Before JD Vance accepted his vice-presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, he wrote about being from a poverty-stricken area of the Appalachian Mountains in the memoir Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.
According to Business Insider, the book significantly increased Vance's net worth. In 2020, before he ran for office, he earned $347,752 in royalties from the memoir. The following year, which is when he announced his political candidacy, his royalty income increased, earning him $475,380.
Since being chosen as Donald Trump's running mate, Hillbilly Elegy has experienced a surge in sales.
Vance, who turns 40 next month, is the first millennial to be on a major party presidential ticket. If Donald Trump wins in November, Vance would tie as the second youngest vice president in U.S. history—Richard Nixon was also 40 at the time he became vice president; John C. Breckinridge was the youngest, at 36.
Growing up, Vance's life looked completely different from what it does now. He has previously stated that he had a tumultuous upbringing marked by addiction, familial trauma, domestic violence and generational patterns of abuse.
In 2016, he published his bestselling memoir just months before Trump won his first presidential campaign. The book explored the above themes and his childhood in a community experiencing severe economic decline.
Newsweek contacted a spokesperson for Vance via email for comment on Thursday.
The memoir shot to the top of Amazon.com within hours of Trump naming Vance as his running mate on Monday. It had started the day at No. 220, per The Associated Press. At the time of writing, the paperback version of the memoir sits at No. 1 and the hardback is at No. 2.
Hillbilly Elegy has sold at least 1.6 million copies to date, according to the AP. In 2020 the book was adapted into a film of the same name directed by Ron Howard and released on Netflix. The adaptation earned Glenn Close—who played Vance's grandmother—an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. The film also starred Gabriel Basso as Vance and Amy Adams as his mother, Beverly.
Even though some critics praised the film, it was also nominated for three Razzie Awards, which is a mock program that celebrates the worst in cinema. Close was nominated for worst supporting actress.
Hillbilly Elegy has had a 1,180% increase in U.S. viewers on Netflix, according to data tracking company Luminate. On Monday, the movie was watched for 19.2 million minutes, which was the day Trump announced Vance as his running mate. This is compared with 1.5 million minutes on Sunday.
Forbes has reported that Vance is worth an estimated $10 million today, which a portion can be attributed to his memoir and the Netflix movie. Celebrity Net Worth has estimated his net worth at $5 million.
According to Vance's most recent financial disclosure, he earns an annual salary of $327,083 from Narya Capital Management. As well as this, as a U.S. senator, his salary is $174,000. If he becomes vice president, this is expected to change.
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