What to Watch for
The court will hear oral arguments in the Suncor Energy case on Oct. 5. The dispute will not decide whether Suncor Energy and Exxon are liable for the impacts of climate change, but rather whether those claims can be brought in state court to begin with. It comes after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the city of Boulder could bring claims against the companies in state court, and that those legal claims were not overruled by federal law.
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Forbes Valuation
Forbes values Alito’s net worth at approximately $10 million, making him the second-richest justice on the court, behind Chief Justice John Roberts. (The chief justice is also the only other justice on the court who holds stocks in individual companies.)
Big Number
Up to $2.9 million. That’s how much Alito made from his interests in the fossil fuel industry between 2005 and 2024, according to an analysis of his financial disclosures by judicial watchdog group Court Accountability.
Surprising Fact
Alito’s decision not to recuse in the Suncor case this term comes after the justice previously recused himself when the court considered an appeal in the case in 2023. A spokesperson for the court told NBC News the justice “inadvertently recused” himself in 2023 because the case “was considered at the same time as other cases where the justice did have a financial interest in the parties.” Critics argued to NBC the Suncor case was intertwined with those similar lawsuits, which are also trying to hold other companies liable for climate change, including ones Alito is invested in. The Suncor lawsuit should still be viewed in connection with those other cases, they argue, rather than only concerning Suncor and Exxon. “The oil company petitioners in these cases have been explicit in court filings that they view the cases as linked; there is no reason for Justice Alito to view them otherwise,” Hannah Story Brown, deputy research director at the left-leaning watchdog group Revolving Door Project, told NBC in May.
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Tangent
Beyond his significant investment portfolio, Alito’s financial disclosure, which was signed on Aug. 11, also reported the justice was reimbursed for traveling to speaking engagements in Arizona, Italy and the United Kingdom in 2025, by the organizations hosting the events he spoke at. He did not report receiving any gifts. Alito also reported $33,000 in income for his upcoming book “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country,” which will be published in October. SCOTUSblog noted that $33,000 falls far below what some of his colleagues have earned for their books, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reporting an advance of more than $1 million for her memoir and Justice Amy Coney Barrett reporting nearly $850,000 for her 2025 book “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.”
Key Background
The controversy over Alito’s participation in the Suncor Energy case comes as scrutiny has intensified in recent years on the Supreme Court’s justices and perceived ethical issues. Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas have faced the most criticism, with Thomas coming under fire for not disclosing numerous trips he received from friend and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, while Alito was slammed for him and his wife flying flags outside their home associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement, among other controversies. The justices have denied any wrongdoing or ethical conflicts. Unlike lower federal judges, Supreme Court justices are not forced to follow a code of ethics, and while there are rules in place governing issues like avoiding conflicts of interest, there are no set punishments if those rules are broken. The Supreme Court has declined to take up a binding code of ethics amid the outcry over its alleged ethical issues, and Alito has previously opposed efforts by Democratic lawmakers to impose an ethics code on the court.
Further Reading
Here’s How Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito And His Wife Got Rich (Forbes)
Samuel Alito’s Biggest Controversies—As Supreme Court Justice Speaks With Trump Before Sentencing Ruling (Forbes)
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