From food stamps to billionaire status, from wrestling empire builder to cabinet secretary tasked with dismantling the very department she leads, Linda McMahon’s life reads like a fantasy. Yet here she is at 77, serving as America’s Secretary of Education with a mandate that’s as controversial as it is unprecedented.
The woman who co-founded WWE alongside her husband, Vince McMahon, now controls the fate of federal education policy. Her confirmation on March 3, 2025, by a narrow 51-45 party-line vote sparked fierce debate about qualifications, intentions, and what it means when a wrestling mogul becomes responsible for America’s schools.
Biography
Linda Marie Edwards entered the world on October 4, 1948, in New Bern, North Carolina. She was the only child of civil service employees working at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, growing up in a modest household that valued hard work and discipline.
Her life changed dramatically at age 13 when she met a young Vince McMahon. By 17, they’d married in 1966, starting what would become one of America’s most remarkable partnerships. Despite her early marriage, Linda pursued education, earning a Bachelor’s degree in French from East Carolina University in 1969.
The McMahons filed for bankruptcy in 1976, a low point that briefly left them relying on food stamps to feed their young family. It’s a detail that adds perspective to the billions they’d eventually accumulate – even empire-builders face rock bottom.
Career
Recovery from bankruptcy came through an unlikely vehicle: professional wrestling. In 1980, the McMahons co-founded Titan Sports with just 13 employees. Two years later, they acquired Vince’s father’s Capitol Wrestling Corporation, gaining control of what would become the World Wrestling Federation and eventually WWE.
Linda served as President from 1993 and as CEO from 1997 to 2009, driving WWE’s growth from a regional wrestling promotion into a global entertainment powerhouse. She was essential during WWE’s October 1999 IPO, which valued the company at $172.5 million.
Under her leadership, WWE expanded to 500+ employees across eight offices in five countries. She negotiated major TV deals with Viacom and established the merchandising empire that became crucial to WWE’s revenue. She helped develop Action figures, video games, and apparel.
McMahon also made memorable on-screen appearances during WWE’s Attitude Era, most famously at WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001. She also launched civic initiatives like SmackDown! Your Vote, which registered 150,000 voters in 2000.
Politics
After resigning as WWE CEO in September 2009, McMahon shifted to politics with stunning financial commitment. She spent approximately $100 million self-funding two Connecticut Senate campaigns, pouring $50.1 million into her 2010 race against Richard Blumenthal and $48.7 million into her 2012 race against Chris Murphy.
Both ended in defeat by roughly 12-point margins, ranking among America’s most expensive Senate campaigns ever. Critics questioned whether money could buy political success; the answer, at least for McMahon, was a resounding no.
Her political fortunes shifted with Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. Following a $7+ million contribution to pro-Trump super PACs, McMahon received her first federal appointment. She was nominated as SBA Administrator in December 2016 and confirmed with rare bipartisan support, 81-19, in February 2017.
At the Small Business Administration, McMahon oversaw more than 2,000 employees and visited 68 cities in her first year. She improved disaster response during Hurricanes Harvey and Michael and championed the Pledge to America’s Workers initiative. Her tenure there earned bipartisan praise, a stark contrast to what would come later.
McMahon departed the SBA in April 2019 to chair America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC that raised $83 million for his 2020 reelection campaign. She personally contributed $4.5 million. In April 2021, she co-founded the America First Policy Institute, which Politico dubbed a “White House in waiting.”
Secretary of Education Appointment
McMahon’s nomination as Education Secretary on November 19, 2024, sparked immediate controversy. Unlike her bipartisan SBA confirmation, this appointment was divided along party lines, with critics questioning her minimal formal education and policy experience. She never taught despite earning a teaching certificate, and her only experience with the education board was one year on Connecticut’s State Board of Education from 2009 to 2010.
Within weeks of her March 2025 confirmation, the department announced reduction-in-force layoffs affecting nearly 50% of the workforce. Approximately 1,315 employees were terminated, in addition to 600 who resigned. The Office for Civil Rights lost at least 240 attorneys, while Federal Student Aid shed 320 positions.
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.” In November 2025, she signed six interagency agreements transferring $31+ billion in programs to other agencies. Title I funding for low-income schools, TRIO programs, and career and technical education all shifted to the Department of Labour.
Her stated priorities include expanding school choice, eliminating DEI programs, combating campus antisemitism through funding threats, and restoring “patriotic education.” She’s sent letters threatening to withdraw funding to 60 universities, cut $400 million from Columbia University, and announced $500 million in new charter school funding.
McMahon has called this work the department’s “final mission”.
Personal Life
Linda’s 59-year marriage to Vince McMahon has weathered extraordinary pressures, though it appears that era has effectively ended. In November 2024, her attorney, Laura Brevetti, confirmed the couple is legally separated but remains married. This separation followed years of scandal surrounding Vince, including investigations into hush-money payments and a lawsuit alleging sexual assault and trafficking.
The couple has two children who both rose through WWE’s ranks. Shane, born in 1970, served as an executive and on-screen performer. Stephanie, born in 1976, became Chairwoman and Co-CEO before resigning in January 2023. Stephanie married wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque in 2003, and they have three daughters. Shane has three sons with wife Marissa Mazzola, including Declan, who plays college football for Indiana.
The Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation, established in 2006, has donated more than $20 million to approximately 80 organisations. Sacred Heart University received at least $12 million, the largest share. Nearly $2 million went to Achievement First, a charter school network, signalling her long-standing support for school choice well before she was appointed Education Secretary.
Her nomination also brought renewed scrutiny through lawsuits. In October 2024, eight plaintiffs filed suit against WWE, TKO, Vince, and Linda, alleging the McMahons knew about sexual abuse by former ring announcer Mel Phillips in the 1980s-1990s. In December 2025, a judge allowed claims from two plaintiffs to proceed against Linda while dismissing most others. Her attorney called the lawsuit “baseless.”
Net Worth
The McMahon family fortune is estimated at approximately $3.2 billion by Forbes and Celebrity Net Worth, though this figure has been complicated by Linda’s November 2024 separation from Vince. None of Vince’s assets appear in the spouse section of Linda’s financial disclosure, suggesting significant financial separation.
Linda’s December 2024 financial disclosure revealed personal assets exceeding $2 million, plus a TKO Group Holdings stake worth $50-67 million, representing 0.29% of the company formed by the WWE-UFC merger. The disclosure documented $1-5 million in education bonds across multiple universities, all of which require divestment within 90 days of her confirmation.
Her real estate portfolio includes the primary Greenwich, Connecticut estate at Conyers Farm, a 10-acre lakefront property purchased for $11.8 million in 2014 and now estimated at $32-40 million. Additional properties include a Stamford penthouse listed at $4.1 million, a Greenwich townhouse assessed at $3.13 million, a Boca Raton oceanfront condo, and a TriBeCa loft valued at $5-25 million.
As Secretary of Education, McMahon earns $250,600 annually, a significant step down from her previous level of wealth. She resigned from the Trump Media & Technology Group board, America First Policy Institute, Sacred Heart University trustees, and the McMahon Family Foundation to assume her government role.
The source of the McMahon wealth traces directly to WWE’s success. When they purchased the Capitol Wrestling Corporation in 1980, they started with minimal resources. The company’s October 1999 IPO marked their first major liquidity event. WWE’s expansion into pay-per-view events, merchandise sales, licensing agreements, and film and television production created multiple revenue streams that built its fortune.
Today, McMahon’s wealth places her among America’s richest cabinet officials, though her separation from Vince means her personal net worth likely sits well below the family’s combined $3.2 billion. The exact division of assets remains private, but her financial disclosure suggests she has retained significant wealth separate from her estranged husband’s holdings.
