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Posted on 06/14/2002 7:47:56 PM PDT by Libloather
Sens. Kerry, Edwards among wealthiest presidential contenders
By ALAN FRAM : Associated Press Writer
Jun 14, 2002 : 5:53 pm ET
WASHINGTON -- Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina appear to be the richest of the potential Democratic presidential contenders, according to financial reports released Friday by members of Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt have the highest-profile jobs but less wealth.
Kerry lists more than 40 pages of assets, mostly in the name of his wife, Teresa Heinz, the Heinz food heiress whose wealth has been estimated beyond $500 million.
His reported holdings include a painting worth $250,000 to $500,000; more than $1 million in Intel Corp. and Pfizer Inc. stock; and stock worth $500,000 to $1 million in Exxon Mobil Corp., Target Corp., and other companies.
The reports, which cover 2001, require lawmakers to reveal their finances in broad ranges of money.
Edwards, a successful personal injury lawyer before entering Congress in 1999, lists a blind trust holding stocks and bonds worth $5 million to $25 million. Other assets include money market and cash accounts valued from $2.3 million to $8.6 million.
Daschle, D-S.D., reports mutual funds worth $233,000 to $790,000 and a bank account valued from $100,000 to $250,000. His wife, Linda, is a lobbyist who has represented American Airlines and companies that design airport security areas and supply bomb detection equipment.
Gephardt, D-Mo., lists more than two dozen mutual funds held with his wife, Janet, including eight worth $50,000 to $100,000. The father of three children also lists owing student loans of $50,000 to $100,000.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., another possible 2004 presidential candidate, lists bank accounts and investments funds worth $100,023 to $500,000 and a blind trust worth $100,000 to $250,000.
His most potent financial asset may be his wife, Hadassah, who reported earning $328,000 for 21 speeches, often at fundraisers for Jewish organizations. She is a daughter of Holocaust survivors. Together, they also earned an advance of more than $13,500 for a book due later this year about the senator's 2000 vice presidential candidacy.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., also mentioned as a presidential aspirant, listed life insurance policies worth $15,000 to $50,000 plus a teaching stipend of $19,133 from Widener University, where he is an adjunct professor.
Among Congress' top Republicans, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., included a money market fund, a Washington town house and a three-fourths share of the Opera House building in Illinois, each worth $100,000 to $250,000.
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., reported real estate and various accounts including a Painewebber Cash fund held with his wife, Tricia, worth $50,000 to $100,000. He also owned 161 acres in Carroll County, Miss., valued at $15,000 to $50,000.
Rank-and-file senators and representatives had $145,100 salaries last year, which rises $150,000 this year. The speaker receives $186,300, the same as Vice President Cheney and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
The House and Senate majority and minority leaders got $161,200, which rises to $166,700 this year.
All 535 members of Congress must report annually on their outside income, assets, liabilities, travel paid by private interests and speech honoraria, or fees. By law, all honoraria for speeches must be donated to charity.
Income from activities other than salary and investments was generally limited to $21,765 in 2001. Spouses' incomes are not included in the disclosures.
Other lawmakers' reports showed that they were subject to some of the same economic forces that affected other Americans.
Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, lost $20,000 to $65,000 from selling stock in Enron Corp., the collapsed energy giant. He lost another $18,703 to $58,500 from his interests in Global Crossing Ltd., the telecommunications company that went bankrupt.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, took a more modest Enron hit. He reported losing $2,184 when he sold Enron stock last November for $4.02 per share, a fraction of its $61.50 value when he bought it the previous March.
Several California Democrats who have criticized the Bush administration and energy companies over California's energy crisis sold energy holdings. Sen. Barbara Boxer and her husband, Stewart, unloaded investments in El Paso Energy Corp., Mirant Corp., and Halliburton Co., the energy services company previously headed by Cheney.
Among lawmakers who used personal wealth to win seats in Congress, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., exercised stock options worth $2.8 million in RealNetworks Inc., the software firm where she had been an executive.
And Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., the Goldman Sachs & Co. chairman who spent a record $63 million in personal funds on his campaign, began honoring a pledge by selling shares in the firm worth $11 million to $55 million. A blind trust sold another $15 million to $75 million.
Other forms showed:
--Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., made $350 for playing guitar and singing at a fund-raiser for Rep. Ralph Hall, D-Texas, and another $125 for performing at an event for the American Association of Health Plans;
--Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., earned $24,250 in residuals from his film career;
--Sen. John Breaux, D-La., earned $3,500 from Huggy Bears Inc. from a tennis tournament;
--Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, reported earning $1,000 for appearing in the movie "Traffic," which he donated to charity.
--House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, reported receiving more than 200 contributions worth $431,390 for his legal defense fund for a suit filed against him by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee;
--Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee reported no major assets, liabilities or unearned income.
Heck, I wudda thunk he would be in charge of the "copy" machines!
How much ya wanna bet .. they hold all the funds ..
1. They mention Daschle's holdings, then mention Daschle's wife but don't mention her finances. She's pretty wealthy, if I remember correctly.
2. Notice what Senator is not mentioned?
Yep.
Let's see now, there's $8 million for the unwritten book, $100,000 in magic cattle futures . . .
Oh, I forgot. Hillary won't be running for president. Not now. Not ever.
So what's she gonna do with all the money?
...Senator KERRY = Communist Money Collector while supporting Communist Vietnam's genocide on the Christian DEGAR Tribes (The Montagnards) of the Central Highlands.
...When the Communists took over a then Free South Vietnam there were over 3 Million DEGARS. ...Only 600,000 are now left. Bill HR-2833 would place sanctions on Communist Vietnam for their ELIMINATING the DEGARS. ...Senator KERRY has been holding Bill HR-2833 up in Committee for -9- months, preventing a vote on it on the U.S. Senate Floor ...FOR THE COMMUNIST MONEY.
...Bill HR-2833 quickly passed the U.S. House ..411 to 1. The Enemy Within Senator KERRY is voting "NO" ahead of his time in the U.S. Senate.
...Why not give the man a Call...??? I sure have.
NEVER FORGET
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