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 on January 1, 1947, is an American financial expert and former politician. He served as a U.S. Senator for New Jersey from 2001 to 2006. Later, he became the 54th governor of New Jersey, serving from 2006 to 2010. Corzine is a member of the Democratic Party. Before his political career, he worked at Goldman Sachs, a major investment bank. After leaving politics, he was the CEO of MF Global from 2010 until it closed in 2011.

Early Life and Education

Jon Corzine was born in Taylorville, Illinois. He grew up on a family farm. In high school, he was the football quarterback and basketball captain. He went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 1969 with honors. While in college, he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served until 1975, reaching the rank of sergeant. In 1973, he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

His first jobs were in banking. He worked at Continental Illinois National Bank and then BancOhio National Bank. In 1975, he moved his family to New Jersey and started working as a bond trader for Goldman Sachs.

Career at Goldman Sachs

In 1976, Corzine joined Goldman Sachs, a big financial company. He became a partner in 1980. He was the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from 1991 to 1994. From 1994 to 1999, he was a senior partner. During his time, Goldman Sachs grew a lot, especially in Asia. He also helped the company change from being a private partnership to a public company.

Corzine also worked with the government. He led a special group for President Bill Clinton about how the government spends money. He also chaired a committee for the United States Department of the Treasury. When a large investment fund called Long-Term Capital Management faced problems in 1998, Corzine helped create a plan to save it. This helped prevent bigger financial issues in the U.S. When Goldman Sachs became a public company after Corzine left, he made a lot of money.

Serving in the U.S. Senate

Running for Senate in 2000

After leaving Goldman Sachs in 1999, Jon Corzine decided to run for a Senate seat in New Jersey. The current senator, Frank Lautenberg, was retiring. Corzine spent over $62 million of his own money on his campaign. This was the most expensive Senate campaign in U.S. history at the time. He won the Democratic primary election and then won the general election in November 2000 by a small margin. He became a U.S. Senator in January 2001.

Key Actions as Senator

Corzine in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 2008

During his five years as a senator, Corzine worked on many important issues. He helped write the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, a law to make sure companies are honest with their money. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he supported a tax break for victims. He also worked on laws to help people get citizenship.

Corzine supported gun control laws and laws against racial profiling. He was a main sponsor of the Darfur Accountability Act, which aimed to help people in Darfur. He was one of only 23 senators who voted against the Iraq War Resolution. He also tried to pass laws to make chemical plants safer, especially after the 9/11 attacks.

He proposed tax cuts to help lower-income families and to encourage economic growth. From 2003 to 2005, he led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In this role, he helped choose candidates for Senate elections and played a part in selecting John Edwards as a running mate for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.

Committee Work

While in the Senate, Corzine was a member of several important committees. These included committees on Banking, Intelligence, Budget, Foreign Relations, Environment, and Energy and Natural Resources.

Campaigns for New Jersey Governor

2005 Governor's Race

In 2005, Corzine ran for Governor of New Jersey. He and his opponent, Republican Doug Forrester, spent a lot of money on their campaigns. Corzine spent $38 million of his own money for the general election. The main issues they talked about were property taxes and the policies of President George W. Bush. Corzine won the election with 54% of the votes.

2009 Governor's Race

Corzine ran for re-election as governor in 2009. Early polls showed him behind his Republican challenger, Chris Christie. However, by October, the race was very close. In the end, Corzine lost the election to Christie.

Governor of New Jersey

When Corzine became governor in January 2006, he decided not to take his $175,000 salary.

Budget Challenges and Reforms

Corzine faced challenges with the state budget. He believed state employees should help pay for their health benefits after retirement. Agreements were made requiring employees to contribute part of their salary. He also increased contributions to pension systems and raised the retirement age for new public employees.

To balance the budget, Corzine reduced funding for many programs and colleges. This led to universities like Rutgers University raising tuition and cutting classes. However, Corzine also made progress in helping towns with school costs. He changed the school funding rules, which the New Jersey Supreme Court later said was fair.

Corzine supported expanding government health and education programs. He wanted all residents to have health plans and for taxpayers to help low- and middle-income residents pay for them. In 2008, a law was passed to start this health care coverage program.

Government Shutdown

In July 2006, Corzine had a disagreement with state lawmakers about the budget. He wanted to increase the state's sales tax. When they couldn't agree by the deadline, he ordered a shutdown of all non-essential state government services. This meant things like road construction stopped, and even casinos closed. After six days, they agreed to raise the sales tax, and the shutdown ended.

Toll Road Plan

In 2008, Corzine proposed a plan to raise money by leasing the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. These are major toll roads. The idea was to get $38 billion by letting a new company manage the roads for at least 75 years. This company could also raise tolls. Many New Jersey residents did not like this plan, saying it would make things harder for commuters. Corzine later realized the public strongly disliked the idea.

Motorcade Accident

On April 12, 2007, Governor Corzine was in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway. His SUV was going very fast with emergency lights on when another truck swerved and hit it. Corzine was not wearing his seat belt and suffered serious injuries, including broken bones. He was flown to a hospital.

Because he was unable to do his job, the New Jersey Senate President, Richard Codey, became acting governor for a short time. Corzine later apologized for not wearing his seat belt and appeared in a public service announcement to encourage others to wear theirs. He also paid a fine for not wearing his seat belt.

Later Career: MF Global

In March 2010, Jon Corzine became the CEO and Chairman of MF Global. This was a large company that dealt with futures and bonds. In October 2011, MF Global's stock price dropped sharply, and the company declared bankruptcy. This was one of the biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history.

Federal regulators started investigating missing customer funds. Corzine resigned as CEO in November 2011. He testified before a House committee, saying he did not know where the missing money was or why the accounts were not balanced. He also said he never allowed customer funds to be used improperly.

In 2013, a government agency called the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed charges against Corzine. They said he failed to keep customer funds separate and did not supervise properly. Corzine's lawyer disagreed with these charges.

Eventually, in 2017, Corzine and the CFTC reached an agreement. Corzine paid a $5 million penalty and agreed to never work for a futures commission merchant again. All MF Global customers eventually received 100 percent of their money back.

Personal Life

Jon Corzine married his high school sweetheart, Joanne Dougherty, in 1969. They had three children: Jennifer, Josh, and Jeffrey. They separated in 2002 and divorced in 2003. After their separation, Corzine moved to Hoboken.

In 2010, Corzine married Sharon Elghanayan. The ceremony was led by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Electoral history

Images for kids

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  Jon Corzine's signature

See also

In Spanish: Jon Corzine para niños

• List of richest American politicians