Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's net worth has grown by $4.3 million since she assumed her position

The Supreme Court has treated Sonia Sotomayor well, especially her bank account. The Supreme Court justice's assets have surpassed $5 million since she took office in 2009. At that time, Sotomayor declared she had about $750,000 between her bank and the value of her properties. This is a notable amount for a person who came from a humble family and who grew up with her brother only supported by the salary of her mother, a nurse practitioner.

$3.8 million from book sales

Sotomayor's salary currently amounts to $285,000 a year, and since she turned 65 (she is now 69), she has been earning a pension that guarantees her that salary until the end of her life, which is valued at almost $2.5 million. In addition, she has two apartments, one in New York and the other in Washington, which have increased considerably in value since their acquisition.

However, according to Forbes, most of her fortune has come from book sales. After becoming the first Hispanic woman to sit on the Supreme Court after being appointed by Barack Obama, publishers took notice of Sotomayor, who has earned $3.8 million from her books. Between 2010 and 2012, the justice received an advance of $3.1 million for her memoirs, "My Beloved World," published in 2013. The book managed to sell 300,000 copies, according to NPD Bookscan. In addition, she pocketed another $650,000 thanks to the a book of children's stories in Spanish and English over several years.

She hasn't done badly in real estate either. After separating from her husband in 1981, Sotomayor took up residence in New York, where she acquired an apartment in Greenwich Village, in Manhattan, for $360,000. Currently, that apartment is valued at $1.4 million. She later bought another apartment in Washington, D.C., which has also has increased in value by more than $100,000.