Fani Taifa Willis is a prominent American attorney.
Early Life and Family
Fani Taifa Willis was born on Oct. 27, 1971, in Inglewood, Calif. Her father, John C. Floyd III, was a founding member of a faction of the Black Panthers who later became a criminal defense lawyer. Willis’s family moved to Washington, D.C., where her father practiced law when she was in first grade. After her parents divorced, she lived mainly with her father, who inspired her pursuit of a career in law.
Education
Willis attended an all-girls Catholic school in Maryland called Regina High School, which closed in 1989. She graduated cum laude from Howard University in 1993, where she received a degree in political science, and received her Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law in 1996.
Legal Career
Willis began her career after law school as a solicitor who prosecuted misdemeanors and city ordinance violations. She served 16 years as a prosecutor in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office. Her most high-profile case was serving as the lead prosecutor in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, in which numerous educators were found guilty of racketeering in 2015.
Willis started in private practice in 2018 and unsuccessfully ran for a Fulton County Superior Court seat. In 2019, she became the Chief Municipal Judge for South Fulton, Georgia. In 2020, she was elected District Attorney of Fulton County, the first woman to serve in that role.
Notable Investigations
As district attorney, Willis spearheaded a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to pressure Georgia election officials to change the outcome of the 2020 election. That investigation resulted in a racketeering indictment of Trump and 18 others. Willis also filed charges against the rapper Young Thug and members of his YSL record label under Georgia’s RICO Act for gang-related crimes.
Personal Life
She met Fred Willis when she took the Georgia bar exam; they married in 1996 and had two daughters. The couple divorced in 2005. In August 2024, her daughter, Kinaya Willis, was arrested for driving on a suspended license, ending up in news headlines about Willis’s family that garnered attention.
Net Worth
Willis’ net worth estimates range from $1 million to $9 million. Her significant sources of income include her salary as a District Attorney, investments in real estate, and other ventures.
Controversies
Critics have targeted Willis for her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, an attorney she hired for the Trump case. Despite the allegations of a conflict of interest, a judge found insufficient evidence to disqualify her from the case as long as Wade agreed to step down.
On Thursday, Georgia’s Court of Appeals made a ruling of significance, disqualifying her from the case.
Recent Developments
In December 2024, Willis suffered a blow when a jury acquitted the final two defendants in the sprawling YSL gang case. This proceedings, the longest on record in Georgians, implicit 28 defendants include a bevy of crimes over the Bloods-aligned YSL gang.
Despite adversity, Willis continues serving as Fulton County District Attorney, demonstrating her commitment to justice and legal integrity.
