Carola Rackete Biography: Age, Career, Net Worth, Husband, Awards, Activism, Books

Carola Rackete is a German conservation ecologist, activist, politician and former ship captain who rose to international prominence in June 2019 when, as captain of the migrant rescue vessel Sea‑Watch 3, she defied Italian authorities by docking in Lampedusa to bring rescued migrants to safety.

Her decisive action and subsequent legal battles highlighted the complexities of maritime rescue operations and human rights at sea, propelling her into the global spotlight and later into the European Parliament as an independent candidate aligned with The Left Party.

Profile

• Full name: Carola Rackete
• Date of birth: 8 May 1988
• Age: 37 years old
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Preetz, West Germany
• State of origin: Schleswig-Holstein
• Nationality: German
• Profession: Sea captain; Conservation ecologist; Activist; Politician
• Parents: N/A
• Siblings: N/A
• Spouse: N/A
• Children: N/A
• Relationship status: N/A
• Religion: N/A
• Ethnicity: German
• Net worth: $400,000

Early Life and education

Carola Rackete is now at the age of 37. She was born on 8 May 1988 in Preetz, a town near Kiel in the northern German state of Schleswig‑Holstein, into a German family of unspecified profession and background.

Growing up in this region, she was exposed early on to maritime culture and environmental awareness.

Rackete completed her secondary education in 2007 and went on to study nautical science and maritime transport at Jade University of Applied Sciences in Elsfleth, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 2011.

Later, she pursued a Master’s degree in Conservation Management at Edge Hill University in England, earning her degree in 2018.

Personal Life

Carola Rackete maintains a private personal life and there is no public record of a spouse, children, or significant relationships.

Details concerning her family life, including parents and siblings, have not been disclosed, and she appears to be unmarried and without children.

Career

Between 2011 and 2019, Rackete served in various capacities on scientific research vessels, including expeditions to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean with the Alfred Wegener Institute, and as second officer and chief mate for Greenpeace and the British Antarctic Survey.

From 2016 to 2019, she volunteered as captain for the NGO Sea‑Watch, conducting search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Her arrest in 2019 for docking Sea‑Watch 3 in Lampedusa marked a turning point, after which legal proceedings were dismissed in 2021.

In July 2023, she was nominated by The Left Party as their independent top candidate for the 2024 European elections and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament on 9 June 2024.

She served on the Committees on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and on Agriculture and Rural Development before stepping down on 9 July 2025.

Awards

• Medalla d’Honor del Parlament de Catalunya (2019)
• Medal of the City of Paris (2019)
• Globart Award for Lifetime Achievement (2019)
• Karl‑Küpper‑Preis (2020)
• Doctor honoris causa, University of Namur (2021)

Net worth

Carola Rackete net worth is estimated to be at least $500,000

Controversy

Rackete’s decision to dock Sea‑Watch 3 without authorization in Lampedusa sparked intense debate over maritime law, national sovereignty, and humanitarian obligations.

Italian authorities charged her with aiding illegal immigration and resisting a warship, but a judge deemed her actions justified under international duty to rescue lives at sea.

The case was formally dismissed in January 2020, though it exposed deep divisions within European migration policy.

Social Media

• Instagram: @caro.rackete
• Twitter (X): @CaroRackete
• TikTok: @carorackete

Books

• Mit Handeln statt Hoffen (2019)
• The Time to Act Is Now (English translation, 2021)