Not surprisingly, one of the most important groups of decision makers in the world is made up of people who are made up of money. It shouldn’t be a shock; if the governors that comprise this group weren’t all millionaires many would question their appointments. It’s not terribly dissimilar to the axiom that “those who can, do; those that can’t, teach.” While possibly an indictment of the education system and quite harsh on teachers, it would seem wrong if those that control the U.S. economy were struggling to make ends meet along with the country they are charged with protecting.
Fed’s Board of Governors to prepare disclosure forms
Obviously, each of the current seven members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors are required to prepare financial disclosure forms, and each have assets worth over $1 million.
The current chairman, Ben Bernanke, has assets between $1.1 million and 2.3 million. There is as large a gap in Money‘s reporting as there are between the current chairman and some of his colleagues’ wealth, or for that matter the mortgage he’s carrying versus what the bank still owns on his house.
Perhaps owing to “those who can write textbooks,” Bernake saw royalties of over $100,000 from McGraw Hill Financial Inc (NYSE:MHFI) for books he has written along with his salary as Fed Chairman last year.
If potential replacements to Bernake are to be judged by assets, The Fed is in good hands.
The woman that many view as the obvious choice to proceed Bernake, Janey Yellen, looks a bit like the Monopoly Man on her own, but her portfolio is even more similar in appearance.
Deputy of Fed’s Chairman discloses assests
This frontrunner and Bernake’s deputy disclosed assets somewhere between $4.8 million and $13.2 million. The bulk of this is held in trust with her husband and Nobel-winning economist George Akerlof. In addition to shares in OfficeMax Inc (NYSE:OMX) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), and retirement accounts, Mrs. Yellen boasts a stamp collection valued between $15,000 and $50,000.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who is also considered as a potential Bernake replacement, seems the better replacement if assets were to be the determining factor. Summers left government years ago and has not filed disclosure forms since 2009. According to Bloomberg, in 2009 Summers showed assets of $17 million and $39 million.
Jerome Powell, a former private equity baron, appears to have the biggest bankroll of current Fed governors. The former Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG) partner has an estimated worth of $50 million.
Jeremy Stein, Elizabeth Duke, Sarah Bloom Raskin and Daniel Tarullo all disclosed assets of over a million and none are believed to be worth more than $13 million.
