Steve Cortes is an American political analyst and financial strategist who is a writer and keynote speaker. Through the decades, he has earned a reputation for candor and clarity in the biggest networks like CNBC, Fox News, and CNN, and has applied his knowledge where market and politics intersect.
Cortes is a senior adviser in the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and the author of Against the Herd, which presents fearless opinions based on experience. He is a respected voice of economic policy, Hispanic outreach, and U.S. global positioning, and today he consults with leaders through his firm Rise Strategies.
Steve Cortes Biography | |
|---|---|
| Real Name: | Steve Cortes |
| Birth Date: | January 5, 1972 |
| Age: | 54 Years |
| Birthplace: | South Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Height: | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Wife: | Holly Cortes |
Early Life
Steve Cortes was born on 5th January 1972 in South Chicago, Illinois, to Colombian immigrant parents who taught him the spirit of hard work and perseverance. His father grew up on a ranch in San Jose, Colombia, and studied graduate school in the U.S., and his mother worked in different jobs to support the family.
Having been raised in a multiethnic working-class community, young Steve was accustomed to hard work and cultural sensitivity at an early age. He grew up in Chicago, where he studied in a local high school and was an excellent student as well as an athlete. He played well, which got him into Georgetown University, where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in government.
Cortes starred on the varsity football team at Georgetown as a defensive lineman, became a George F. Baker Scholar, and was even nominated for the highly selective Rhodes Scholarship—an early indication of his intellectual and leadership capabilities. These early experiences gave him the foundation for his future in finance, media, and politics.
Steve Cortes Career
Steve Cortes started his career onWall Street in the mid-1990s as a trader dealing with government bonds, currencies, and ETFs. He worked his way up to chief strategist in BGC Partners and later started Veracruz TJM, a company that offers real-time market research to large investors.
In 2011, he released Against the Herd, proposing 6 counterintuitive investment strategies that challenge the assumptions about the market. Cortes worked as a broadcast commentator, where he appeared daily on CNBC in the Fast Money Halftime Report and subsequently on Fox Business and Fox News.
After the 2016 election, he shifted to political strategy, serving on the Donald Trump Hispanic Advisory Council and as a senior adviser on the 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He emerged as a familiar voice of Hispanic outreach, a contributor to the framing of messages on immigration, enterprise, and deregulation.
After the election, Steve Cortes became a political analyst with CNN and continued to advise via Rise Strategies, a media coaching and public affairs company. He continues to appear regularly on talk shows, podcasts, and financial panels. He has also been a guest on PragerU videos and has hosted keynote addresses in the finance, technology, and policy fields in recent years.
Social Media
Steve Cortes maintains a low-profile internet presence and does not have any publicly visible personal accounts in any of the giant social networks. His voice is instead heard in the media, in articles on RealClearPolitics and Human Events, and in bylined columns in financial publications.
He appears regularly in news clips and webinars, which are distributed by third-party aggregators. He does not directly interact with the social world, but his ideas on politics and markets still find their way to the masses in the form of syndicated writing and speaking engagements.
Personal Life
Steve Cortes is married to Holly Cortes, and the couple has been together since May 14, 1998, marking over 27 years of marriage. They have four children, three daughters and one son. Their son, Bear Cortes, was born on September 23, 2006, and recently graduated from MaCallie School.
One of their daughters, Kingsley R. Wilson, born in 1999, served as the Deputy Department of Defense Press Secretary in early 2025. While not much is publicly known about Holly’s background or profession, Steve often praises her for being a selfless and loving partner who plays a central role in supporting their family.
Steve Cortes Net Worth
The net worth of Steve Cortes is estimated to be $5-10 million. His income is based on decades of trading financial markets, speaking fees, television sales, book sales, and consulting revenues. He was a highly successful institutional financier as chief strategist at BGC Partners as well as founder of Veracruz TJM. His ongoing media and strategic consulting, as well as paid keynote appearances, only add to his financial standing.