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Jim Justice
James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36th governor of West Virginia. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth was estimated at $664.2 million in 2025, making him the richest U.S. senator as of that year. He inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies. He and his family own the Greenbrier, a luxury resort and National Historic Landmark in White Sulphur Springs.
In 2015, Justice announced his candidacy for governor in 2016. Although a registered Republican before running for governor, he ran as a Democrat and defeated the Republican nominee, Bill Cole. Less than seven months after taking office, Justice switched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with President Donald Trump in the state. He was reelected in 2020.
Justice was elected to the Senate in 2024, winning the seat previously held by Joe Manchin. Defeating U.S. representative Alex Mooney in the primary and the Democratic nominee, former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, in the general election, Justice became the first Republican to win that seat since 1956.
James Conley Justice II was born to James Conley Justice and Edna Ruth (née Perry) Justice in Charleston, West Virginia. He grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley in 1969. He enrolled at the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship for golf but transferred to Marshall University. At Marshall, he was a two-year captain on the Thundering Herd golf team. He earned his bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration from Marshall.
After college, Justice went into the family agriculture business. He founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States. During that time, he also developed Stoney Brook Plantation, a 15,000-acre hunting and fishing preserve in Monroe County. Justice is a seven-time national corn growing champion. After his father's death in 1993, Justice inherited ownership of Bluestone Industries and Bluestone Coal Corporation. In 2009, he sold some of his coal business to the Russian company Mechel for $568 million. In 2015, after a huge drop in the price of coal led Mechel to close some of the mines, he bought the business back for $5 million. Since buying back the mine from Mechel, Justice reopened several of the mines and hired over 200 miners.
As of 2014, Justice owned 70 active mines in five states. His charitable donations included $25 million to the James C. Justice National Scout Camp at Summit Bechtel Reserve, $5 million to Marshall University, and $10 million to the Cleveland Clinic.
Justice's mining companies have been scrutinized for alleged cases of safety violation and unpaid taxes; in 2016, NPR called him the nation's "top mine safety delinquent". Justice allegedly owed millions of dollars to the government in back taxes and unpaid coal mining fees and fines. Two debt-related lawsuits were settled in 2019, and in 2020 mining companies Justice or his family owned agreed to pay $5 million in delinquent safety fines.
Separately, Justice agreed in 2025 to pay $5.2 million in overdue personal income taxes that, according to the Justice Department, originated in 2009.
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Jim Justice
James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36th governor of West Virginia. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth was estimated at $664.2 million in 2025, making him the richest U.S. senator as of that year. He inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies. He and his family own the Greenbrier, a luxury resort and National Historic Landmark in White Sulphur Springs.
In 2015, Justice announced his candidacy for governor in 2016. Although a registered Republican before running for governor, he ran as a Democrat and defeated the Republican nominee, Bill Cole. Less than seven months after taking office, Justice switched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with President Donald Trump in the state. He was reelected in 2020.
Justice was elected to the Senate in 2024, winning the seat previously held by Joe Manchin. Defeating U.S. representative Alex Mooney in the primary and the Democratic nominee, former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, in the general election, Justice became the first Republican to win that seat since 1956.
James Conley Justice II was born to James Conley Justice and Edna Ruth (née Perry) Justice in Charleston, West Virginia. He grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley in 1969. He enrolled at the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship for golf but transferred to Marshall University. At Marshall, he was a two-year captain on the Thundering Herd golf team. He earned his bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration from Marshall.
After college, Justice went into the family agriculture business. He founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States. During that time, he also developed Stoney Brook Plantation, a 15,000-acre hunting and fishing preserve in Monroe County. Justice is a seven-time national corn growing champion. After his father's death in 1993, Justice inherited ownership of Bluestone Industries and Bluestone Coal Corporation. In 2009, he sold some of his coal business to the Russian company Mechel for $568 million. In 2015, after a huge drop in the price of coal led Mechel to close some of the mines, he bought the business back for $5 million. Since buying back the mine from Mechel, Justice reopened several of the mines and hired over 200 miners.
As of 2014, Justice owned 70 active mines in five states. His charitable donations included $25 million to the James C. Justice National Scout Camp at Summit Bechtel Reserve, $5 million to Marshall University, and $10 million to the Cleveland Clinic.
Justice's mining companies have been scrutinized for alleged cases of safety violation and unpaid taxes; in 2016, NPR called him the nation's "top mine safety delinquent". Justice allegedly owed millions of dollars to the government in back taxes and unpaid coal mining fees and fines. Two debt-related lawsuits were settled in 2019, and in 2020 mining companies Justice or his family owned agreed to pay $5 million in delinquent safety fines.
Separately, Justice agreed in 2025 to pay $5.2 million in overdue personal income taxes that, according to the Justice Department, originated in 2009.