Archive for April, 2008

Today, I read two articles about each Democratic candidate, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama.  These articles aren’t the usual political hype; they focus on each candidate’s declared income.  Sound interesting?  Read on.

Bill and Hilary Clinton

According to a recently released Associated Press article, the Clintons have earned over $100 million since leaving the White House.  Last year alone, they earned $20.4 million with nearly half of the income derived from Bill Clinton’s speeches.  It is no wonder Hilary was able to loan her campaign $5 million earlier this year!

Since leaving the White House, the former president has made millions from speaking engagements and book royalties.  In addition, Bill received additional business income from his partnership with Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund, run by Ron Burkle.   According to the article, the Clinton’s partnership income between 2003 and 2006 was a staggering $12.5 million.

Barack Obama

The Obamas’ 2007 tax return is not yet available.  However, this information should be available this month now that the Clintons are releasing their 2007 tax return information.  In the meantime, we can gain significant insight through the Obamas’ 2006 tax return.

In 2006, Barack and Michelle Obama earned nearly $1 million.  As stated in a recent FoxNews.com article:

The Obamas earned a combined $430,700 in salary, and more than $506,000 in income from Barack Obama’s book sales in 2006. The Illinois senator’s second book, “The Audacity of Hope,” flew to the top of The New York Times bestseller list after its release in October 2006.

In addition to more than $300,000 in income from her job as a vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, in 2006 Michelle Obama also earned $51,200 in 2000 from serving on the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, which provides products and services to the private label and food service industries. She resigned from the board in May 2007, citing too many demands on her time.

I find it interesting that both candidates derived income from publishing.  In addition, neither candidate inherited a fortune; they’ve been building up their wealth steadily over time.

Bottom line: Both candidates clearly know how to make money.  However, how good are they at managing their wealth?  In addition, if each candidate were in charge of managing the growing US deficit, I wonder how each of them would fare based on what we can glean from these tax returns!