Sandra Day O'Connor Net Worth

Sandra Day O’Connor net worth was estimated at $8 million at the time of her death in 2023. She is best remembered as the first woman to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, holding the position from 1981 to 2006.

During her tenure on the Court, financial disclosures indicated her wealth ranged between $3 million and $6.5 million in 2004.

Sandra Day O’Connor Net Worth	$8 Million
Date of Birth	March 26, 1930
Place of Birth	El Paso

Table of Contents

Sandra Day O’Connor Salary

As a U.S. Supreme Court justice, O’Connor earned the standard associate justice salary, which rose gradually during her service and exceeded $200,000 annually by the time she retired. After stepping down, she continued to receive benefits available to retired justices and occasionally served on lower federal courts.

Early Life and Education

Sandra Day O’Connor was born Sandra Day on March 26, 1930, in El Paso. She was raised on a large cattle ranch near Duncan, Arizona, where she developed a strong work ethic and independence from an early age.

She attended Stanford University, graduating magna cum laude in 1950 with a degree in economics, and later earned her law degree from Stanford Law School in 1952.

Early Career

After law school, O’Connor worked as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo. She later moved to Arizona, where she became active in politics and worked on the presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater.

From 1965 to 1969, she served as assistant attorney general of Arizona. She was later appointed to the Arizona State Senate, winning election in 1972 and becoming the first woman to serve as a state Senate majority leader.

She subsequently served on the Maricopa County Superior Court and later on the Arizona Court of Appeals.

U.S. Supreme Court Appointment

During his 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan pledged to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court. He fulfilled that promise in 1981 by nominating O’Connor.

She was confirmed by the Senate with a 99–0 vote, one of the most decisive confirmations in history.

On the Court, O’Connor often aligned with conservative justices such as Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and William Rehnquist, but she frequently served as the pivotal swing vote.

She authored or joined majority opinions in landmark cases including:

Grutter v. Bollinger
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
United States v. Lopez
Bush v. Gore

Her case-by-case approach earned both praise for pragmatism and criticism for lacking a rigid judicial philosophy.

Retirement

O’Connor announced her retirement in 2005 and remained on the Court until her successor was confirmed. She was replaced in 2006 by Samuel Alito.

After retiring, she continued to hear cases on federal courts by designation, taught law courses, and spoke widely on civic education and judicial independence. She also authored essays and the 2013 book Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

In 1952, she married John Jay O’Connor III, whom she met at Stanford Law School. After her husband developed Alzheimer’s disease and later died in 2009, she became an advocate for awareness and care.

In 2009, she founded the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute to promote civic education and engagement. She also helped launch iCivics, a platform providing free civics lessons and educational games for students.

O’Connor was diagnosed with dementia in 2018.

Death

Sandra Day O’Connor died on December 1, 2023, at age 93. Her historic appointment broke gender barriers in the judiciary and helped shape decades of constitutional law through her pragmatic and often decisive swing vote.