Jon Corzine facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jon Corzine
54th Governor of New Jersey
In office January 17, 2006 – January 19, 2010
Preceded by	Richard Codey
Succeeded by	Chris Christie
Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Patty Murray
Succeeded by	Chuck Schumer
United States Senator from New Jersey
In office January 3, 2001 – January 17, 2006
Preceded by	Frank Lautenberg
Succeeded by	Bob Menendez
Personal details
Born	Jon Stevens Corzine (1947-01-01) January 1, 1947 (age 78) Taylorville, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Joanne Dougherty ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 2003)​ Sharon Elghanayan ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	3
Relatives	Roy A. Corzine (grandfather)
Education	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BA) University of Chicago (MBA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1969–1975
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	Reserves

Jon Stevens Corzine (born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician. He was a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006. He then served as the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010.

Corzine is a member of the Democratic Party. Before his political career, he was the CEO of the investment bank Goldman Sachs. After leaving politics, he became the CEO of MF Global, a financial company.

Early Life and Education

Jon Corzine was born in Taylorville, Illinois. He grew up on his family's farm. In high school, he was the football quarterback and basketball captain.

He went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and graduated in 1969. While in college, he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served until 1975, reaching the rank of sergeant. He later earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Chicago.

Business Career

Corzine began his career working at banks in Chicago and Ohio. In 1975, he moved to New Jersey and started working as a bond trader for Goldman Sachs, a major investment bank.

He was very successful at Goldman Sachs. He became a partner in 1980 and later served as the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from 1991 to 1994. He became the senior partner and leader of the company in 1994. He helped the company grow and change from a private partnership to a public company. Corzine left Goldman Sachs in 1999.

United States Senator

2000 Election

After leaving Goldman Sachs, Corzine decided to run for the United States Senate seat in New Jersey. He spent over $62 million of his own money on his campaign, which was a record at the time.

In November 2000, he won the election against Republican Bob Franks. Corzine became a U.S. Senator in January 2001.

Time in the Senate

Corzine in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 2008

As a senator, Corzine worked on several important laws. He was a co-author of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, a law created to protect investors after the Enron scandal. He also worked on laws to make retirement savings plans like 401(k)s safer for workers.

Corzine supported gun control laws, funding for Amtrak trains, and programs to help victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was one of only 23 senators who voted against the resolution to authorize the war in Iraq.

From 2003 to 2005, he was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In this role, he helped the Democratic Party with its election strategies for the Senate.

Governor of New Jersey

2005 Election

In 2005, Corzine decided to run for Governor of New Jersey. He won the election with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican Doug Forrester. He resigned from the Senate to become governor in January 2006.

Term as Governor

As governor, Corzine faced many challenges, especially with the state's budget. One of his first major actions was to handle a budget crisis that led to a brief shutdown of the state government in July 2006. The shutdown ended after an agreement was reached to raise the state sales tax.

Corzine signed several important laws during his time as governor.

• School Funding: He changed the way New Jersey funds its public schools to give more help to towns that needed it most.
• Death Penalty: In 2007, he signed a law that abolished the death penalty in New Jersey, replacing it with life in prison. This made New Jersey the first state in over 40 years to ban capital punishment through a legislative vote.
• Health Care: He supported a plan to make sure every resident in New Jersey had health insurance.
• Retirement Age: He signed laws that raised the retirement age for new government workers to help the state save money.

Motorcade Accident

On April 12, 2007, Corzine was seriously injured in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway. The SUV he was riding in, driven by a state trooper, was traveling at a high speed when it was hit by another vehicle.

Corzine was not wearing a seat belt and suffered many broken bones. He was flown to a hospital and was in critical condition. Because he could not perform his duties, State Senate President Richard Codey became the acting governor until Corzine recovered. Corzine later appeared in public service announcements encouraging people to wear seat belts.

2009 Re-election Campaign

Corzine ran for a second term as governor in 2009. He faced Republican challenger Chris Christie. The election was very close, but Corzine lost to Christie. His term as governor ended in January 2010.

Life After Politics

MF Global

In 2010, Corzine became the CEO of MF Global, a company that traded in futures and bonds. In October 2011, the company faced major financial trouble and declared bankruptcy.

Regulators discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars were missing from customer accounts. Corzine resigned as CEO and testified before the U.S. Congress. He said he did not know where the missing money was. Eventually, all of the customers' money was returned. In 2017, Corzine reached a settlement with a government agency, agreeing to pay a $5 million penalty and to be permanently barred from working for certain types of financial firms.

Philanthropy and Teaching

Corzine has been involved with many charitable organizations. He has served on the boards of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the New York Philharmonic.

After leaving office, he taught public policy at Princeton University. He has also been involved with Fairleigh Dickinson University, helping to create a new graduate school for public and global affairs.

Personal Life

Corzine married Joanne Dougherty in 1969. They had three children together before divorcing in 2003. In 2010, Corzine married Sharon Elghanayan.

See also

In Spanish: Jon Corzine para niños

• List of richest American politicians