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.
David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Barack Obama, denied a Politico report Friday morning that the Obama campaign's game plan concerning Mitt Romney is to smear the GOP frontrunner.
On Wednesday Politico cited anonymous sources in reporting that the Obama campaign was "preparing to center the president's reelection campaign on a ferocious personal assault on Mitt Romney's character and business background.
But, as noted in an ABC News blog post, Axelrod categorically denied the reports while appearing on two morning news shows.
"In an interview on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe,' David Axelrod, President Barack Obama's senior advisor, said he would go as far as firing anyone who referred to presidential candidate Mitt Romney as 'weird.' … And on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' Axelrod suggested that reporters should stop relying on these unnamed sources."
The Huffington Post reported Friday that, while Axelrod was making nice with Romney, the Obama senior adviser also lobbed figurative firebombs at Gov. Rick Perry, the Republican who will announce his candidacy today.
That dollar figure would likely make him the wealthiest candidate in the 2012 White House race, far and away eclipsing President Obama. His only possible GOP rival is former governor Jon Huntsman of Utah, who has yet to release his disclosure form and is among the heirs to the Huntsman Corp. fortune.
Romney’s disclosure form provides the most detailed look yet at the former venture capitalist’s finances during the past four years; it shows his net worth essentially unchanged over that time. His campaign provided no details about movement within that range.
The former Massachusetts governor has never released his tax returns, which would offer a fuller picture of his fortune, and has declined requests to do so this year.
Romney, who was criticized earlier this year for telling a group of voters that he was “unemployed,’’ earned nearly $114,000 from being on the board of Marriott International.
In the past year, Romney also received more than $374,000 in fees for nine speeches, including from some financial firms that he has sought to protect from more government regulations. For those speaking engagements, he was paid in a range from $11,475 to speak at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calf., to $68,000 to speak at the National Franchisee Association in Las Vegas.
He was also was paid speaking fees by Barclays Bank, GoldenTree Asset Management, HP Healthcare Services, and Quest Educational Foundation. A Get Motivated Seminar, via satellite link in Boston, yielded $29,750.
“He has occasionally received compensation for speeches, and those have been disclosed in accordance with the law,’’ said Gail Gitcho, the Romney campaign’s communications director.
His wife, Ann Romney, owns horses in California worth between $250,001 and $500,000, according to the forms. She has promoted the use of horseback riding as a therapeutic way of coping with multiple sclerosis, from which she suffers. The horses she owns compete and earn prizes, according to Gitcho, so they are required to disclose Romney’s share of the company that owns them.
The Romneys also have investments in a wide range of areas, including consumer staples such as electronics and office supplies, large oil companies, and financial, health care, and telecommunications companies. His stock portfolio includes investments in Ford Motor Co., McDonald’s, Microsoft, General Electric, and Exxon Mobil.
The Romneys have more than $1 million invested in Solamere Founders Fund, which is run by one of their sons, Tagg. They also hold between $250,001 and $500,000 in gold metal.
Romney has between $250,001 and $500,000 in Bank of America cash accounts, and he continues to earn millions from a retirement deal with Bain Capital, the venture firm he started in 1984 and left in 1999.
Romney also earned between $100,001 and $1 million in profits from his book, “No Apology.’’ That money was divided evenly among six charities: Joey Fund, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Sabin Children’s Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund, and Homes for Our Troops.
Romney shed some of his investments from corporations that had interests that conflicted with his political views, which caused problems for him four years ago when it was revealed that he was reaping profits from corporations involved with Iran, China, and human embryonic stem cell research. At the time, Romney said he would instruct the trustee of his blind trust to make sure his investments conformed with his political positions.
The Associated Press reported yesterday that while that may be true from Romney’s own investments, a family charity, the Tyler Charitable Trust, continued to buy and sell investments in companies that dealt with Iranian businesses, complied with censorship in China, or aided in stem cell research.
The form filed with the election commission yesterday indicated that the Romneys had financial holdings in a range of $85 million to $264 million. The campaign said a more accurate range was between $190 million and $250 million but would not specify any further detail.
Romney so far has not put any of his own money into his presidential campaign, as he did four years ago. About half of the holdings four years ago belonged to Mitt Romney and theoretically could have been liquidated and used for his campaign. The other half belonged to his wife. The campaign yesterday would not say whether the split continues to be about half-and-half.
All federal candidates are required to file the disclosures within 30 days of declaring their candidacies, but they can seek two 45-day extensions, which Romney did. That meant Romney’s forms were due not only on a Friday - typically a day when politicians announce news they do not want to promote - but when the political class was consumed with today’s Iowa straw poll.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin descended yesterday on the Iowa State Fair, walking through buildings filled with cattle as a crush of reporters surrounded her and her husband, Todd. The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee continued to stoke speculation that she will enter the presidential race.
“Still a potential. Still thinking about it,’’ she told reporters yesterday. “There is still plenty of room in that field for common-sense conservatives who have executive experience and aren’t part of the political machine that’s caused the problems.
