He was the face of Donald Trump’s electoral slogan image that captivated the American public at the beginning of 2019 and the lawsuits were issued by the teenager wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. Nick Sandmann and his family issued lawsuits that amounted to $250 million dollars and while one of the lawsuits was thrown out, the other was settled for a much smaller but undisclosed amount. This has people questioning Nick Sandmann’s net worth.
Nick Sandmann’s Net Worth: Here’s How He Built His Income
Nicholas Sandmann also known as Nick Sandmann went from “trumpist” icon to winning a court battle against the Washington Post as his family and himself filed as many as 13 lawsuits against media outlets for emotional distress and defamation.
He was the famous teenager who blocked the path of a Native American leader. Nick Sandmann’s gesture, calm and proud, also appeared to condense a position of power and a condescending attitude which is characteristic of the “white man” of the United States. The image, taken during a pro-life march, went viral and captured the nation’s attention for weeks.
But in recent times, Nick Sandmann has been partially vindicated after an out-of-court settlement with The Washington Post, whom he accused, through a $250 million lawsuit, of defaming him when he was still a minor. Sandmann had closed another similar deal with CNN months ago and law expert, William Jacobson from Cornell Law School, estimates the deal with CNN was worth at least seven figures. However, in both cases, there was no judicial resolution. The media chose to stop the controversy before the judge issued a sentence, a sentence whose direction will always be unknown.
What happened to Nick Sandmann?
On January 18, 2019, Nick Sandmann went on a school trip and visited Washington DC to join the March for Life rally. There was a confrontation during the trip in front of the Lincoln Memorial with an indigenous man, Nathan Phillips, who was in DC for a completely different rally. Nick was wearing one of President Donald Trump’s iconic “Make America Great Again” campaign hats during the confrontation which didn’t have anything to do with Native Americans. The confrontation was shared via social media and went viral, mostly for negative reasons. Here are the details:
- Sandmann, a student at Park Hills Catholic School in Kentucky, travels to Washington DC to attend the ” March for Life ,” an annual anti-abortion rally held in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
- During the final stages of the event, Sandmann and other students from the center confront one of the many groups of activists who had come to stand against the march. The group in question is headed by a Native American tribal leader, Nathan Phillips.
- Sandmann ends up going face to face with him and the video of the incident spreads like wildfire on social networks.
- Not only does Sandmann face him, he also appears to be blocking Phillips’ path. The young man stands in front of the old man with a contemptuous pose, smiling slightly.
- Native American tribal leader, Phillips and his group sing chants, chants joined by Catholic students in mocking tones as some display racist gestures (which is the story popularized on networks and among progressive opinion-makers after the video was released).
- Nick Sandmann thus became the symbol of “Trump’s America.” A young Christian, white and rich who directs a condescending and haughty look, disrespectful from the smile, to one of the most mistreated minorities historically by the United States.
As recounted here Nick Sandmann was the graphic expression of white and patriarchal privilege, of the ruling class of the country, a repository of political and economic power. Soon within days conservative media and opinion leaders used other videos of the incident to amend the liberal narrative.
Sandmann and his companions were not in Phillips’s way and they were not trying to show white privilege a power obtained from the mistreatment and discrimination of the most disadvantaged classes.
Here’s what really happened:
Quite the contrary, the young people were being verbally abused and harassed by a group of ” black Jews “, a unique ethnic-religious sect that also came to demonstrate against the march. Phillips and the other natives stood in their way to prevent hostilities from escalating.
Unfortunately and predictably, much of the jumped to conclusions about the MAGA hat wearing teenager in the viral videos which resulted in inaccurate information being published.
Why is Nick Sandmann suing?
Due to the inaccuracies in the reports shared online and on TV about the MAGA hat wearing teenager trying to smile and show white and patriarchal privilege, of the ruling class of the country, Nick’s family was under duress for almost a year as these false narratives led to threats against Nick Sandmann, school closures, and more.
Soon, Nick’s school and the Covington Diocese hired private investigators to dig deeper into the events of that day which revealed a different story about a group of “black Jews” who were the real ones causing harassment.
As a result, Nick’s family filed several defamation lawsuits against various parties such as: The Washington Post, CNN, and NBC Universal.
Did Nick Sandmann build his net worth by suing news channels?
The Washington Post
In July of 2019 a $250 million defamation lawsuit was filed and was dismissed. So Nick Sandmann’s representatives then decided to change the language to be more specific – this worked.
Nick Sandmann’s settlement was not publicly disclosed but he was offered an amount that was eventually settled in the middle of 2020.
CNN
In 2019, A $250 million defamation lawsuit was filed once again but this time, they (Nick Sandmann’s representatives) targeted CNN.
Nick Sandmann’s settlement was not publicly disclosed but he was offered an amount that was eventually settled at the start of the year in 2020.
NBC Universal
In 2019, A $275 million defamation lawsuit was filed once again against NBC Universal which was also privately settled.
Nick Sandmann’s settlement from NBC Universal was concluded in December of 2021.
What is Nick Sandmann’s net worth?
In total, Nick Sandmann’s settlements from The Washington Post, CNN, and NBCUniversal could amount to $775 million but this amount could also be $100 million. As he is a student, the amounts of his settlements are sealed.
Why is Nick Sandmann’s story important?
Nick Sandmann’s story perfectly sums up the current cultural climate that the United States is going through, and by extension the entire world.
In the eyes of conservatives, Sandmann was but the umpteenth victim of the “warriors of social justice.” An anonymous young man who for the mere fact of being white and male had been publicly lynched by progressive opinion-makers. So powerful was the right-wing counter-narrative that Donald Trump himself, in his usual public verbiage, tweeted about it on several occasions.
But where will the evils of judgment (based on skin color and gender) reside when the context is completely left out? In his story, Sandmann thus operated as the epicenter of the political obsessions of a country, at that time, more divided and inoperative than ever.
What for some was the indelible proof of white privilege, the symbol of a society always manipulated in favor of the superior identity was for the other the latest victim of fake news.
The worst thing to note here was that the media published the disparity of stories and opinions from the beginning, so the Sandmann family chose to take the matter to court. To his defense (which states that both he and his friends were waiting for the bus and were involved in a tense and complex situation, for the resolution of which he tried to maintain his composure) he added several multimillion-dollar lawsuits against media outlets like NBC, CNN and The Washington Post.
Where is Nick Sandmann today?
Sandmann’s family sued CNN and The Washington Post for misrepresenting the boy’s story, which he argued was simply showing him respect and waiting for the situation to calm down.
Sandmann returned to the Lincoln Memorial for the Republican Convention and recorded a message in which he gave his perspective on the story and accused the media of creating distorted views of reality. The young man insisted that the press chose the story he wanted to tell “without doing more research and knowing my side of the story.” The student’s full speech was broadcast live on CNN. Sandmann’s remarks have also reflected his sympathy for the figure of Trump.
As we can see, clearly a few minutes on television are enough to move the public. It’s what both Democrats and Republicans have tapped into when telling the stories of children like Nick Sandmann who himself says that President Donald Trump has been the most victimized by unfair media coverage. Nick Sandmann finally wrapped up his speech by donning a red Make America Great Again hat.
