Who is Paul Pelosi? A huge factor in Nancy Pelosi’s career who likes to stay out of the spotlight

Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old longtime husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was attacked “violently” by an intruder at the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday.

He is currently in the hospital, according to a statement from Nancy Pelosi‘s office, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Though Paul Pelosi has largely tried to avoid the public eye even as his wife’s political career took off, Friday’s attack thrust his name into headlines. It appears the home invasion was a targeted attack on the couple’s home in San Francisco’s exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.

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Paul Pelosi, a successful investor and developer in his hometown of San Francisco, has been married to Nancy Pelosi for more almost 60 years. He met then-Nancy D’Alesandro in 1961 while attending Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, graduating in 1962. He currently serves on the school’s Board of Advisors, where he is listed as the president of Financial Leasing Services, Inc. In Congressional disclosures, the business is listed as an investment consulting company.

The couple share five children and nine grandchildren.

Most recently, Paul Pelosi made headlines after he was arrested in 2021 in Napa County for DUI, after crashing into another vehicle and testing a 0.082% blood alcohol content. He later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and was sentenced earlier this year to five days in jail and three years of probation, according to officials.

But throughout his wife’s high-profile rise through U.S. government, Paul Pelosi has largely avoided joining her in the spotlight. In a 2009 Associated Press story , he spoke about how he didn’t want his business dealings to interfere with his wife’s political ambitions, or give the perception that they could.

“I understand, of course, that since a woman has had such a phenomenal success [people wonder], ‘Who is this guy she’s married to for 47 years and has five kids?’” he was quoted saying in the 2009 article. “I understand the curiosity about that. But it’s her celebrity. It’s her career. It’s her responsibility. I’m enormously supportive and proud about it but I see absolutely no percentage in trying to share the limelight.”

One of his most public business decisions included becoming owner of the now-defunct California Redwoods football team in 2009, which later became the Sacramento Mountain Lions, in the start-up minor league known as the United Football League. He also invested heavily in the league, which also eventually folded.

In financial disclosures, Nancy Pelosi has listed multiple properties and assets, worth millions. With the exception of a St. Helena estate and vineyard on Zinfandel Lane at the banks of the Napa River, the rest are owned by her husband.

Paul Pelosi’s extensive stock ownership and trading became a point for discussion as Congress considered bills that would limit how elected officials could hold and trade stock, after allegations of lawmakers benefiting from insider trading. While Nancy Pelosi does not personally own or trade stocks, Paul Pelosi owns millions of dollars in individual stocks, including in high-profile companies such as Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.

Paul Pelosi is also listed as a founder, alongside his wife, of The Paul and Nancy Charitable Foundation, which in 2020 reported more than $1 million in revenue.

Staff writers Richard Winton, Alexandra Petri and Summer Lin contributed to this report.