D
ick Cheney, the former U.S. vice‑president and chief architect of the Iraq War, died at 84 on Monday from complications of pneumonia and heart‑vascular disease, according to a family statement released Tuesday. The 84‑year‑old, who had survived five heart attacks and a transplant, left a modest but impressive real‑estate portfolio valued near $20 million. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and seven grandchildren. The place of his death was not immediately disclosed.
Cheney’s public life spanned more than five decades. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he grew up in Wyoming, married high‑school sweetheart Lynn Anne Vincent, and entered politics in the late 1960s after catching the eye of Representative Donald Rumsfeld. At 34 he became the youngest chief of staff to President Gerald Ford. After a brief White House stint he returned to Wyoming, won the state’s lone congressional seat, and served five terms. In 1989 President George H.W. Bush appointed him Secretary of Defense. During the Clinton years he headed Halliburton as chairman and CEO. In 2000 he was chosen as George W. Bush’s running mate, serving as vice‑president from 2001 to 2009. Cheney’s tenure was defined by a hawkish stance that helped launch the 2003 Iraq invasion and the broader War on Terror.
Bush, 79, eulogized Cheney as a “decent, honorable man” and a “loss to the nation,” noting that history would remember him as a patriot who brought integrity and purpose to every role. Cheney’s legacy is polarizing: conservatives view him as a disciplined national‑security strategist, while liberals see him as the shadowy power behind Bush and a catalyst for a costly Middle‑East war. His reputation for secrecy and a 2006 hunting accident that left a friend with a facial wound made him a frequent target of satire. In a surprising political move, Cheney cast his final vote in 2024 for Democrat Kamala Harris.
Cheney’s real‑estate holdings reflected his ties to Wyoming, Washington, and the East Coast. In Wilson, Wyoming, he owned a 6,712‑square‑foot, five‑bedroom home on nearly an acre, purchased for just under $12 million. The property, built in 1990, features two fireplaces, a two‑car garage, and an enclosed porch. In the affluent DC suburb of McLean, Virginia, he co‑owned a four‑bedroom, six‑bathroom stucco home valued at $5.8 million, complete with a four‑car garage, open porch, and patio. In 2019 he sold a 9‑acre waterfront estate in St. Michaels, Maryland—known as Ballintober—for $2.1 million, well below its 2005 purchase price of $2.667 million. Ballintober, built in 1930 for Thomas Edison’s daughter, featured a main house, guesthouse, pool, gardens, and a deep‑water dock.
Cheney’s death marks the end of a career that shaped U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics for decades. His influence, both praised and criticized, will continue to be debated long after his passing.
