Barry Mills' net worth is estimated at around $10 million, built from more than a decade as a partner at the Wall Street law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and his 14 years as president of Bowdoin College, one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the United States, from 2001 to 2015. His exact investments and retirement holdings are not public, so this figure should be read as a realistic estimate rather than a filing-based number.
Quick Facts
| Born | September 8, 1950, Warwick, Rhode Island |
| Education | Bowdoin College (biochemistry and government, 1972); Syracuse University (PhD, biology, 1976); Columbia Law School (JD, 1979) |
| Known For | 14th President of Bowdoin College (2001-2015); partner at Debevoise & Plimpton |
| Spouse | Karen Gordon Mills, former U.S. Small Business Administration head |
| Estimated Net Worth | Around $10 million |
Law Career at Debevoise & Plimpton
After earning his law degree from Columbia in 1979, Mills joined the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, where he became a partner in 1986. He spent roughly two decades practicing law there before leaving to lead his undergraduate alma mater, giving him a substantial income base well before his college presidency began.
President of Bowdoin College
Mills was inaugurated as Bowdoin's 14th president in October 2001 and served until July 2015. During his tenure he oversaw a major expansion of the college's financial aid program, growth of the endowment, an expansion of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and construction projects including a new recital hall and hockey arena. Public compensation filings show his total compensation, including a college-owned residence, reached roughly $483,000 by the early 2010s, up from about $299,000 in his first year. Bowdoin later named a mass-timber academic building, Barry Mills Hall, in his honor.
After Bowdoin: UMass Boston
In March 2017, Mills returned to higher-education administration as deputy chancellor and chief operating officer at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Four months later he was named interim chancellor, a post he held until stepping down in the summer of 2018.
Personal Life
Mills is married to Karen Gordon Mills, who served as the U.S. Small Business Administration's 23rd Administrator under President Obama from 2009 to 2013, a position elevated to Cabinet-level rank in 2012. She previously founded the venture capital firm Solera Capital. The couple has three children.
Not the Same Barry Mills
This page is about the academic administrator and attorney. It is not about Barry Byron Mills, a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang known as "the Baron," who was convicted in a 2006 federal racketeering case that included murder charges, received a life sentence without parole, and died in 2018 at the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. The two men share only a name; they have no connection to each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Barry Mills' net worth?
Estimated at around $10 million, from his years as a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton and his salary as Bowdoin College's president.
What did Barry Mills do before Bowdoin?
He practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York, becoming a partner in 1986, after earning degrees from Bowdoin, Syracuse, and Columbia.
Is Barry Mills married?
Yes, to Karen Gordon Mills, former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Is this the Barry Mills connected to the Aryan Brotherhood?
No. That is a different person, Barry Byron Mills, who died in federal prison in 2018. This page covers the academic administrator and former Bowdoin College president.