Mary Pat Christie leaves Wall Street job

Mary Pat Christie, wife of Gov. Christie, has left her job at the Wall Street investment firm Angelo Gordon, a move that comes as the governor considers a 2016 presidential campaign.

"Mrs. Christie has decided to take a hiatus from her work in the finance world to spend more time with her family and young children," Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for the governor, said Friday.

Mary Pat Christie "recently resigned" from Angelo Gordon, where she began working in September 2012 and was a full-time managing director, Roberts said.

A spokesman for the firm declined to comment.

In 2013, Mary Pat Christie received $475,874 in income from Angelo Gordon, according to tax returns. The Christies, who reported income totaling $698,838 that year, also reported $34,698 in income from Cantor Fitzgerald, where Mary Pat Christie had worked part time as a bond trader.

The Cantor Fitzgerald income was part of a partnership paid out over five years, according to the Governor's Office.

In an interview with Matt Lauer that aired on NBC's Today show April 16, Mary Pat Christie said she hadn't decided whether she would take a leave from her job for a presidential campaign.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with regards to that," she said after Lauer noted that "Mrs. Cruz" - Heidi Cruz, wife of presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz - "took a leave of absence from Goldman Sachs."

"But I know I want to spend a lot of time with my family," Mary Pat Christie said.

Her husband then said it would be a "big sacrifice for a spouse to make."

"She has an incredible career and has had it for 30 years now," Christie said in the interview.

The governor, who has said he will decide on a presidential run in May or June, said his wife's leaving her job "wouldn't be a requirement, from my perspective."

The Christies have four children: Andrew, 21; Sarah, 19; Patrick, 14; and Bridget, 11. Last week in New Hampshire, Christie noted that he and his wife would be paying more than $120,000 next year for Andrew's tuition at Princeton and Sarah's at Notre Dame.

According to a 2009 article in the Newark Star-Ledger, Mary Pat Christie - a Paoli native who graduated from Villa Maria Academy - left her job at Cantor Fitzgerald after the 9/11 attacks and later returned to the field part time.

A Bloomberg article in 2013 said she had a "flirtation with retirement" after the birth of the Christies' last child in 2003 but resumed working part time. The Governor's Office said it could not provide details late Friday afternoon about Mary Pat Christie's previous time off from the workforce.