Who is Michael Wolff? The author and journalist behind ‘Fire and Fury’ now suing Melania Trump over alleged $1 billion legal threat

Melania Trump has found herself entangled in a legal dispute with journalist Michael Wolff, who has filed a lawsuit alleging that the First Lady threatened legal action against him over remarks linking her to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

As per TMZ, Wolff claims that Melania sent him a letter on October 15, demanding he “immediately retract” certain statements he made. Multiple media outlets have reported that the letter referenced damages amounting to an astonishing $1 billion.

In his lawsuit, Wolff, the author of All or Nothing, asserts that Melania Trump and her husband, President Donald Trump, “have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them with expensive lawsuits to silence their speech," quotes AP.

Who is Michael Wolff

Michael Wolff (born August 27, 1953) is an American journalist, author, and media critic known for his sharp political commentary and insider reporting. A columnist for USA Today and The Hollywood Reporter, Wolff has won two National Magazine Awards and a Mirror Award.

Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Wolff graduated from Columbia University and began his career at The New York Times as a copy boy. He later co-founded the news aggregation site Newser and served as editor of Adweek.

Wolff was previously married to lawyer Alison Anthoine, with whom he has three children. He is now married to journalist Victoria Floethe, and they share two children. His daughter, Susanna Wolff, is the former editor-in-chief of CollegeHumor.

Michael Wolff net worth

Michael Wolff’s net worth has been reported with varying estimates across different sources. According to a 2023 article by Celebrity Birthdays, Wolff was listed among the richest journalists in the United States, with an estimated net worth of around $5 million, based on data from Wikipedia and other outlets.

More recent estimates place his wealth much higher. Famous People Today reports that as of 2025, Wolff’s net worth is approximately $20 million. Earlier, in 2018, Forbes valued his fortune at $13 million, noting that his explosive bestseller Fire and Fury broke records for publisher Henry Holt, selling over 1.7 million copies across all formats in less than three weeks.

Michael Wolff books

He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Burn Rate (1998), The Man Who Owns the News (2008), and his bestselling Trump-era series, Fire and Fury (2018), Siege (2019), Landslide (2021), and All or Nothing (2025).