Three Weird Things in Barack Obama's Financial Disclosure.

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http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=05&year=2010&base_name=three_weird_things_in_barack_o

Three Weird Things in Barack Obama's Financial Disclosure.


$1600 worth of belly rubs.


The White House has disclosed the president's financial situation, which has not really changed since the campaign. Short story: He's made a ton of money off of his books. But there were three pretty funny disclosures in the document {PDF}:

1. The Nobel Prize: The president gave away the $1.4 million in prize money, but he kept the tchotckes: "Noble medal and diploma (Value not readily ascertainble)."

2. Is Bo a liquid asset? However, there was no problem ascertaining the value of Bo, the Obama famly's Portugese water dog, a gift from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and his wife Victoria. Bo is valued at $1,600.

3. Michelle gets paid. Perhaps the strangest note is this bequest, the "Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund":

Mr. Henry G. Freeman Jr. died in 1917.... Mr. Freeman's will provided that ... certain charitable income interests would be created an an annuity of $12,000 per year would be paid to each First Lady during her husband's term as president.

Apparently, Freeman was looking for a roundabout way to increase the salary of the president, who he felt was paid a "miserable pittance." Barbara Bush was the first first-lady to receive the payment after a court battle around the fund, which became active in 1989. Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush also accepted the payments, and donated them to charity.

Aspiring First Dudes shouldn't worry: It looks like the fund isn't picky about the gender or even marital status of the first partner, assigning the annuity to "to the lady termed the first lady in the land; that is, the President of the United States {sic} wife, or anyone representing the president as such, should he not be married or should she die during his administration."

-- Tim Fernholz