Wes Moore
A Rhodes Scholar, combat veteran, and bestselling author who broke barriers as Maryland's first Black governor.
Born 1978 (age 48)·Governor of Maryland since 2023·Birthday: October 15·Generation X
Biography
Wes Moore's life reads like a series of interconnected callings, each chapter building toward public leadership. After a challenging youth in Baltimore and the Bronx, discipline found him at a military school, setting him on a path to becoming a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army, serving in Afghanistan. He then assembled an almost archetypal resume of American success: a Johns Hopkins degree, a Rhodes Scholarship, a stint as a White House fellow, and a Wall Street banker. But his pivot to writing revealed his core mission. His bestselling book 'The Other Wes Moore' explored the divergent fates of two men with the same name, framing a lifelong focus on equity and opportunity. As CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, he fought poverty in New York. In 2023, he channeled this multifaceted experience into politics, becoming Maryland's first Black governor and only the third Black governor elected in U.S. history, promising to 'leave no one behind.'
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Wes was born in 1978, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Wes Was Born
The biggest hits of 1978
#1 Movie
Grease
Best Picture
The Deer Hunter
#1 TV Show
Laverne & Shirley
Wes's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1978Born
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1983Started school
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1991Became a teenager
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1994Could drive
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
1996Could vote
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
1999Turned 21
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2008Turned 30
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 40
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 48 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Elected as the 63rd Governor of Maryland in 2022, becoming the state's first African American chief executive.
- Authored the bestselling book 'The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,' which was a New York Times bestseller.
- Served as the CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the largest anti-poverty organizations in the United States.
- Was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a Master's degree from Oxford University.
- Served as a Captain and paratrooper in the United States Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan.
Did You Know?
He is a graduate of Valley Forge Military College and Johns Hopkins University.
He was a producer and host of the television show 'Beyond Belief' on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
His full name is Westley Watende Omari Moore.
He is only the third African American ever elected governor of a U.S. state.
“Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
