Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has reportedly gained as much as $2.9 million from his fossil fuel interests since being tapped to join the high court.
Alito’s reported assets—excluding his home and other personal property—grew from $1.1 million in 2005 to between $3.4 million and $8.4 million in 2024, according to federal financial disclosures. During that period, his oil and gas holdings have made him between $390 million and $2.9 million, according to an analysis by Court Accountability, The Guardian reported Tuesday.
And as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a fossil fuels-related case, that brings Alito’s ability to be impartial into question, Court Accountability co-founder Lisa Graves warned.
“You might have real appreciation for how that industry has helped make it possible for you to perhaps buy a second home on the water, or live a [certain] lifestyle,” said Graves, who put together the analysis.
Alito, who is the only Supreme Court justice with holdings in energy companies, has refused to step back from the upcoming petition brought by fossil fuel giants Suncor and ExxonMobil. He previously recused himself from a petition from the same companies in 2023,. The new case will determine whether municipal and state governments can seek damages for decades of Big Oil deception regarding the climate harms these companies knew their fossil fuel products would cause—a make or break decision for Alito’s second stream of income.
Most of Alito’s financial gains came from property in Grady County, Oklahoma, in which his wife, Martha Ann, holds a mineral interest. Alito has reported the value of the plot between $100,000 and $250,000, but Graves noted that one of Alito’s family members had sold an adjacent plot for $800,000, suggesting that the jurist could be underreporting the land’s value.
In 2022, Alito’s wife agreed to lease the plot of land to Citizen Energy, a private oil and gas company. No reporting or public documents indicate that a well has been drilled on this property, but a lease agreement shows that the owners would have received three-sixteenths of the profit from any extracted oil.
“It raises concerns because you have a sitting justice who is hoping to get richer based on oil exploration of this land,” said Graves.
Citizen Energy was later purchased by Validus Energy, in which Elliott Investment Management holds a major stake. Alito previously landed in hot water after he failed to disclose a free plane ride he took from Elliott Investment Management’s founder. The firm also owns more than 52 million shares of Suncor, which are worth more than $3.2 billion, according to Court Accountability.
Alito has major investments in Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, a high dividend yield fund in which Exxon is the third-largest holding. In 2004, Alito inherited between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of stock in Exxon—which he has since sold.
“My view is that you shouldn’t be able to sell a stock just so you can sit on a case, even though that company’s profits have benefited you,” said Graves.
In May, a coalition of watchdog groups—including environmental, civil liberties, and good government organizations—sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee calling for an investigation into whether Alito’s refusal to recuse in this case violates federal law.
The court is expected to hear oral arguments on October 5.
Lindsey Graham’s sister Darline doesn’t think she was handed her late brother’s Senate seat, even though she was literally appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.
On Tuesday, NewsNation’s Ryan Noble asked what Graham would say to people who think that.
