- Category:
- Richest Politicians › Democrats
- Net Worth:
- $80 Million
- Birthdate:
- Jan 20, 1969 (55 years old)
- Birthplace:
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
What is Dean Phillips's Net Worth?
Dean Phillips is a businessman and Democratic politician who has a net worth of $80 million. Dean Phillips serves as the US representative from Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, having first been elected in 2018. Among his many business ventures, he is the president and CEO of his family's Phillips Distilling Company, the founder and co-owner of Penny's Coffee, and the former co-owner of the gelato brand Talenti. In 2023, Phillips announced his campaign to challenge incumbent US President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
Early Life and Education
Dean Phillips was born as Dean Pfefer on January 20, 1969 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Jewish parents DeeDee Cohen and Artie Pfefer. When Phillips was six months old, his father was killed in the Vietnam War; his mother later got remarried to Eddie Phillips, heir to the Phillips Distilling Company. For his primary and secondary educations, Dean Phillips attended the Blake School. He went on to attend Brown University, graduating in 1991. After spending some time working for the bicycle equipment and apparel company InMotion, as well as his family's company, Phillips went back to school to obtain his MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
Business Career
Following the completion of his MBA degree in 2000, Phillips was named the president and CEO of his family's liquor business, Phillips Distilling Company. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company produces a range of liquors including gin, rum, vodka, Canadian whisky, and brandy. It also produces specialty drinks such as Gin-Ka, Phillips Union Whiskey, and a 100-proof schnapps series. In 2012, Phillips stepped away from the distillery to help run the gelato brand Talenti; he did so until Talenti was sold to Unilever in 2014. A couple years later, Phillips founded Penny's Coffee, a coffeehouse chain in the Twin Cities metro area.
(Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)
US House of Representatives
In 2018, Phillips ran as a Democrat for the US House of Representatives in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. After defeating former sales associate Cole Young in the Democratic primary, he beat incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen in the general election. In the process, Phillips became the first Democrat to win the seat in the heavily Republican district since 1958. He won reelection in 2020 against businessman Kendall Qualls, and won reelection again in 2022 against retired US Navy submarine officer Tom Weiler.
According to the ABC News congressional vote tracker 538, Phillips has voted with President Joe Biden's stated public policy positions 100% of the time. At the start of his first term, Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy ranked him 27th out of 435 members in terms of bipartisanship. Phillips has had caucus memberships with the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, and the Problem Solvers Caucus.
2024 Presidential Campaign
In the summer of 2023, Phillips said that he was considering running for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election. That October, he officially announced his campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the nomination.
Personal Life
Phillips married his first wife, Karin Einisman, in 1995. They had two daughters before divorcing in 2015 after 20 years of marriage. In 2019, Phillips wed Annalise Glick.
