Michels co-owns and oversees a construction firm that has become one of the largest in his state of South Dakota, which is famous for road building. Additionally, he has become an outspending donor to Republican candidates running in this election cycle.
Michels may be wealthy, yet some key details were left out of his campaign announcement. He and his family own property in Connecticut and New York City through LLCs which make ownership difficult to trace.
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Early Life and Education
Michels co-owns and manages Michels Corporation, a family-owned utility construction firm. He served with distinction in the U.S. Army for 12 years as an officer; ultimately attaining rank as major.
As reported by Wisconsin Right Now earlier this year, Mr. Leach owns homes in Connecticut and New York with his wife Barbara, while his children attended schools on the East Coast. State law only requires candidates and public officials to list their Wisconsin residency when making campaign donations, yet Hartland address appears when making campaign donations.
Evers’ campaign has quickly capitalised on this vulnerability of Michels, noting his potential conflict of interest if elected governor and his company secured contracts from the state government. Unfortunately, Michels has failed to divest himself of his business or put it in his children’s names – two strategies employed by other wealthy politicians who become governor.
Professional Career
Michels built up his family business into a construction powerhouse, winning major state road contracts while serving on his family board of directors. If elected governor, however, Michels would need to divest or place it in a blind trust in order to meet gubernatorial regulations regarding divesting from such interests.
Wisconsin Right Now recently reported that Michels and his wife Barbara own homes in Connecticut and New York City that do not appear on his official disclosure statement of financial interests. His daughter attends high school east, so the family typically spends most of its time there.
He claims his children can receive an excellent education on the east coast, where they lived for nine years while his daughter received treatment for rare cancer. His Facebook page showcases an obvious passion for the area; she even participated in sailing competitions while there.
Achievement and Honors
Michels’ campaign emphasizes his blue-collar roots, with stories about him baling hay as a child, graduating from Lomira High School in small-town Lomira and serving in the Army before starting up their family construction company. Trump supports him and lists between $16.5 and 76 Million as his personal wealth on financial disclosure forms.
Michels Corporation, Wisconsin’s largest contractor, is co-owned and co-managed by Michels himself as a Republican. Michels ran unsuccessfully for state Senate seats in 1998 and 2004 before losing out in 2022’s governor race to Russ Feingold (Democrat). Michels currently leads polls but faces an uphill battle to capture all 72 counties of Wisconsin if elected; pledged to divest his company stock if elected but trusts holding these shares are not publically traded so would need to sell shares to his brothers or family in order to fulfill this pledge.
Personal Life
Michels’ personal life is a central issue in his campaign, prompting questions regarding home ownership and family connections on the east coast. He and his wife own multi-million homes in Greenwich, Connecticut and New York City using oddly named LLCs to hide ownership, Wisconsin Right Now has revealed.
Michels Corporation has provided hundreds of millions worth of work for the state. If elected governor, Michels has stated he will divest himself of ownership but has not specified whether this means giving shares away to family or other family members.
Michels and his family have contributed generously to anti-abortion groups in New York and Wisconsin. Michels has actively campaigned for overturning Roe v. Wade while supporting laws restricting abortion access since 2004.
Net Worth
Michels co-owns and manages Wisconsin’s largest family construction business, estimated at roughly $1.1 billion, valued by Forbes magazine as worth about 10 percent of Wisconsin GDP. Michels Construction Company has been an important contributor to Republican candidates, such as Rebecca Kleefisch.
Michels owns two homes for $17 million: an island sound home in Greenwich, Connecticut and a Manhattan penthouse on E 68th St in Manhattan, according to records. His children have resided out east for nine years while attending public schools both there and in Connecticut – as well as participating actively in high school sports teams.
Michels and his company refused to respond to queries regarding how and whether he plans to divest himself of his stake in the firm if elected governor, as well as whether it plans on continuing seeking state road contracts that he could need to approve as governor.