By her own admission, Stacey Abrams has made a number of “personal financial missteps” in her career. Despite a history marked by bill collectors, tax liens, and ethics investigations, the Georgia politician and Democratic Party activist has managed to amass a small fortune – while working most of her career in the not-for-profit sector.

Financial records show that when she first entered statewide politics in 2018, she reported a net worth of less than $109,000. By 2022, the last year she had to publicly file a financial report, it had grown to more than $3.2 million. Abrams is probably even better off than that, thanks to her latest venture: Rewiring America, which uses federal funds to provide low-income people with free electric appliances.

It’s just the latest in a string of investigations involving Abrams, who has presidential ambitions, and nonprofits she’s launched. Last month, Georgia lawmakers announced a special probe into her New Georgia Project and its fundraising arm, which failed to report millions of dollars in contributions and spending tied to Abrams’ first gubernatorial bid. She’s also been accused by ethics watchdogs of personally misusing political donations raised for her campaigns.

“I’ve always been concerned about her leveraging public service to enrich herself,” William Perry, who formerly led the Georgia chapter of liberal Common Cause, told RealClearInvestigations. Perry, who developed a thick file on Abrams while investigating money in Georgia politics for 15 years, said he knows of no other candidate for statewide office with more documented cases of ethics violations than Abrams.

Although Abrams’ career has been pockmarked by financial problems and ethics investigations, she has never been charged with a crime. Instead, her career illustrates the often cozy and remunerative relationship between political insiders and government entities that discharge public dollars. In previous articles, RCI has reported on the connection between those close to the Democratic Party and Biden administration green energy grants.