DeSantis earned over $1M from his book, significantly boosting his net worth

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) earned more than $1 million from the advance for the book he released in February, significantly raising his net worth. 

An annual financial disclosure form that DeSantis filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics states that DeSantis took in $1.25 million from HarperCollins Publishers for his memoir, “The Courage to be Free.” The book topped the list of New York Times bestsellers in March and was seen as a prelude to DeSantis’s long-speculated presidential run. 

The income from the book helped raise his net worth to $1,174,331.07, up from about $319,000 last year. He also makes a salary of more than $140,000 through his position as governor. 

The filing notes that DeSantis still owes more than $18,500 in student loans to Sallie Mae, his only major financial liability exceeding $1,000. 

The disclosure comes ahead of the deadline for DeSantis to submit his financial records to the Federal Elections Commission, for which he received an extension.

In “The Courage to be Free,” DeSantis attacks “wokeness” and “legacy media.” A New York Times book review of the memoir slammed it in February ahead of its release for a “bullying sense of superiority.” 

“DeSantis is not taking any chances: He may have been able to ‘withstand’ the ‘indoctrination’ of being exposed to ideas he didn’t like, but he doesn’t seem to believe the same could be said for anyone else,” Times book critic Jennifer Szalai wrote. 

Insider noted that DeSantis does not own any property and does not trade stocks, as he noted in the book that he stopped before becoming a member of Congress to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.