Dick Cheney passes away at 84: Education, career, net worth and controversies

Republican Senator and Former US Vice President Dick Cheney passed away on Monday night due to pneumonia and cardiovascular disease. Born in 1941, Cheney was a businessman and the 46th Vice President of the United States. He was married to Lyne Cheney and had two children, Liz and Merry.

Dick Cheney's education and career

Dick Cheney, a British American, graduated from Natrona County High School in Casper, Wyoming. He joined Yale University to pursue higher education, but dropped out. He then attended the University of Wyoming, where he studied graduation and post-graduation. He started to pursue his doctoral degree but could not finish it.

Cheney started his career as a Congressman, as an intern to Congressman William A. Steiger during the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He later joined the White House as the Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford in 1974, and later represented Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served as the Secretary of Defence under the US President George Bush, during which he overlooked key military operations such as Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. He became the 46th Vice President from 2001-2009.

What was the net worth of Dick Cheney?

Dick Cheney has a net valuation of $150 million. This is mainly due to his illustrious career in both public and private sectors. He was the CEO and Chairman of the Hilburton Energy Services. During which he made a significant amount of money at least $36 million including severance package and stock options. He also had significant earnings from the decade of government services, which he gently invested in energy, defence sector, real estate holdings, book deals and speaking engagements after he left the role of Vice President. He is considered one of the wealthiest Vice President of the United States.

Controversies around Dick Cheney

Cheney was also one of the most controversial Vice President of the United States. He was one of the early advocate of the Iraqi invasion of 2003, and repeatedly warned about the weapons of mass destructions of Iraq, which the US never found. This fact subjected Bush administration to significant scrutiny. He was also accused of intelligence manipulation to provide information consistent with the war agenda.

Moreover after the Iraq invasion a Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), was awarded billions of dollars in government contracts for logistics and infrastructure work in Iraq and elsewhere. He also continued to receive deferred compensation and stock options from Halliburton while being in office. He had a class-action lawsuit for artificially inflating stock price through shady accounting practices. He settled a bribe case with a Nigerian official with connection to Justice Department related payments. He held questionable opinions on South African apartheid and voted against the release of Nelson Mandela.