Background and career
Shelley Berkley (née Rochelle Levine; born January 20, 1951) is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who has served as mayor of Las Vegas since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Nevada's 1st congressional district for six terms from 1999 until 2013. Previously, Berkley served as member of Nevada Assembly from 1983 to 1985 and as a member of the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education from 1990 to 1998. Between serving in Congress and being elected mayor of Las Vegas, Berkley held leadership roles at both the Nevada campus and the California campus of the Touro University System.
Rochelle Levine was born in New York City on January 20, 1951, the daughter of Estelle (née Colonomos (See also Kalonymos family) and George Levine. Her paternal grandparents were Russian Jews and her mother's family were Sephardic Jews from Ottoman-era Thessaloniki, now in Macedonia, northern Greece. Berkley moved with her family to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964 when she was a junior high school student, attending Fremont Junior High and Valley High School. After completing high school, she became the first member of her family to attend college when she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She became a member of Delta Zeta sorority. Elected student body president of the Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas her senior year, Shelley graduated with honors in 1972, earning a B.A. in political science. After obtaining her J.D. degree in 1976 from the University of San Diego School of Law, Shelley returned to Las Vegas and began her professional career. Berkley practiced law for several years, mainly as a member of the legal counsel for several Las Vegas casinos. She also served as the national director for the American Hotel-Motel Association.
Berkley served in the Nevada Assembly from 1982 to 1984 and was involved in civic affairs locally.
Berkley served on the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents from 1990 to 1998. During her tenure, she was appointed to serve as the board's vice chair.
In the 1990s, Berkley was privately employed by Las Vegas Sands as a government affairs advisor. In 1996 and 1997, during the construction of The Venetian, Berkley advised this employer to make campaign contributions to two Clark County commissioners and two Clark County judges to secure their approval for the new hotel. She advised her employer that they would benefit from making campaign contributions to the two judges because those judges "tend to help those who helped them." She also briefed her employer that they had the option of currying political favor by hiring an uncle of County Commissioner Erin Kenny and to grant a daiquiri concession to commission chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates.
Berkley represented Nevada's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2013, serving seven terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The district represented most of the city of Las Vegas as well as the Las Vegas Strip and the city of North Las Vegas. She was the second woman elected to Congress from Nevada (after only Barbara Vucanovich), the first to do so as a Democratic Party nominee, as well as the first woman elected to represent the 1st district. In Congress, Berkley was a member of the New Democrat Coalition. She views her top priorities as affordable health care coverage for all Americans, veteran's rights and alternative energy. Berkley is also strongly opposed to the building of a nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
