The Supreme court justices have been making headlines not just for their landmark decisions but also for their financial activities. As the court handed down significant rulings, the justices quietly released their annual financial reports, providing a window into their lives beyond the bench.
These disclosures, while not comprehensive, reveal intriguing details about the justices’ concert attendance, teaching roles, and even their involvement in youth sports. The reports also highlight the substantial income some justices earn from book deals and teaching positions, supplementing their official salaries.
Book Deals: A Major Source of Income
For several justices, book deals have proven to be a significant source of income. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson led the pack with over $1.1 million in earnings last year, bringing her total to roughly $4 million since the publication of her memoir, Lovely One in 2026.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy also reported income from their published works. Barrett earned $849,000 Gorsuch $300,000 and Sotomayor $88,000 from her 2013 autobiography and five children’s books. Notably, Justice Clarence Thomas, who earned $1.5 million from his 2007 memoir, reported no publisher payments last year. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, despite being one of 13 co-authors of a 2016 legal treatise, also received no payments in 2026. Kavanaugh is reportedly working on a memoir, but no payments were listed for the anticipated book.
Justice Samuel Alito has a book coming out in the fall, but with his financial report still outstanding, there is no data on how much he was paid for the work in 2026. The only two sitting justices who have not written books are Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan.
Teaching Engagements and Other Income
Many justices also earned income from teaching at law schools. Chief Justice Roberts reported income from New England Law in Boston, while Gorsuch earned from George Mason University in Virginia. Justice Thomas taught classes at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and both Barrett and Kavanaugh taught at Notre Dame Law School. Barrett, who graduated from Notre Dame, has been teaching there for 23 years, and Kavanaugh has family connections to the institution.
The disclosures also reported gifts, travel, food, and lodging that the justices received in 2026. Justices Jackson and Sotomayor were the only two to report gifts. Jackson received a painting for her chambers valued at $2,500 and Sotomayor reported a trip to Kansas City to watch the opening of a musical based on her children’s book, Just Ask.
Sotomayor also reported receiving free tickets worth $4,333 during a private trip to Puerto Rico. The tickets were from the record label that represents Bad Bunny, and her trip coincided with the artist’s months-long concert series in San Juan. Sotomayor’s parents were from Puerto Rico, and she has spent much time there over the years.
The justices also disclosed significant reimbursements for travel throughout 2026. Thomas’ travel, food, and lodging expenses were paid for by the Hoover Institution for speaking at a celebration of conservative economist Thomas Sowell. Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson were reimbursed for international travel, where they gave speeches, spoke about their books, or taught. Roberts was the only sitting member of the court not to report any gifts or travel reimbursements.
Off the Bench: Coaching and Other Activities
The annual filings also shed light on the justices’ activities off the bench. Justice Kavanaugh reported that, in addition to his duties as a Supreme Court justice, he serves as a coach to multiple D.C.-area Catholic Youth Organization girls’ basketball teams. Known as Coach K by his players, Kavanaugh wrote the court’s June decision declaring that states can ban transgender women and girl athletes from playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
The justices’ salaries are established by law. The chief justice earns the most, at $320,700 per year, while the eight associate justices earn $306,600 per year. While this is a substantial amount, the justices and even their law clerks could earn more if they left their Supreme Court jobs for large law firms.
Roberts was the only member of the court to report investing in individual stocks. Alito has also owned shares of individual stocks in the past, but his report is not due for three months when his extension runs out. For the most part, the justices do not own individual stocks but invest in index funds, mutual funds, and other such investment programs to make money and limit potential conflicts of interest that would require their recusal from certain cases.
However, the financial reporting forms the justices are required to fill out are so unspecific, and the reporting ranges for investment earnings are so broad, that it is impossible to determine any justice’s Additionally, the current value of the justices’ homes isn’t reported, nor is their spouses’ income, which in the case of the chief justice, likely far exceeds his take-home pay.
