Stephen Kevin Bannon is an American citizen who served as a political aide and White House Chief Strategist under President Trump’s administration from January 2017 to August 18, 2017. Bannon also had a career as a film producer and media executive. Bannon rendered his support to Trump’s presidential candidature in August 2016 in the capacity of a campaigner and was named the chief executive officer. He also served as an executive chair at Breitbart News, the far-right American news website.
Bannon served as an officer in the US Navy for a period of seven years and spent time on the USS Paul F. Foster destroyer and the Pentagon. After retiring from the navy, Bannon was employed by Goldman Sachs in the capacity of an investment banker for Mergers and Acquisitions. He also served as the Vice-President of the company until he decided to leave it. In 1993, Bannon served as the acting director of Biosphere 2, an Earth-science research project and in the 1990’s he started working in Hollywood as an executive Producer, having produced 18 films.
Early Life and Education
Bannon was born in Norfolk, Virginia on 27 November, 1953 and is the son of home-maker Doris Herr and AT&T executive Martin Bannon. He grew up in a working class, Irish Catholic household along with his siblings Chris Bannon and Mary Beth Meredith.
Bannon graduated from the Catholic Military School Benedictine College Preparatory in Richmond Virginia in the year 1971. Bannon enrolled into Virginia Tech and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in urban planning in 1976. He later attended Georgetown University School of Foreign Service from where he graduated with a master’s degree in the field of national security studies. He also earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.
Career Rise
Bannon’s political career has been filled with controversy. In order to extend his support to the Presidential campaign for Donald Trump, Bannon left his positions at Breitbart, Cambridge Analytica and the Government Accountability Institute and took over Paul Manafort. In November 2016, Bannon was appointed as the chief strategist as well as senior counsellor to the newly elected U.S. President Trump but soon faced opposition due to his alleged racist and anti-semantic statements made in Breitbart News. However, he received support from President Trump who defended him by saying that he knew Bannon long enough; that he would never have considered hiring him if Bannon was indeed a racist.
Along with Stephen Miller, Bannon was responsible for the creation of what is now known as Executive Order 13769; an order that puts restrictions on citizens of seven countries viz-a-viz travel and immigration. Also, for 120 days, the duo suspended the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). They are also responsible for the restriction of Syrian nationals from entering USA, indefinitely. Bannon, who also served on the National Security Council, was removed from his role in April 2017.
Bannon’s last day in the White House was August 18, 2017. When in January 2018, the book ‘Fire and Fury – Inside the Trump White House’ book was released, the book had Bannon making inflammatory statements against Ivanka Trump (calling her dumb as a brick) and Jared Kushner. He had also said that investigators would be moving ahead to uncover the money laundering scam involved Kushner.
It was reported that Donald Trump was getting irritated with Bannon taking credit for his presidency. In a statement, the President said, “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
Bannon also stepped down from his role as the executive chairman of Breitbart News, on January 9, 2018.
Personal Life
Bannon has been married thrice, but none of his marriages proved successful. He was first married to Cathleen Suzanne Houff with whom he has a daughter named Maureen, but the couple divorced soon. In April 1995, Bannon married former investment banker Mary Louise Piccard who gave birth to their twin daughters Grace and Emily Piccard, but the marriage only lasted till 1997, following Piccard’s accusations of domestic violence on the part of Bannon. Bannon then married Diane Clohesy whom he divorced in 2009.
Steve Bannon – Salary and Net Worth
Bannon as a politician earned an estimated annual salary of $179,000 and has an estimated net worth of approximately $48 Million
