Not every 2016 candidate has tens of millions of dollars in assets, but no one who runs for president can be that poor.
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush released 33 years of tax returns on Tuesday and revealed that the former Florida governor is with as much as $22 million. Bush broke the record set by 1996 Republican presidential nominee Senator Bob Dole who released 30 years of returns. Even Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who trails other contenders, has an estimated net worth of more than $300 thousand.
Even so, politicians from both parties tend to stress their down-home, all-American roots while they make well more than the average voter.
In 2008, there was Sen. John Edwards, who reminded crowds that he grew up in a mining town even though he was worth well over $20 million. That was the same year John McCain forgot how many houses he had.
More recently, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Senator Marco Rubio has had to defend his ownership of a “luxury speedboat” that cost $80,000. Rubio also received an $800 thousand advance for his 2012 memoir “An American Son.”
Just last year Hillary Clinton had to explain a comment she made to ABC News claiming she and her husband President Bill Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House in 2000, despite owning multiple homes. Bill Clinton has earned as much as $500 thousand for speaking fees.
Then there’s the Donald. Republican presidential candidate and multi-billionaire Donald Trump came out of the gate touting his wealth.
“I’m really rich,” he told the crowd at his announcement event. “I’m not even saying that in a bragging — that’s the kind of mindset, that’s the kind of thinking you need for this country.”
Come November 2016, we’ll see if he’s right.
