Caroline Garcia
$10 million
Dr. Ben Carson’s net worth is estimated between $15 million and $30 million as of 2025–2026. Born Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. on September 18, 1951, in Detroit, Michigan, Carson is a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, bestselling author, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2017–2021), and currently serves as the USDA National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing (sworn in September 2025). His financial profile reflects decades of surgical practice, prolific public speaking, bestselling books, and board memberships at Fortune 500 companies.
Updated March 2026: According to OpenSecrets, Carson’s net worth was estimated at $15.8 million during his 2016 presidential campaign, with his 2021 Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure reflecting assets in a similar range. Industry estimates suggest his total wealth may be as high as $30 million when accounting for speaking fees, book royalties, and investment portfolios accumulated over his post-surgical career.
Benjamin Solomon Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Sonya Carson, a domestic worker, and Robert Carson. His parents separated when he was eight years old, leaving Sonya to raise Ben and his brother Curtis as a single mother in poverty — at times working three simultaneous domestic jobs. Sonya had a third-grade education herself but imposed strict rules on her sons: no television on weeknights and a requirement to read two books per week and submit written reports. Despite beginning elementary school performing near the bottom of his class and struggling with anger issues as a teenager, Carson reversed his academic trajectory by high school. He graduated third in his class from Southwestern High School in Detroit, earned a B.A. in psychology from Yale University in 1973, and received his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1977, per Wikipedia. Carson completed his neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he became chief resident in 1983.
At age 33, Carson became the youngest person ever named Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital — a position he held from 1984 until his retirement in 2013. He gained international recognition in 1987 for leading the first successful separation of craniopagus twins (twins conjoined at the back of the skull) in a 22-hour operation performed at Johns Hopkins. Over a 29-year surgical career, Carson became a specialist in complex brain tumor removals, hemispherectomies (the removal of half the brain to control severe seizures), and separation of conjoined twins. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — from President George W. Bush in 2008. Carson’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign elevated his national political profile, culminating in his endorsement of Donald Trump after suspending his own campaign. He served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to January 2021 during the Trump administration. In May 2025, Carson was named Vice Chair of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, and in September 2025 he was sworn in as the USDA’s National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing, per the USDA press release.
Carson’s financial portfolio is diversified across multiple income streams accumulated over five decades:
Ben Carson married Lacena “Candy” Rustin in 1975, and the couple has been married for over 50 years. Together they have three sons: Murray, Benjamin Jr., and Rhoeyce. The family maintains residences in Maryland and Michigan. Carson founded the Carson Scholars Fund in 1994, a nonprofit that awards college scholarships to students demonstrating academic achievement and community service — a direct reflection of his own journey from academic struggle to medical and public distinction. He also co-founded the American Cornerstone Institute, a conservative nonprofit policy organization he established after leaving HUD. Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist and has been open about the role of his faith in both his medical career and his public life.
Dr. Ben Carson’s net worth is estimated between $15 million and $30 million, based on his 2016 presidential campaign financial disclosures reported by OpenSecrets and his 2021 HUD departure financial disclosure (OGE 2021). His wealth derives primarily from book royalties, speaking fees, board compensation from Kellogg and Costco, real estate, and his surgical career salary.
Dr. Ben Carson was born on September 18, 1951, in Detroit, Michigan, making him 74 years old as of March 2026. Despite his age, he remains professionally active, having been sworn in as USDA National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing in September 2025.
Dr. Ben Carson stands 6 feet tall (1.83 meters), per his IMDb profile from his association with the 2009 biographical film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, in which Cuba Gooding Jr. portrayed him.
Dr. Ben Carson has been married to Lacena “Candy” Rustin Carson since 1975, a marriage that has spanned more than 50 years. Candy Carson is an active partner in their public and charitable work, including the Carson Scholars Fund and the American Cornerstone Institute. The couple has three sons: Murray, Benjamin Jr., and Rhoeyce.
Dr. Ben Carson was sworn in as the USDA National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing in September 2025, per the USDA. He was also named Vice Chair of the Religious Liberty Commission in May 2025 and co-authored op-eds on federal dietary guidelines with Dr. Mehmet Oz in January 2026. President Trump reportedly planned to award Carson a second Presidential Medal of Freedom in September 2025.
Dr. Ben Carson is famous for leading the first successful separation of craniopagus twins — twins joined at the back of the skull — at Johns Hopkins Hospital in September 1987. The 22-hour operation involved a team of 70 medical professionals and succeeded where previous attempts had always resulted in at least one death. Carson was also known for pioneering hemispherectomy procedures to control severe epilepsy in children and for removing complex brain tumors. He was the youngest physician ever to head the pediatric neurosurgery division at Johns Hopkins, assuming that role at age 33 in 1984.