginia as the state’s Secretary of State and as the state Treasurer.
Manchin graduated from West Virginia University in 1970. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Personal Life
Joe Manchin is a 1965 graduate of Farmington High School. He enrolled at West Virginia University, where he was awarded a scholarship to play football. However, he would suffer an injury during a practice session, and he never played football again. Manchin is still a fan of the sport, and he has a close friendship with Alabama football coach, Nick Saban. The pair have been friends since they were young boys.
Manchin graduated from West Virginia University and returned home to assist in running his family’s business, the carpet and furniture store.
Manchin married his wife, Gayle, while still in college; their anniversary is August 5, 1967.
Joe and Gayle have three children together: Heather, Brooke, and Joseph IV. Heather was once the CEO of the company Mylan.
Manchin is a devout Catholic. He is also a member of the National Rifle Association. He is a licensed pilot as well.
Manchin is a staunch supporter of his home state. He has given commencement addresses at two of the state’s universities, Wheeling Jesuit University and Davis & Elkins College. He was also honored by these two universities in that they bestowed honorary degrees on Manchin.
Manchin is outspoken regarding West Virginia. In 2012, MTV produced a reality show set in West Virginia titled Buckwild. Manchin contacted the president of Music Television, asking him to cancel the show. Manchin felt that the show depicted West Virginia in a negative light, and the show was cancelled after only one season.
Age, Height, and Weight
Joe Manchin is 74 years old. He is 6′ 3″ in height, and he weighs approximately 173 pounds.
Net Worth
Sources vary on Joe Manchin’s exact wealth. Some sources have Manchin’s net worth at $7.6 million while others have his net worth at anywhere from $8 million to $10 million.
Manchin is the founder of of the coal brokerage Enersystems. He was the governor of West Virginia as well as the Secretary of State for West Virginia.
He is still tied to the family carpet and furniture store. In 2014, one of his brothers sued both Joe and another brother for a $1 million loan that the brother claimed Joe and Roch (who runs the family store) had not only made no efforts to repay any part of the loan, but that they had evaded paying the loan. However, the brother, John Manchin II, eventually withdrew the lawsuit.
Manchin has listed an AA Properties as a non-public asset in his financial disclosures. Enersystems is just over 70 percent of Manchin’s income and is said to be thirty percent of his total net worth.
Manchin’s financial disclosures show that Enersystems shares owned by Manchin are worth between $1 million and $5 million. These same disclosures reveal that between 2011 and 2020, Manchin received dividend payments from said stock in the amount of $5,211,154. In 2020 alone, Manchin received dividend payments on Enersystems stock in the amount of $500,000.
He invests in properties in addition to his portion of the family business and Enersystems. Once Manchin decided to become a full-time politician, he gave ownership of Enersystems to his son, Joseph III. He is an investor in Emerald Coast Realty, which owns a hotel in West Virginia.
Career Outside of Politics
Manchin initially began working at the family business, the carpet and furniture store, when he graduated from West Virginia University in 1970. However, in 1988, he founded the Enersystems coal brokerage company. The company is a part of the Metal and Mineral Wholesalers Industry. The company is said to generate about $460,193 annually (this is an estimated figure).
Career in Politics
Manchin entered politics full-time in 2000. It was then that he gave control of Enersystems to his son, Joseph III.
Manchin was first elected to office in 1982. He was thirty-five at the time, and his first political position was in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He served in this position for four years. In 1986, Manchin ran for and was elected to the West Virginia Senate. Manchin remained in the state legislation for ten years.
In 1996, Manchin initially ran for the position of governor of West Virginia. He lost a primary election to Charlotte Pritt. Manchin stepped out of politics for the moment, but, in 2000, he would run for and win the West Virginia Secretary of State position.
In 2003, Manchin decided to try his success in politics once more. He announced that he would run for the position of West Virginia’s governor once more. He entered the 2004 Democratic primary to challenge the current governor, Bob Wise. Manchin won the primary as well as the general election by large margins.
Manchin’s election was historic as he was the first person to win the governorship when his successor was from the same political party.
Manchin was one of West Virginia’s most popular governors, according to a poll conducted by Survey USA. He had a 74 percent approval rating at that time.
Manchin won re-election to his gubernatorial position in 2008. He won every county in West Virginia.
Manchin was the governor of West Virginia when the sitting Senator for the state began facing declining health. Manchin was asked what he would do, but he refused to comment on the subject while Byrd was still struggling with his health. Manchin did say that he would not appoint himself Senator in the event Byrd passed away.
Manchin would appoint his legal advisor, Carte Goodwin, instead.
In July 2010, Manchin announced that he intended to run for the empty Senate seat. He won both his Democratic primary as well as the Republican challenger.
In 2012, when Byrd’s term was up, Manchin announced that he would run once more for the Senate seat. He has won the seat each election year since, usually with outstanding polling numbers.
Manchin has been criticized for voting with Republicans on a number of policies. In 2018, when Manchin was running for his current seat, a Democratic opponent (one supported by self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders) was outspoken on Manchin’s moderate voting record; she also criticized Manchin’s support of some Trump policies. However, while Manchin and former President Trump did have a healthy working relationship, Manchin did not always vote for Trump policies.
Manchin is currently under fire from his Democratic colleagues as he has refused to support the Build Back Better legislation proposed by the Biden Administration and supported by progressives. Manchin appeared on Fox New Sunday on December 19, 2021 and told Brett Baier that he would not vote for the legislation. Both Manchin and Democratic colleague Kyrsten Sinema have both been the object of harassment at the hands of those who support the social spending bill.
