Inside Dick Cheney’s Multimillion-Dollar Real Estate Portfolio—Including $11 Million Property in His Home State

Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful and controversial Republican vice presidents in U.S. history—and the chief architect of the Iraq War—has died at the age of 84, leaving behind a small but impressive real estate portfolio worth close to $20 million.  

Cheney, a survivor of five heart attacks and a heart transplant recipient, died on Monday from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. 

He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Lynne, two daughters, Liz and Mary, and seven grandchildren. It was not immediately known where Cheney died.

"Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing," the family's statement read in part, according to CNN. "We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man."

Cheney served as vice president during President George W. Bush's two terms, from 2001 to 2009, and made his mark as a hawkish advocate for invading Iraq in 2003 as part of the War on Terror in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

On Tuesday, Bush, 79, eulogized his former second-in-command as a "decent, honorable man" and characterized his death as "a loss to the nation." 

"History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation—a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held," Bush stated. 

Cheney's political legacy is complicated, made more so by his recent break from the Republican Party over his vocal opposition to President Donald Trump, whom he labeled the greatest "threat" to the nation.

For most of his life, those on the right viewed Cheney as an efficient conservative operative devoted to bolstering national security. 

Those on the left, however, painted Cheney a sinister figure, often portraying him as the real power behind Bush, who steered the U.S. into a drawn-out war in the Middle East under pretenses. 

Cheney's penchant for secrecy did little to burnish his public image, and he was a frequent target of late-night comedians, especially after he accidentally shot his friend in the face during a hunting trip in 2006. 

In an ironic twist, Cheney cast his final vote in the 2024 presidential election for Democrat Kamala Harris.

Career in politics

A native of Lincoln, NE, Cheney was raised in Wyoming, where he attended college and married his high school sweetheart, Lynn Anne Vincent, according to the Associated Press.  

Cheney's first foray into politics happened in the late 1960s, when he caught the attention of then-Rep. Donald Rumsfeld and joined his staff.

At age 34, Cheney made history by becoming the youngest-ever chief of staff to President Gerald Ford. 

After a 14-month stint at the White House, Cheney returned to Wyoming and successfully ran for the state's sole congressional seat, serving five terms before being appointed Defense secretary by President George H.W. Bush.  

During the Clinton administration in the late 1990s, Cheney went into the private sector, taking the reins of Halliburton as chairman and CEO, until the younger Bush tapped him as his running mate in 2000.

Cheney's Wyoming spread

Even as Cheney’s blossoming political career took him back to Washington, DC, he and Lynne kept a foothold in Wyoming.

The couple purchased a sprawling five-bedroom, 6,712-square-foot home on nearly an acre of land in Wilson, WY, with a price tag of just under $12 million. 

Built in 1990, the off-market home features two fireplaces, an attached two-car garage, and an enclosed porch.  

VP's home in a tony DC suburb

Property records indicate that at the time of Cheney's death, his wife was listed as a co-owner of another property in the affluent DC suburb of McLean, VA, located just 30 minutes west of the nation's capital.

A second owner's name is listed as "not available" on the document.

With a market value of just under $5.8 million, the Cheneys’ Virginia home features four bedrooms and six bathrooms. 

The two-story home with a stucco exterior also comes with a four-car garage, an open porch, and a patio area.  

Sold Maryland vacation retreat

In summer 2019, Cheney sold his waterfront home in St. Michaels, MD, for $2.1 million, which was $395,000 less than the asking price. 

The sale price was also significantly below the $2,667,000 Cheney and his wife paid for the vacation retreat in 2005. 

Known as Ballintober, the 9-acre estate comes with a main residence and a guesthouse, an in-ground pool, gardens, and a deep-water dock.

Built in 1930 for celebrated inventor Thomas Edison's daughter, Ballintober is located just a few miles from the home of Rumsfeld, Cheney's one-time colleague and former Defense secretary, who died in 2021 at age 88.