Born Dianne Emiel Goldman in San Francisco’s exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood, she was redirected from a Jewish religious school to a private Catholic high school to learn discipline. She initially wanted to study medicine but ended up graduating Stanford University with a degree in History and Political Science.
Feinstein’s political career had many firsts, starting with being the first woman to head the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco. She also had her share of disappointments, as when she lost twice the elections for the position of mayor of San Francisco. Several years after, following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, whom she found shot to death, she replaced Moscone in the office, and later elected to stay in the position.
In 1992, together with Barbara Boxer, she became one of California’s first female senators and continued in conceiving achievements when she became the first woman to assume the role of the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, as well as the first woman to chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Today she is the oldest member of the Senate. Her most significant contribution was leading six years review of the CIA’s use of torture.
Feinstein is one of the wealthiest senators of the US, with an estimated net worth of $58 million. The reports attribute a large portion of her wealth to her third husband, investment banker Richard C. Blum. Her only daughter, Katherine Feinstein, is a former Superior Court judge.
This post is also available in:
Español
This post is also available in:
Español
