JD Vance and Usha Chilukuri come from very different worlds. Vance, raised in a working-class Ohio town by his grandmother while his mother struggled with addiction, experienced a difficult and unstable childhood.

Usha, on the other hand, grew up in California in a family of high-achieving Indian immigrants: her father is an IIT-educated mechanical engineer and her mother is a marine biologist.

Their paths crossed at Yale Law School, where they met and connected over a major writing project. Usha recalls, “We were friends first; I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with JD? But the friendship quickly blossomed into something more. As Vance describes in Hillbilly Elegy, he was captivated, admitting, “I thought about her constantly…a friend described me as feeling queasy.”

Their bond culminated in marriage in 2014, blending their contrasting backgrounds into a partnership that now spans the national stage, with Vance poised to become vice president-elect.

Although they come from different backgrounds, Usha’s support helped Vance adapt to the elite worlds he found himself navigating. As a “meat and potatoes” man, Vance had to adapt not only to his vegetarian lifestyle, but also to the social and cultural differences that accompanied their relationship. He learned to cook Indian food for his family and found his foundation in his quiet resilience, which guided him through times of personal struggle. After a particularly frustrating job interview, Vance stormed out of a hotel room; Usha’s response was firm but patient, reminding him, “It was never okay to run away. »

Vance’s rise from humble roots to wealth and political ambition is highlighted by his estimated net worth of $4.8 million to $11.3 million, a far cry from his running mate’s $6.7 billion , Donald Trump, but well above the median U.S. household net worth of $193,000. . His journey to fortune began after Yale when he joined Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm, Mithril Capital. Thiel’s mentorship and support would ultimately help launch Vance’s political career, including a successful run for the Ohio Senate in 2022.

“I mean, look, I wanted to make money — I’m not saying I’m against making money,” Vance said in an interview with The New York Times in October. “But when I thought about what I really wanted from my life, what Usha and I have right now… And I wanted to raise our children with stability.” Reflecting on his own instability as a child, Vance noted how difficult it was to constantly change addresses. “I hated the fact that I had these different addresses. It was just something that really bothered me as a kid.”

Today, Vance’s assets cover a wide range. Its largest account, a Charles Schwab account, is valued at between $2.3 million and $7.7 million. As a proponent of digital currency, he owns between $250,000 and $500,000 in bitcoin and has other significant assets, including Washington, D.C. real estate worth up to $1 million, as well as ‘a stake in Narya Capital Fund I. He also receives royalties from Hillbilly. Elegy, bringing in between $15,000 and $50,000 per year.