Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came into the limelight when she became elected into the Congress as the youngest woman. In her campaign, she promised a drastic change for the low to middle-income families in the United States of America. Also, this includes good jobs for the populace, low fees for college students, good healthcare facilities, and affordable housing for all.
31-years-old Ocasio-Cortez also known as AOC, hinged her campaign promises, undoubtedly, on her personal life experience. She grew up in an average working-class American family. Though her family is not classed as poverty-stricken but faced the same financial challenges as everyone else. Her father, who was a small business owner, passed on in 2012 while her mother worked as a house cleaner. See also:
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Where Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez From?
Alexandria has a Jewish heritage. Several people believe that she is Latina, however, she made a shocking revelation at the Hanukkah event in 2018 where she surprised the crowd about her family history – her ancestors were Jewish. These Jews are originally from Spain or the Iberian Peninsula.
However, during the 1400 Spanish Inquisition that saw many people being forced to convert on the exterior to Catholics but on the interior were allowed to practice their faith. Therefore, some left their country to settle elsewhere. Some settled in Puerto Rico which is where her family descends come from.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Early Life And Education
Alexandria was born on 13 October 1989 to a Catholic family in the Bronx borough area in New York City. She graduated from Boston University having double majors in economics and international relations. She briefly worked for Senator Ted Kennedy where she focused on issues relating to immigration while in college.
She returned home after graduation to become a community organizer. Besides, she took up multiple restaurant jobs working as a bartender and waitress to help keep the family afloat after her father’s death in 2008 from cancer – and this left her family in serious financial issues. She worked as a volunteer organizer for Bernie Sanders in the South Bronx during the 2016 presidential election. This helped in expanding her skills in activism and electoral organizing that has taken her across the country.
Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Boyfriend?
Her boyfriend is Riley Roberts.
Ocasio Cortez is pretty tight-lipped regarding her private life, so, her relationship and private life with her boyfriend are low-key. He is the head of marketing at HomeBinder.com – an outfit that assists people to manage the maintenance of their home. Besides, he works as a consultant assisting tech startups to build revenue by making use of marketing and development.
Riley Roberts hails from Boston, Massachusetts, and has two degrees from Boston University. The duo met while in the university.
Yuri Gripas/Reuters
What is Ocasio-Cortez’s Net Worth?
Celebrity Net Worth has placed an estimation of Ocasio-Cortez’s Net Worth at $100,000! She had a savings of $15,000 before her rise to the U.S. Congress which welcomed her with a whopping $174,000 annual salary.
She receives a yearly earning which is still way below that of an average congress member which is $511,000. But her age to that of an average member of the congress is wide too!
While AOC is just 31, congress members have an average age of 57.
The age factor somehow has an impact on her earning.
She earned around $26,600 yearly before her election into the house and has been paying down college debts. However, because of her debts in the college and the high cost of apartments where she resides and coupled with her campaign expenses, she had to spend part of her savings. This to a great extent altered her savings. See also:
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How Much Is Ocasio-Cortez Congressional Salary?
Alexandria gets a yearly congressional salary of $174,000. This is an increase from her previous salary. In 2019, she earned an annual salary of $26,600 – this was realized by working as a restaurant worker and bartender while attending college.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Student Loan Debt
AOC, as fondly called had attended Boston University – one of the most expensive private universities in the country. Oftentimes she has openly talked about paying off her student loan debt. However, this student loan debt made her champion debt forgiveness.
She has openly declared in the past that it was easier for her to become the youngest woman in the history of America to be elected to Congress than it’s easy to settle off her student loan debts. Last year, she made a stunning revelation during a House Committee on Financial Services on Capitol Hill that she still has about $19,000 in student loan debt.
While speaking to CNBC reporters, she said;
“To pay off my student loans, to access quality healthcare, I had to do difficult things. And I do not believe that is the process through which a person should have access to education, healthcare, and a host of other things considered as human rights”
Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory At The Poll
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez faced Republican nominee Anthony Pappas in the general election held on 6th November to emerge as the youngest female ever elected to Congress. She defeated Rep Joe Crowley in June 2018 during the primary election.
She won the election in November at the age of 29. She was the first opponent in the Democratic Party to face Crowley’s 14 years reign. She enjoyed endorsement from several political progressives and figures like Barack Obama, former American President, and US Senator Bernie Sanders. In August 2018, she spoke at the Netroots Nation conference and was regarded as the “undisputed start of the convention.”
AOC Campaign Issues
Alexandria, as a member of the Democratic Socialists party of America who also assisted in organizing for the Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders in 2016 ran her campaign on a progressive platform. Eradicating ICE, presenting universal healthcare, reforming criminal justice, and tuition-free college.
The Green New Deal
Alexandria Ocasio and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts in Feb 2019 introduced a scope known as the “Green New Deal.”
The resolution proposed a switch to a renewable energy source for the whole country with the aim of arriving at a net-zero greenhouse gas emission by the year 2030. Also, the resolution seeks to promote research and development in clean energy technology.
Besides, she aims to include federal jobs guarantee, good healthcare practices under the “Green New Deal,” and basic income. Therefore, she suggested raising income tax to 70% to fund her proposals.
This resolution was co-sponsored by 60 other House members and 9 Senators which includes Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Kamala Harris – former Democratic presidential candidates.
