the multi-millionaires running for President

[hfojvt]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305_pf.html

It seems very convienent that the article does not have numbers for Giuliani or Romney. Also, they leave out DK. I remember from 2004 reading that he only had something like $50,000 in assets, which, considering how much he has been paid, seemed like poor personal financial management to me.

Actually, Dodd and Biden are also shown as not even millionaires. It says of Biden, that he "has spent virtually his whole life in public service and does not have much else aside from investments in a small array of mutual funds and cash accounts. He received a $112,000 advance" for a book in 2005.

I just love how being a Senator is called 'public service'. It is fairly well rewarded public service IMO. Biden has been in the Senate since 1973 and his salary for those 34 years totals $3.4 million. Senators only made $42,500 in 1973. Still that was more than 60% of households at the time. Insteresting how they have moved up. In 1973, Senator pay was about 58th percentile in household income. Now, it's about 95th percentile. Strange that Biden was not able to save and invest a little bit more. Also think it is ironic that the WaPo writes of Richardson that he "has spent most of his life in public office". So for Biden it is 'service' and for Richardson it is only 'office'.

My main point, is that the media always wants to mention that Edwards is a millionaire. It's in his New York Times profile. Yet with 12 - 60 million in assets, he's not necessarily richer than Hillary, who is from 10 - 50 million, or McCain, who is from 25 - 38 million. Are THEY always noted as millionaires? Same with Giuliani and Romney. Although WaPo does not have estimates, I will provide them. Another source talking about Bush and Giuliani said one was worth $20 million and the other worth $90 million. It was not clear, however, which was which. But that puts Rockin' Rudy at $20-90 million, perhaps richer than Edwards. Wapo mentions that one source estimated that Romney was paid $500 million over 20 years as the founder of Bain Capital. So, I am guessing his net worth is somewhere between $50 and 200 million. If Edwards' millions need to be mentioned, then it would only be fair to mention the millions of McCain, Clinton, Giuliani and Romney as well.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Too much time on their hands.

Money is power. The greed for power seems to be insatiable.

[hfojvt]

11. I like to naively think that for Democrats, at least

there is as much responsibility and work that come with the Presidency as there is power. Bush has never seemed powerful to me, even when he was pushing for war. I think there was a whole cabal of Rumsfeld, Cheney and Rove who were telling him to goto war. He's not really the decider.

[AndyA]

2. Fairness in politics? Oh, how you jest!

:rofl:

There ought to be a law that you can't just "conveniently leave out" information about another candidate.

Oh, there was...it was called the Fairness Doctrine, and Ronnie Raygun sent that one down the crapper. Thanks, Ron.

[hfojvt]

8. well, we can hammer them with the truth

when they pull that crap. The fairness needs to come from the media.

[rurallib]

3. Giuliani was a US Atty and then Mayor

And he was able to sock away $20 mil? Must've had some real "luck" in the market?

[jedicord]

4. From all the paid speeches he made after 9-11.

Republican guide to making money off tragedy.

[rinsd]

5. He also made a mint doing security consulting.

I know, I know its like hiring Bush to be your speaking coach but it is what it is.

[unpossibles]

9. maybe it's the protection money

you know, to prevent another awful tragedy from happening.

[hfojvt]

10. that's in the link!!

"Details: Giuliani has overseen a business empire consisting of an investment bank, law practice and consulting firm. He has delivered speeches for up to $100,000 apiece, and in 2002 alone collected over $8 million. Giuliani Partners has advised major U.S. companies on physical security and brand security related transactions..."

Sheesh I put out an informative link and people don't read it. Probably because I do too much yakking myself. I think Rudy might be the $90 million, because I remember from 2004 Bush being worth about $24 million compared to $4.5 for Howard Dean and $400 million for Kerry. But I might be remembering it wrong, and perhaps Bush's investments in the Carlyle group or whatever have 'mysteriously' done very well. Okay, I just googled it and it came up with Slate saying Bush's net worth was between $8 and 26 million in the 2004 campaign.

[blm]

6. I'll try to be fair to Biden, who is not high on my list - but - he'd have made many millions

by now if he was driven to do so. Look at Bob Dole. He used his office to make plenty of dough through his connections to sweetheart deals over the years.

It does strike me as disingenuous whenevr these articles pop up, because they rarely go into what lucrative offers have been passed up by many of these Dems.

There is no such thing as equal scrutiny in the corporate media anymore - there hasn't been since the mid90s.

[hfojvt]

7. I am just saying that he could have almost a million

if he had saved and invested 10% of his salary these last 34 years. Even a moderately priced home has probably tripled in price since then, if not grown by 10 times.

[Greyhound]

12. On Dennis Kucinich's relative poverty.

He has not been paid that much, there are literally millions of Americans that have made much more in salary and still have negative net worth.

His career has been built on eschewing "sweetheart deals" and "consulting fees", nor has received 6 and 7 figure book deals for books no one reads, nor has ever had any "extraordinary luck" in commodities trading, nor does he sit on any for-profit corporate boards, or leave office to go into the private sector in industries he "coincidentally" regulated during his time in elected office.

I consider his relative lack of wealth a testimony to his honesty.

[hfojvt]

14. In 2004, he had 8 years in Congress

that's about $1.2 million in salary for the 8 years. I am probably an exception, but I had about the same net worth on lifetime earnings of less than $200,000, and that was after I took two huge beatings in real estate. There are millions of Americans who have made much less in salary who have much more net worth in savings and in their home equity. I guess two divorces might take a good bite out of a person's income and net worth. That's probably the explanation I had forgotten.

[JVS]

15. massive coke habit

;-)

[KharmaTrain]

13. So Money Deterines Whose A Good Candidate?

Here's a surprise...not all millionaires are Repugnicans...there are some who are Democrats and very proud ones. Most are self-made and worked their asses off. And for all that work, they're supposed to be paupers? Or take all that money and give it away? I don't get it.

Net worth means nothing if you have a large political machine behind you. That's where the nearly 1 billion for this upcoming election will come from, not from the candidate pockets. Any candidate that has to dig into his/her own pocket won't be around for the first primary.

Also, I always ask this question..."what is rich?" When I started working in the early 70s, $20G a year was good money (my first fulltime gig paid a whopping $8500)...then in the 80s, it was 50Gs a year, then 100Gs in the 90's. I know people who have assets in excess of 1 million who will say rich means those who have $10 million...it's all in the eye of the beholder...and what they do with that money that is the measure of who they are.

[hfojvt]

16. I think this label multi-millionaire is being unfairly attributed to Edwards

as if he is the only one in the race.

"But once I was satisfied that the Democratic candidate and multimillionaire ..."

http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/flowers/wb/wb/xp-114600

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/john_edwards/index.html?inline=nyt-per

"At that time, he was Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, the youthful, handsome and eloquent (Bill Clinton said he could "talk an owl out of a tree") millionaire former trial lawyer ..."

Yet no mention of McCain's millions

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/john_mccain/index.html?inline=nyt-per

or Giuliani's

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/rudolph_w_giuliani/index.html?inline=nyt-per

or Clinton's

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/hillary_rodham_clinton/index.html?inline=nyt-per

they did, however, mention that Romney is a multimillionaire.

[KharmaTrain]

17. One Of Many Labels

I can see three GOOP codewords at work here: "Rich Democrat", "lawyer" and "handsome"...which is supposed to be viewed in a sinister fashion as if he's either hiding something or some con man. We both know different, I hope...but it's a game being played in the corporate media...and I wouldn't be surprised if it's being pushed along by agents for various candidates in both parties.

I think of it as "a knock is a boost" for Edwards...these attacks have had little on the polls I've been following...if anything, it's made him stronger. Good for him!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. You have to be a millionaire to run at all. "Self-made" is irrelevant.

Almost none of these creeps are self-made, unless they married into money.

They all made it corrupting the system, or bought their way into power.

This ain't Bruce Wayne Enterprises.