Cindy McCain is an American businesswoman, educationist – who has a special passion for educating children with special needs; she is also a philanthropist and one committed to humanitarian work. She was the wife of the late United States senator and 2008 Republican party Presidential candidate, John McCain. Cindy and John were married for 38 years and had 4 children. She serves on the board of several non-profit corporations including HALO Trust, CARE, and Eastern Congo Initiative.
Cindy Met John McCain in 1979 At A Military Event In Hawaii
Sometime in 1979, Cindy Hensley came across John McCain at a reception for the military; John was there in his capacity as the United States’ Navy Liaison Officer to the United States Senate. They met while at this reception and began their acquaintance on a lying note; she lied about her age to make herself seem older, while John equally lied about his age to make him younger. Their liking for each other made them overlook this initial error.
John was married to Carol McCain for 14 years, at the time he met and liked Cindy Hensley, so they couldn’t make their love official right away. Shortly after meeting Cindy, John began filing for divorce from his then-current wife, and unfortunately, they stopped living together as a couple in January 1980. Two months later, Carol gave her consent to the divorce initiated by John, and proceedings were finalized in April of 1980. Meanwhile, John’s relationship with Cindy continued to grow despite his divorce proceedings with his wife.
A month after John’s divorce became official, he married Cindy on May 17, 1980, in a beautiful ceremony at Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix. In order to save their marriage from a financial crisis in the future, both John and Cindy signed a pre-nuptial agreement, under which most of her family’s assets would be kept by her, under her maiden name; they also kept their individual finances separate while married, and they filed separate income taxes on their earnings.
For the next 3 years of her life, Cindy devoted her time and resources to help her husband win his bid to be elected into the United States Senate by launching fund-raisers and committing her personal finances to foot the campaign bills. She would also go with him from door to door campaigning. The stress of this period would tell on Cindy, as she suffered several miscarriages in the couple’s bid to procreate.
Cindy McCain’s husband was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor – glioblastoma – in 2017, and though he underwent surgeries and treatment to solve this issue, he eventually died on August 25, 2018, aged 81 years.
Cindy Had Four Kids With John McCain
In 1984, Cindy moved back to Arizona after her husband’s successful election bid, and she gave birth to their first child – a daughter they named Meghan. Two sons would follow suit in 1986 and 1988 named John Sidney IV and James.
In 1991, while Cindy was visiting Mother Theresa’s orphanage in Dhaka, she saw two girls that urgently needed medical help in the United States, and she immediately began the process to adopt one of the girls whom she named Bridget; the adoption became official in 1993. The McCain’s, therefore, had four children together.
Their daughter, Meghan is a television personality and author who has worked with Fox News, ABC News. She married Ben Domenech on the 21st of November 2017 at her family ranch in Arizona.
Cindy McCain Declined A Role In Her Family Business To Work With Kids With Special Needs
Cindy Hensley born in a home of wealth and affluence, and she grew up having the best that life has to offer the children of the rich. Her father, James Hensley, was the owner and founder of Hensley & Co. – one of the largest distributors of the Anheuser-Busch beer brand in the United States.
She attended the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1976. While in college, she joined the Kappa-Alpha-Theta sorority as a freshman and was groomed to hold a very key and strategic leadership position in the house, all through her college years. Not yet satisfied with her first degree, she put in for her post-graduate studies and obtained a Master of Arts degree in Special Education just two years later in 1978.
After completing her post-grad studies, Cindy McCain was offered an executive position in her family’s business, but her passion to help educate and nurture children with special needs made her turn down the offer. She worked at Agua Fria High School, Avondale in Arizona for a year, as a special education teacher, which saw her working with children with several disabilities and down syndrome.
Born To Industrialist Jim Hensley, Cindy Is Heiress To One Of The Nations Biggest Beverage Makers
Though born into affluence, Cindy was primarily involved in other interests of hers. Asides from supporting her husband’s political campaigns and career, she became involved with the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) which she founded as a non-profit body to mobilize medical professionals especially doctors, nurses to provide emergency medical support in areas that have been hit by disasters. The organization also intervenes in developing countries at war. They have helped in countries such as Zaire, Iraq, Nicaragua, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kuwait, and El Salvador. She also spearheaded treatment for poor sick children around the world – through the organization.
After her father’s death in 2000, she became Chairwoman of Hensley & Co – a Anheuser-Busch beer wholesaler and distributor. Hensley & Co is the third-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the United States with a revenue of $350 million. The company is focused on the distribution of beers, lagers, malt beverages, wines, energy drinks especially in the Arizona area.
Cindy is the controlling stockholder and alongside her stepson, Andrew McCain, she controls 68% of the company. Andrew McCain, John McCain’s son from his first marriage has been the company’s CFO and COO and is currently the company’s president.
As of 2018, Hensley & Co had approximately 1,200 workers under its employment. Cindy McCain was reportedly worth $200 million. Most of her wealth comes from her position in Hensley & Co and the amount shares she controls.