Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's Net Worth Is Probably Smaller Than You Think

The year 2026 started off with a military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. According to NBC News, a week before Maduro was handcuffed by members of Delta Force, President Donald Trump gave him the option to leave Venezuela. "You got to surrender," Trump reportedly said in a private phone call. Maduro chose not to.

In the months leading up to Maduro's arrest, Operation Absolute Resolve involved U.S. warships stationed off the coast of Venezuela, as well as placing CIA operatives in the country. The order was placed at 10:46 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, and was completed within a few hours. Maduro has since hired an attorney and appeared in court. Can his net worth see him through an intense legal battle? Here's what we know.

Maduro is reportedly worth $2 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. He was elected in April 2013 following a special election that was conducted after former president Hugo Chávez died. His career in politics officially began in 1986 when Maduro was sent to Havana by the Socialist League to attend a one-year training course in politics at the Escuela Nacional de Cuadros Julio Antonio Mella.

A few years later, Maduro joined the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, which was founded by Hugo Chávez in 1982. At the time, Chávez was in jail for his role in the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts. Maduro heavily campaigned for Chávez's release, which happened in March 1994. A few years later, Maduro founded the Movement of the Fifth Republic (MVR) in order to support Chávez's 1998 run for president.

Maduro was subsequently elected to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies, the National Constituent Assembly, and finally to the National Assembly in 2000 under the MVR. From 2000 until 2005, Maduro was president of the National Assembly of Venezuela before he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006 by Chávez. In 2012, Maduro was appointed Vice President until Chávez's death.

In March 2017, The New York Times reported that Maduro's loyalists on the Supreme Court "seized power from the National Assembly," which is essentially Venezuela's version of Congress. This got rid of the legislature and allowed the Supreme Court to write its own laws. Prior to this, dozens of political prisoners were being detained without trial as protestors were "violently repressed" and local elections were postponed.

Two years later, Maduro was elected to a contested second term, per The New York Times. This, even though there were record numbers of Venezuelans emigrating to other countries as violence and inflation increased. His third term started in January 2025, following another contested election, per the BBC. "I swear that this new presidential term will be one of peace, prosperity, equality, and new democracy," said Maduro during his inauguration speech. "I will keep my word."

One year later, Maduro and his wife were captured by the United States military. He hired attorney Barry Pollack to represent him. Pollack previously negotiated the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, reports The Hill. In his first court appearance, Maduro pleaded not guilty.