Karoline Leavitt leaves White House: All about her net worth, salary, career, and family

Karoline Leavitt is leaving the White House, saying she wants to devote more time to her two young children.

In a post on X, Leavitt said she had decided to leave her role as White House press secretary to focus more on her family.

"The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life," she wrote.



Her departure has also put the spotlight on her personal life, including her salary, net worth, career and family.

Karoline Leavitt net worth

According to Newsweek, Karoline Leavitt's net worth was estimated at around $7 million. The report, published last year, noted that the actual figure "could be higher."

As White House press secretary, Leavitt was reported to earn approximately $180,000 to $190,000 a year.

Who is Karoline Leavitt?

Leavitt, born in 1997, became the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history when she took office in January 2025 during Donald Trump's second administration.

Before becoming press secretary, she served as the national press secretary for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. She had also worked in the first Trump administration as an assistant press secretary and presidential writer.

Leavitt later served as communications director for Republican Representative Elise Stefanik of New York. In 2022, she ran for the U.S. House in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. She won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas.

She was born in Atkinson, New Hampshire, and attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She later attended Saint Anselm College on an NCAA Division II softball scholarship and graduated in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science.

While in college, Leavitt interned at Fox News and later worked in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. After graduating, she joined the White House Press Office as an assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany.

In January 2024, Leavitt became the national press secretary for Trump's presidential campaign. She was also an instructor for Project 2025's "Conservative Governance 101" training program.

Leavitt was the youngest person to hold the White House press secretary position since Ron Ziegler, who was 29 when he became President Richard Nixon's top press official.

Karoline Leavitt husband and family

Leavitt is married to Nicholas Riccio, a real estate developer. The couple have attracted attention because of their significant age difference.

Leavitt gave birth to their son on July 10, 2024. She had initially planned to take maternity leave but returned to her professional duties following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Leavitt has spoken publicly about her relationship with Riccio. On The Megyn Kelly Show, she said they met through a mutual friend at a restaurant owned by Riccio in New Hampshire.

"A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire, and invited my husband. I was speaking and we met, we were acquainted as friends, and we fell in love," Leavitt said.

She described their relationship as "a very atypical love story" and called Riccio her "greatest supporter," "best friend" and "rock."

Riccio's real estate business has also been cited in reports about the couple's finances. Financial literacy instructor Alex Beene told Newsweek that much of Leavitt's estimated wealth was connected to her husband's real estate business and her own earnings.

"When it comes to Leavitt's net worth, most is tied to her husband's lucrative real estate business and, of course, her earnings since becoming press secretary. Any public position can be a mixed bag when it comes to further acquiring wealth. Sometimes it produces more speaking engagements and government roles, and other times these figures go away from public view quickly," Beene said.