Curtis Sliwa: Biography, Facts, and Political Views

You’ve probably seen the red berets and heard the name Curtis Sliwa — the Guardian Angels founder now running for New York City mayor in 2025. This profile delivers a fact-based look at his biography, political views, and personal life from his Brooklyn roots to his campaign platform Sliwa for NYC (campaign website).

Full name: Curtis Anthony Sliwa ·
Born: 1954 in Canarsie, Brooklyn, NYC ·
Occupation: Politician, activist, radio host (710 WOR) ·
Known for: Founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels (1979) ·
Political party: Republican

Eight key facts, one pattern: Curtis Sliwa’s public identity is rooted in a single organization — the Guardian Angels — and has expanded into radio, politics, and a distinctive personal brand.

What is Curtis Sliwa’s net worth?

Curtis Sliwa’s income sources

Sliwa’s income comes from three main channels: his weekday radio show on 710 WOR, his activism and speaking engagements, and his political career. He has been a radio host for decades, and his mayoral campaigns have also drawn in donations, though campaign finance reports are public.

Estimated net worth figures

Celebrity Net Worth, a database that aggregates celebrity financial data, estimates Curtis Sliwa’s net worth at $200,000 Celebrity Net Worth (financial database). This figure is not independently verified by official disclosures and should be treated as an approximation. Sliwa’s campaign website does not list his personal wealth.

The implication: without a verified financial disclosure, the $200,000 estimate offers a directional signal rather than a confirmed figure.

How tall is Curtis Sliwa?

Curtis Sliwa’s height in feet and centimeters

Multiple biographical sources list Curtis Sliwa’s height as approximately 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) Wikipedia (biographical database). No official medical or government measurement is publicly available, so this figure is based on self-reported or secondary-source data. The margin of error could be a couple of inches.

What this means: Height is a minor detail in his public profile, rarely discussed in his political or activist career. This data point is included for completeness, though it carries limited analytical weight.

What is Curtis Sliwa’s ethnicity and religion?

Curtis Sliwa’s ethnic background

Curtis Sliwa is of Italian and Polish descent. FOX 5 New York reports that he grew up in a Catholic family of Polish and Italian heritage FOX 5 New York (local news outlet). This heritage is often cited in profiles that emphasize his Brooklyn roots and working-class background.

Curtis Sliwa’s religious affiliation

Sliwa identifies as Catholic. His Wikipedia biography states that he is Catholic Wikipedia (biographical database), and he has referenced his faith in interviews and campaign materials. He has also expressed support for separation of church and state, a position that aligns with his broader political outlook.

The pattern: Sliwa’s background anchors him in a working-class Brooklyn tradition, yet his policy mix resists simple demographic predictability.

Who is Curtis Sliwa’s wife?

Curtis Sliwa’s marriage and family

Curtis Sliwa is married to Nancy Sliwa (née Regula), a New York attorney and animal welfare activist. The two were married on July 5, 2018 FOX 5 New York (local news outlet). His campaign website notes that he resides with his wife on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Sliwa has three children from previous relationships, though specific names and ages are not widely publicized.

The takeaway: family details remain partially private, with limited public documentation about his children.

What are Curtis Sliwa’s political views?

Curtis Sliwa’s party affiliation

Sliwa is a Republican. He ran as the Republican nominee for New York City mayor in 2021 and is again running in 2025 Britannica (encyclopedia). He describes himself as a populist Republican and has stated that he is not aligned with the MAGA movement Wikipedia (biographical database).

Key policy positions

• Supports ranked-choice voting and same-sex marriage Wikipedia (biographical database)
• Advocates for separation of church and state
• Pro-choice stance on abortion
• Supports gun control measures
• Advocates for universal basic income ideas in New York City
• Campaign slogan: “fighting to bring safety, sanity, and accountability back to New York City”

The mix of conservative law-and-order rhetoric with progressive social policies creates a distinctive platform that defies easy categorization.

What was Curtis Sliwa like when he was young?

Curtis Sliwa’s early life in Brooklyn

Curtis Sliwa was born on March 26, 1954, in Canarsie, Brooklyn FOX 5 New York (local news outlet). He grew up in a working-class Catholic family of Polish and Italian descent. Before his activism, he worked as a night manager at a McDonald’s in the Bronx DOC NYC (film festival).

Founding of the Guardian Angels

In 1979, frustrated by rising crime and perceived police inaction on the subway, Sliwa formed the Guardian Angels — a volunteer, unarmed civilian patrol group. The first members were recruited from the McDonald’s staff and local community. Within months, the group expanded citywide, recognizable by their red berets and jackets Britannica (encyclopedia). The Guardian Angels’ official site describes the organization as dedicated to safer, stronger, more compassionate communities Guardian Angels (official site).

The pattern: Sliwa’s early life — a Brooklyn-born night manager who turned frustration into a grassroots movement — set the stage for a public career built on visible, confrontational activism.

Why does Curtis Sliwa wear a hat?

The story behind Curtis Sliwa’s signature hat

Curtis Sliwa wears a red beret as part of the Guardian Angels uniform. The hat is a trademark of the group’s identity, and Sliwa rarely appears in public without it. According to biographical sources, the beret was chosen for visibility and to project a uniformed, disciplined image FOX 5 New York (local news outlet). The hat has become inseparable from his personal brand, both as an activist and as a political candidate.

For Sliwa, the hat is not just a fashion choice — it’s a symbol of the grassroots movement he started over 40 years ago.

For New Yorkers weighing their options in the 2025 mayoral race, the data on Sliwa’s record and policy positions offers a clear, if polarized, choice: his platform centers on public safety and accountability, drawing from his Guardian Angels legacy, but his unorthodox positions on social issues may alienate traditional Republican voters. The trade-off is between a candidate who promises visible action on crime and one whose policy mix defies easy party lines.