US presidential hopeful Romney reveals wealth

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who made part of his fortune as co-founder of a private equity firm, and his wife have personal financial assets worth as much as $264 million, according to disclosure documents filed Friday.


The records suggest that Romney may have seen a small, but limited, drop in wealth during one of the nation’s worst economic downturns, with a maximum asset value about 8 percent lower than what he reported during his first White House bid in 2007.


The numbers underscore an issue that poses both a benefit and a challenge for the former Massachusetts governor, who points to his business experience as evidence of his ability to lead the country.


But Romney, who grew up in a wealthy family before expanding his fortunes at the Bain Capital equity firm, also has struggled to portray himself as a candidate in touch with the lives of regular voters.


At an Iowa appearance this week, Romney sparred with hecklers urging him to raise corporate taxes by responding: “Corporations are people, my friend.” GOP challenger Tim Pawlenty also made light of Romney’s wealth during a Thursday night debate in a quip about mowing his lawn.


Romney is far richer than most, if not all, of his presidential rivals. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama reported assets between $2.8 million and $11.8 million in 2010. The only other candidate who might exceed Romney in personal wealth, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., has yet to file a disclosure.


In addition to his sprawling investments, Romney was paid more than $374,000 for nine speeches in 2010 and 2011, including a speech at Clark Consulting in Half Moon Bay, Calif., for $66,000 and two appearances worth $68,000 each for Goldentree Asset Management and the International Franchise Association.


His most recent reported speech, for Barclay’s Bank in Washington, made him $42,500 in February, as he was preparing for the start of his presidential campaign, the records show.


Romney also owns horses worth up to $500,000 through a limited-liability company; one of them won a prize of less than $201, the report shows.


The financial disclosures — which are expressed in broad ranges rather than precise numbers — suggest that Romney could be worth as little as $85 million or as much as $264 million. His campaign said that “a more accurate range” is between $190 million to $250 million.


Campaign officials said the holdings of Romney and his wife, Ann, are managed in a blind trust administered by an attorney at Ropes & Gray in Boston, a firm long tied to the Republican candidate and his inner circle. “They do not control the investment of these assets,” said campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho.


His financial disclosure form was filed on Friday, a day before Republicans in Iowa hold a straw poll, a nonbinding mock election that tests the strength of campaigns and traditionally winnows out some losers from the presidential field.


"Governor and Mrs. Romney's assets are managed on a blind basis," said Gail Gitcho, communications director for his campaign team. "They do not control the investment of these assets. They are under the control and overall management of a trustee."


Romney's investments are in areas including consumer staples, energy, financial, health care, industrial companies, information technology and communications, his office said.


Romney raised more than $18 million in the second quarter for his presidential nomination bid. Still, Obama and the Democratic National Committee raised about $86 million in the same period.


Romney had a heated exchange with hecklers in Iowa on Thursday over whether the wealthy should pay more into the government-run Social Security retirement program and he rejected a shouted suggestion that corporations should pay higher taxes.


"Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?" he responded.

Mystery Mitt Romney donor comes forward

In a move aimed at tamping down a mounting controversy over secret money in presidential politics, a political committee backing Mitt Romney Saturday publicly identified a former Bain Capital managing director as the source of a mysterious $1 million contribution to its coffers.

Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney committee, said that Edward W. Conard, who was for years associated with Bain Capital, the huge investment firm that Romney once headed, was the figure behind an obscure company called “W Spann LLC” that was listed as donating $1 million to the group last spring. Conard has continued to list his affiliation with Bain Capital when making sizeable campaign contributions in recent years even though a Bain Capital spokesman said he retired from the firm in 2007.

The disclosure of Conard’s identity, first reported by Politico, would appear to solve a Washington mystery that has swirled for days after NBC News reported this week on the murky origins of W Spann LLC : The company was formed in Delaware in March, made its contribution in April, and then dissolved in July, leaving no paper trail as to who its owners were — or even where it was located.

But campaign watchdog groups said Saturday that they will continue to press for a Justice Department investigation into the contribution, saying that unless such a probe is conducted, it will open the door for other donors to conceal their campaign contributions through shadowy "pop up" corporate fronts.

In a statement Conard said, "I am the individual who formed and funded W Spann LLC. I authorized W Spann LLC’s contribution to Restore Our Future PAC.

"I did so after consulting prominent legal counsel regarding the transaction, and based on my understanding that the contribution would comply with applicable laws," he said. "To address questions raised by the media concerning the contribution, I will request that Restore Our Future PAC amend its public reports to disclose me as the donor associated with this contribution."

The LLC had been registered to a Madison Avenue address in Manhattan that was the same building occupied by Bain, sparking more of the mystery surrounding Spann. Sources familiar with the situation said Conard retired from Bain in 2007, but still maintains an office of his own at that Madison Avenue address.

Conard came forward as criticism from campaign watchdogs and Democrats were gathering steam, and there was an official complaint with the FEC, as well as with the Justice Department, filed by a nonpartisan group.

The contribution was first reported by POLITICO's Jonathan Martin and Ken Vogel on Sunday. NBC's Michael Isikoff reported earlier this week that Spann was formed in March and dissolved less than four months later, raising questions about the purpose of the company.

It wasn't immediately clear why Conard chose to go the anonymous donation route.

Based on his donation history and his past with Romney, at first glance there may be less there than meets the eye in terms of a hidden political agenda. Conard has no major history as a Republican donor, and is not a known name within bundler circles.

He's made a few donations to the Republican National Committee, and contributed to George W. Bush's and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown's campaigns, but the overwhelming majority of his donations have been to Romney and his two PACS, Commonwealth PAC and Free and Strong America.

He is among a group of Romney supporters who has donated to the network of the state-based versions of the PACs, which can have higher contribution limits.