Assets: Less than $175,000 (a house and a few stocks).
Occupation: Middle-class lawyer; wife Angela a former teacher.
Political Move: First run for public office in 2002.Modest Beginnings
Elect to the texas legislature and steadily accumulates stakes in paartnerships and private companies.
ethics loophole texas ethics rules don't require disclosure of income amounts or business valuations.
results growing, opaque portfolio with no clear explanation of where money came from.
Elected Texas Attorney General.
Moves 40% of assets into a new “Esther Blind Trust,” claiming he won’t know what’s inside.
Net Worth Reported to Banks: $5.4 million.
Reported Salary: $161,000 combined household income.
Investment Income: Roughly $200,000.
Paxton cashes out of WatchGuard, a police video company he invested ~$300,000 in back in 2004.
Payout: $2.2 million after the company is acquired by Motorola Solutions.
Ethics Red Flag: WatchGuard held a lucrative state contract during Paxton’s time as a legislator. Paxton claimed ignorance of the contract.
Trustee texts Paxton directly with lists of stock trades worth $618,000.
Angela Paxton messages the trustee asking to be kept informed of Ken’s financial actions.
Legal experts warn this violates the definition of a true blind trust.
The Paxtons spend nearly $3.5 million over 10 months on luxury properties across Florida, Utah, Oklahoma, and Hawaii.
Financing: Combination of cash and mortgages.
Total Properties: At least 11 residential properties valued at roughly $7.5 million.
The Texas House votes to impeach Paxton for abusing his office to help a donor.
Texas Senate acquits him after a two-week trial.
Subpoenaed bank records and trust documents surface, revealing the depth of his finances.
Paxton buys an $800,000 resort condo in Ivins, Utah, transferring it into his trust.
Angela Paxton files for divorce, citing adultery after 38 years of marriage.
Ken Paxton’s net worth skyrockets 4,000% from 2003.
PAID FOR BY TEXANS FOR SENATOR JOHN CORNYN, INC