'Entirely made-up' claim Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has net worth of $45 million | Fact check
The claim: Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has $45 million net worth
A May 31 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) questions the purported net worth of the New York district attorney who prosecuted former President Donald Trump.
“How on earth did Alvin Bragg amass wealth of nearly $45 MILLION NET on an annual salary of (approximately $200,000) as DA?” reads the text in the post.
It was shared more than 4,000 times in a week. Similar posts accumulated hundreds of additional shares.
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Our rating: False
There is no credible evidence Bragg’s net worth is that high. His most recent financial disclosure shows him holding at most $4.3 million in assets. That document also shows an unspecified amount greater than $500,000 in a bank account belonging to his late mother’s estate, but there is no proof its value is anywhere near the tens of millions of dollars required to make the claim true.
‘No basis’ for dollar figures behind Bragg net worth claim
Bragg, the first prosecutor to secure the conviction of a former president, has received criticism from Republicans. Claims about his wealth circulated widely after a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
But the figure in the Facebook post is baseless, according to an expert and to financial disclosure documents Bragg filed.
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“This seems pretty obviously to be an entirely made-up claim,” said David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University and political communication expert.
The Facebook user who made the claim included in the comments a screenshot that purports to show a breakdown of Bragg’s wealth.
Those figures also appear in an article that attributes them to “posts on Twitter” and baselessly claims the Rothschilds – a Jewish banking family that has long been the subject of discredited conspiracy theories – support Bragg financially. There is no credible evidence that is true. USA TODAY reached out to the publisher of the website but did not immediately receive a response. The article also is internally inconsistent, referencing at some points a net worth of $42 million instead of $45 million.
“There is no basis for these numbers,” Karpf said.
The claim is also a bit off on Bragg's salary. Bragg, who was elected in 2021, made $212,800 in both 2022 and 2023, according to the city’s salary database.
Elected officials in New York City are required by law to file annual reports disclosing their financial interests. The most recent filing from Bragg covers 2022 and shows ranges for his salary and the monetary values of his various accounts. The sum of the top ends of those ranges totals $4.3 million.
Those items include:
Two maximums of $54,999, one in dividends and distributions from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and another in retirement plan distributions from City University of New York.
A property in Harlem owned by his late mother’s estate that sold in April 2022 for $2.25 million, according to the city register’s office.
His late grandmother’s property in Virginia, valued at a maximum of $249,999.99. It is owned jointly by Bragg’s uncle and his late mother’s estate, of which Bragg is the beneficiary, according to the disclosure document.
A mutual fund managed by Charles Schwab worth a maximum of $54,999.99.
Five retirement accounts worth a maximum of $1.45 million.
The documents also show a bank account belonging to his late mother’s estate holds an unspecified amount exceeding $500,000. But there is no credible evidence that figure is anywhere near the tens of millions of dollars required to make the claim true.
A charitable interpretation of the claim is the poster wrongly included the contributions received by Bragg’s campaign with his personal wealth. But even that falls well short. His campaign has received $4 million in donations since 2019, according to the New York State Board of Elections database of campaign disclosure filings.
Lumping campaign funds with net worth is not just inaccurate – it's also against the law. The Federal Election Commission prohibits using that money for personal reasons, and candidates have faced criminal charges for doing so. No credible evidence exists that Bragg has done such a thing.
Other versions of the claim include baseless assertions that Bragg’s net worth has grown by more than 300% since 2019, and that he owns 12 properties, eight cars and three luxury yachts. There is no credible evidence any of those things are true. The financial disclosure documents make no mention of automobiles or yachts and reference two – not 12 – properties.
The wealth of elected officials has been a frequent source of misinformation. USA TODAY has debunked false claims that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a net worth of $29 million and that Sen. Mitch McConnell is worth $125 million.
USA TODAY reached out to Bragg’s office and to the Facebook user who shared the post but did not immediately receive responses from either.
Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
David Karpf, June 6, Email exchange with USA TODAY
New York City (Internet Archive), accessed June 7, Citywide Payroll Data (Fiscal Year)
New York City, accessed June 7, COIB | Electronic Financial Disclosures
New York City Office of City Register, accessed June 7, Detailed Document Information
New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, accessed June 7, Annual Disclosure Law
New York State Board of Elections (Internet Archive), accessed June 7, Search Contributions by Recipient
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim DA Alvin Bragg has $45 million net worth | Fact check
