Alan Dershowitz Net Worth: How He Made Millions as a Lawyer and Author ·

21 Aug 2024, 00:00

Alan Dershowitz is one of the most famous and controversial lawyers in the United States. He has represented some of the most notorious clients in history, such as O. J. Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein, and Donald Trump. He has also written several books on law, politics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But how much is Alan Dershowitz worth? And how did he earn his fortune?

Early Life and Education

Alan Dershowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 1, 1938, to Orthodox Jewish parents. He attended Yeshiva University High School, where he played basketball. He then graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in political science in 1959. He went on to study law at Yale University, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. He graduated first in his class with a bachelor of laws degree in 1962.

Career Beginnings

After graduating from Yale, Dershowitz clerked for two judges: David L. Bazelon of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Arthur Goldberg of the US Supreme Court. In 1964, he became an assistant professor at Harvard Law School. Three years later, he was promoted to a full professor, making him the youngest in the school’s history. He taught at Harvard Law for 49 years until his retirement in 2013.

Major Legal Clients

While teaching at Harvard, Dershowitz also maintained a legal practice in civil and criminal law. He became known for taking on high-profile and often unpopular cases and causes. Some of his most famous clients include:

Claus von Bülow: A British socialite accused of attempting to murder his wife by injecting her with insulin. Dershowitz successfully appealed his conviction and got him acquitted in a retrial in 1984.
O. J. Simpson: A former football star accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in 1994. Dershowitz served as an appellate adviser to his defense team, which won a not guilty verdict in 1995.
Mike Tyson: A professional boxer convicted of raping an 18-year-old woman in 1992. Dershowitz appealed his conviction and got his sentence reduced from six to three years.
Leona Helmsley: A hotel heiress convicted of tax evasion and fraud in 1989. Dershowitz appealed her conviction and got her sentence reduced from 16 to four years.
Julian Assange: The founder of WikiLeaks, a website that publishes classified information from whistleblowers. Dershowitz joined his legal team in 2011 to fight his extradition from the UK to Sweden on sexual assault charges.
Harvey Weinstein: A Hollywood producer accused of sexual harassment and assault by dozens of women. Dershowitz joined his defense team in 2018 but left shortly after due to a conflict of interest.
Donald Trump: The 45th president of the United States impeached twice by the House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in 2019 and incitement of insurrection in 2021. Dershowitz defended him in both trials before the Senate, arguing that his actions were not impeachable offenses.

Controversies and Allegations

Dershowitz has also been involved in several controversies and allegations throughout his career. Some of them include:

Jeffrey Epstein: A financier and sex offender who was accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls. Dershowitz was part of his defense team that negotiated a plea deal with federal prosecutors in 2006 that gave him a lenient sentence. In 2014, one of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, claimed that she was forced to have sex with Dershowitz when she was a minor. Dershowitz denied the allegation and sued Giuffre for defamation.
Norman Finkelstein: A political scientist and critic of Israel who accused Dershowitz of plagiarism and falsification in his book The Case for Israel (2003). Dershowitz denied the accusation and tried to prevent Finkelstein from getting tenure at DePaul University in 2007.
Jimmy Carter: The former president of the United States who wrote a book titled Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (2006), which criticized Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Dershowitz denounced the book as anti-Semitic and biased and challenged Carter to a debate, which Carter declined.

Books and Media Appearances

Dershowitz is also an author and a media personality. He has written over 40 books on various topics, such as law, politics, civil rights, human rights, religion, ethics, and history. Some of his best-selling books are:

Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case (1985), which recounts his defense of Claus von Bülow and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close.
Chutzpah (1991), which explores the role of Jews in American society and politics.
Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O. J. Simpson Case (1996), which analyzes the flaws and biases in the legal system that led to Simpson’s acquittal.
The Case for Israel (2003), which defends Israel’s right to exist and challenges its critics.
The Case Against Impeaching Trump (2018), which argues that Trump’s actions did not warrant impeachment or removal from office.

Dershowitz is also a frequent guest and commentator on various television and radio shows, such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. He has also appeared in several documentaries and films, such as The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), where he played himself as the lawyer of the pornographic publisher.