Presidential Candidates’ Personal Finances By The Numbers by WalletHub
With the Iowa Caucuses sprouting surprises like corn, the Granite State set to have its say tomorrow and Super Tuesday just 22 days away, WalletHub today released its report on the 2016 presidential candidates’ personal finances in order to help better inform (and entertain) the electorate.
This report, which includes a fun infographic and a breakdown of nine leading presidential candidates’ financial disclosures, features interesting insights such as how the average candidate’s savings compare to the average American’s and which candidates actually owe more than they’re worth.
Highlights
- $229.8M: The average candidate’s assets (vs. $16,942 for the median American)
- $6.5M: The average candidate’s cash savings (vs. less than $1,000 for most Americans)
- ?$1K: Bernie Sanders cash savings (and it’s in his wife’s name)
- $73,250: The average candidate’s average speaking fee
- $231,059: Hillary Clinton’s average speaking fee
- $4.5M: Ben Carson’s overall income from speeches
- 9: Donald Trump owns nine properties worth at least $50 million
- $0: Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton have no liabilities listed on their financial disclosures
- – $150K: Roughly Marco Rubio’s net worth, with his liabilities outweighing his assets
Benjamin Franklin once said, “He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.” Let’s just hope 2016’s crop of largely affluent presidential candidates don’t subscribe to that particular belief. They’re unusually characterized by money, after all, with the party frontrunners representing up to $2.1 billion and $52.7 million in assets, respectively.
At a time when billion-dollar fundraising has become a prerequisite for occupancy of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it’s fair to wonder where money isn’t an issue in the race. With that in mind, we analyzed each of the eight leading candidates’ financial disclosure forms to get a sense for how they’ve managed their finances in the past and perhaps how they’ll manage the country in the future. Enjoy the show and vote wisely!
A Closer Look At Each Candidate’s Finances
Money is the country’s top stressor, according to the American Psychological Association, which ultimately indicates that our financial circumstances influence our perceptions and general state of mind. That’s true for everyone, including politicians. So, much like it’s wise to make sure that you and your chosen candidate stand eye to eye on important policy issues, it also makes sense to consider the extent to which his or her financial profile jives with your monetary values.
With that in mind, we compared the following candidates based on a few important metrics, such as total cash savings and total amounts owed, and noted a number of revealing insights into each candidate’s financial background that could influence your opinion and ultimately your vote. Just click on a candidate’s picture to learn more.
Presidential Candidates’ Personal Finances By The Numbers
Donald J. Trump
Cash Savings: $7.83M – $36.86M
Total Assets: $1.428 – $2.078
Total Liabilities: $265.35M – $450.75M
Fun Financial Facts:
- Donald Trump owns 1 vineyard, 2 beauty pageants, 1 modeling agency, 1 “Castle Management” company, 1 helicopter company, 1 carousel, 18 golf course locations, and a total of 233 business entities with “Trump” in the name.
- Trump owns nine properties that are worth more than $50 million each.
- Trump also receives monthly pension payments from the Screen Actors Guild.
Hillary Clinton
Cash Savings: $5.00M – $25.00M
Total Assets: $11.33M – $52.70M
Total Liabilities: $0
Fun Financial Facts:
- Clinton has $5 million to $25 million invested in the S&P 500, which means she has lost between $401,000 and $2 million since the beginning of the year.
- Clinton has a U.S. Treasury bond of $50,001 to $100,000 that will come to maturity in August. Its 4.875% yield is 75% higher than the 2.79% currently offered by the average 30-year Treasury bond.
- Both Hillary and Bill Clinton have life insurance from AIG – totaling between $1 million and $2 million.
Bernie Sanders
Cash Savings: $0 – $1,001
Total Assets: $194,026 – $737,000
Total Liabilities: $25,002 – $65,000
Fun Financial Facts:
- As much as 97% of Bernie Sanders‘ assets are in his wife’s name.
- Sanders’ $5,000 annual pension from the city of Burlington, Vermont is his only asset that has not been donated to charity.
- Sanders is a fan of credit unions, with a credit card from the Congressional Federal Credit Union and the US. Senate Federal Credit Union.
Ted Cruz
Cash Savings: $268,005 – $595,000
Total Assets: $2,110,037 – $4,875,000
Total Liabilities: $75,003 – $165,000
Fun Financial Facts:
- Cruz went from one Fidelity 529 Plan worth up to $250,000 for his first child to four USAA 529 Plans worth up to $200,000 for his second child.
- Cruz’s fossil fuel holdings – $365,006 to $850,000 in six companies, including Chevron, Exxon and Energy Products Partners LP – have depreciated by as much as $73,985 since the beginning of 2016.
- American Express certainly isn’t known for savings accounts, but Cruz has one.
Marco Rubio
Cash Savings: $151,003 – $365,000
Total Assets: $302,013 – $855,000
Total Liabilities: $450,003 – $1,000,000
Fun Financial Facts:
- Rubio is the only candidate with a mortgage securing his primary home. In fact, he has two mortgages totaling as much as $750,000.
- Rubio also has a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) for as much as $250,000.
- Rubio pulls in an annual salary of $22,114.83 from Florida International University.
Jeb Bush
Cash Savings: $1,665,006 – $6,351,000
Total Assets: $19.00M – $22.00M
Total Liabilities: $0
Fun Financial Facts:
- Jeb Bush’s two biggest paydays as a speaker came from the Swiss-owned Julius Baer Bank in Uruguay ($75,000) and a division of New York Life in the Czech Republic (68,000).
- Bush has funded four Lending Club loans, which provide $15,001 to $50,000 in income per year.
Chris Christie
Cash Savings: $5,000 – $25,000
Total Assets: $998,000 – $1,665,000
Total Liabilities: $250,000 – $500,000
Fun Financial Facts:
- Christie has $8,000 to $40,000 in his blind trusts.
- Christie also has between $100,000 and $250,000 in life insurance as well as $25,000 to $50,000 in vehicle assets.
- Christie’s New Jersey home is worth more than $500,000.
Ben Carson
Cash Savings: $1,117,006 – $5,280,000
Total Assets: $14,646,325 – $44,754,258
Total Liabilities: $1,000,001 – $5,000,000
Fun Financial Facts:
- Carson received $492,115 in compensation from Fox News, in addition to $137,148 from The Washington Times.
- Carson has as much as $1 million in three certificates of deposit that yield an average of 0.18%.
- Carson owns as much as $5 million in commercial real estate in Pittsburgh.
- Carson’s speaker fee has increased by an average of 72% since his candidacy began.
