Peter Hegseth is an American TV host, author, and Army National Guard officer. In the Trump administration, he was considered to lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Since his undergraduate days at Princeton University, Peter Hegseth has been active in conventional and Republican politics and has been a strong supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy.
He reportedly persuaded Trump to pardon three American soldiers charged with war crimes in Iraq and defended the treatment of inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
As his fans, many of you already know much about his work and talent, but there is much more to discuss. So, in this article, we’ll explore his career, background, and some exciting things about him.
Quick Information
| Full Name | Peter Brian Hegseth |
| Date of Birth | June 6, 1980 |
| Place of Birth | Forest Lake, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Age | 44 years old (as of 2024) |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Television host, author, and Army National Guard officer |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouses | Meredith Schwarz (m. 2004; div. 2009) Samantha Deering (m. 2010; div. 2017) Jennifer Rauchet (m. 2019) |
| Children | 4 |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Net Worth | $6 Million (as of 2024) |
Early Life & Education
Pete Brian Hegseth was born in Forest Lake, Minnesota, on June 6, 1980. He is the son of Penny and Brian Hegseth and has two brothers.
After graduating from Forest Lake Area High School, he enrolled at Princeton University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003.
As a Princeton student, Hegseth published the conservative student publication “The Princeton Tory” and played on the men’s basketball team.
He later attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, graduating with a Master of Public Policy in 2013.
Professional Life
After graduating from Princeton, Pete began working as an equity capital markets analyst at Bear Stearns and serving as a reserve infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard.
In 2004, he was an infantry platoon leader at Guantánamo Bay as part of the Minnesota National Guard. Then, he was an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad and Samarra and later a civil-military operations officer in Samarra.
While serving in Iraq, Hegseth was awarded an Army Commendation Medal and Bronze Star Medal. In 2012, he returned to active duty as a captain. After deployment to Afghanistan, Pete was a senior counterinsurgency instructor at Kabul’s Counterinsurgency Training Center.
He later became a major in the Individual Ready Reserve. After returning from Iraq, Hegseth briefly worked at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, which he left in 2007. Then, he was the executive director of the political advocacy organization Vets For Freedom until 2012.
That same year, he formed MN PAC. Pete Hegseth also served as the executive director of the advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America until 2015.
He hired his brother Philip, who graduated from college in May 2015, to work for the group and paid him more than $100,000.
Pete’s lawyer said that Philip possessed the qualifications for the media relations job and that private entities aren’t prohibited from hiring relatives.
In 2012, Hegseth sought the Republican nomination for one of Minnesota’s seats in the U.S. Senate, but he dropped out of the race after the nominating convention in May 2012.
In 2014, he became a Fox News contributor and has often criticized Democrats and the media on the air. In 2018, he co-hosted “All-American New Year” on the network, and a pre-recorded interview he had conducted with Donald Trump was broadcast during the program.
In July 2021, Pete interviewed Rep. James Talarico of Texas and called him out for dishonesty regarding the 2020 election.
Pete Hegseth’s Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Pete Hegseth’s net worth is estimated to be $6 million as of 2024. He primarily accumulated his wealth through his successful careers.
Pete Hegseth’s net worth has grown over the years due to his successful career and is expected to increase in the coming years.
Relationship Status
Pete Hegseth was married to Meredith Schwarz from 2005 to 2009. After their divorce, he married Samantha Deering in 2010, and they welcomed their sons Rex, Boone, and Gunner together.
While married to Deering, Hegseth had a daughter, Gwen, with Fox producer Jennifer Rauchet in August 2017. Pete and Samantha divorced that same month, and two years later, Hegseth married Rauchet, who has three children from her first marriage.
Controversies
On June 14, 2015, Pete Hegseth accidentally struck a drummer from West Point with an axe, causing minor injuries. In May 2018, he mocked the “failing ‘New York Times'” for not reporting on the capture of several ISIS leaders, despite the newspaper having already covered it.
In May 2019, it was reported that Pete Hegseth had been trying to convince Trump to pardon members of the U.S. military charged with war crimes without disclosing his involvement. In January 2020, he encouraged Trump to bomb Iranian cultural sites.
In February 2020, Pete Hegseth stated that Democrats were “rooting for coronavirus to spread” and suggested they made up the Omicron variant to help their performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
