John Glenn Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth

What was John Glenn’s Net Worth?

John Glenn was a Marine Corps aviator, NASA astronaut, and politician who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death on December 8, 2016, at the age of 95. John Glenn became famous for being the first American to orbit the Earth, which he did in 1962. After retiring as a NASA astronaut, he served as a US Senator from Ohio from 1974 to 1999. Glenn returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77, making him the oldest person to take a spaceflight at the time.

Early Life and Education

John Glenn Jr. was born on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio to Clara, a teacher, and John Sr., who owned a plumbing company. He had an adopted sister named Jean, with whom he attended New Concord Elementary School. Growing up, Glenn washed cars, sold rhubarb, and delivered the Columbus Dispatch newspaper by bicycle. He was also a member of the Ohio Rangers. As an adolescent, Glenn attended New Concord High School, where he played varsity football. After graduating in 1939, he went to Muskingum College, where he continued playing football. In 1941, Glenn earned a private pilot license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He ultimately did not graduate from college, as he dropped out to enlist in the military.

Military Career

Amid the United States’ entry into World War II, Glenn left college and enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. In 1942, he enlisted as a US Navy aviation cadet, and during advanced training he took an offer to transfer to the US Marine Corps. Promoted to first lieutenant in 1943, Glenn was shipped out to Hawaii in early 1944. He went on to become a distinguished fighter pilot during World War II, and later during the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War. For his service, Glenn earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals, among many other honors.

Test Pilot

While in Korea, Glenn applied for training as a test pilot. After graduating from the US Naval Test Pilot School, he had his first test assignment with the FJ-3 Fury, which nearly got him killed. From late 1956 to the spring of 1959, Glenn was assigned to the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, DC. During that time, in 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight, flying an F8U Crusader from Los Alamitos, California to New York City in just over three hours and twenty-three minutes. Glenn’s onboard camera took the first continuous, panoramic photograph of the country. For his efforts, he received another Distinguished Flying Cross.

NASA Astronaut

In 1959, Glenn was among the Mercury Seven military test pilots selected to become NASA’s first astronauts. For the first two crewed flights of Project Mercury, the suborbital missions Mercury-Redstone 3 and Mercury-Redstone 4, he served as the backup pilot to Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom. Glenn was then selected for Mercury-Atlas 6, NASA’s first crewed orbital flight. He named his spacecraft Friendship 7. Following a series of delays, the spacecraft took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 20, 1962. On Friendship 7, Glenn orbited the Earth a total of three times. The spacecraft safely splashed down after nearly five hours in flight, with Glenn becoming the first American to orbit Earth and the third American ever to go to space. This made him a national hero, and he earned his sixth Distinguished Flying Cross. Glenn left NASA in early 1964.

US Senator

In late 1962, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy suggested that Glenn run for the United States Senate in his home state of Ohio. As he was the oldest member of the astronaut corps and was unlikely to be chosen for Project Apollo missions, he resigned from NASA in 1964 and announced his candidacy for the US Senate as a Democrat. However, following an injury that left him unable to campaign and due to the fear that he would win solely because of his fame as an astronaut, Glenn soon dropped out of the race. He would go on to mount his second Senate campaign in 1970, and lose to businessman Howard Metzenbaum in the primary. Glenn was finally successful on his third campaign, in 1974, when he defeated Metzenbaum in the primary and Republican Ralph Perk in the general election. He won reelection in 1980 by defeating Jim Betts with the largest margin ever for a Senator from Ohio.

In 1983, Glenn announced his candidacy for president, but withdrew from the race in March of 1984. He went on to win the Senate race in 1986, and again in 1992, serving as a Senator until 1999. During his time in the Senate, Glenn helped create new environmental policies, promoted nuclear non-proliferation and the reduction of government waste, and chaired the Committee on Governmental Affairs. He also chaired the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee and helped pass the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. In more notorious activities, Glenn was one of the so-called Keating Five, a group of US Senators who were involved in perpetuating the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and ’90s. The case cost him $520,000 in legal fees.

Return to Space

Believing an older person should be sent to space, Glenn began campaigning for his return in 1995. Three years later, it was announced that he would be a member of the STS-95 crew. NASA planned to use Glenn as a test subject to study his biometrics before, during, and after the flight; he was also put in charge of the flight’s photography. On October 29, 1998, he made his return to space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. This made Glenn, at the age of 77, the oldest person to go to space. After the nine-day mission, he was awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal.

Personal Life and Death

Glenn was married to Anne Castor from 1943 until his passing 73 years later. The two had first met when they were toddlers in Ohio. Together, they had two children named John and Carolyn. Glenn was a Freemason, and was also an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church.

In late 2016, Glenn was hospitalized amid deteriorating health. He passed away on December 8, at the age of 95. After laying in state at the Ohio Statehouse, his body was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in the spring of 2017.