Fortune article: 'The all-American working man demeanor of Tim Walz...looks like it's not just an act.'

[MLAA]

Excerpt from Fortune Magazine article dated today. It may be behind a firewall. I got to it through Yahoo Finance home page.o

https://fortune.com/2024/08/08/tim-walz-net-worth/?utm_source=search&utm_medium=advanced_search&utm_campaign=search_link_clicks

The all-American working man demeanor of Tim Walz—Kamala Harris’s new running mate—looks like it’s not just an act.

Financial disclosures show Tim Walz barely has any assets to his name. No stocks, bonds, or even property to call his own. Together with his wife, Gwen, his net worth is $330,000, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing financial disclosures from 2019, the year after he became Minnesota governor.

With that kind of meager nest egg, he would be more or less in line with the median figure for Americans his age (he’s 60), and even poorer than the average. One in 15 Americans is a millionaire, a recent UBS wealth report discovered.

Meanwhile, the gross annual income of Walz and his wife, Gwen, amounted to $166,719 before tax in 2022, according to their joint return filed that same year. Walz is even entitled to earn more than the $127,629 salary he receives as state governor, but he has elected not to receive the roughly $22,000 difference.

“Walz represents the stable middle class,” tax lawyer Megan Gorman, who authored a book on the personal finances of U.S. presidents, told the paper.

The governor’s office could not be immediately reached by Fortune for further comment.

Walz’s personal net worth is a far cry from the estimated $8 million in net assets owned by Kamala Harris. This is in large part to her husband, who was a successful lawyer in California’s entertainment industry prior to their move to Washington, D.C., in 2021.

The contrast is even more stark compared with their opponents. Donald Trump’s net worth is estimated to be $4.8 billion, according to Forbes. Trump has fought hard against releasing any of his tax returns.

Walz’s direct competitor, former venture capitalist JD Vance, is also wealthy. He and his wife have a joint net worth of up to $10.4 million, plus real estate, the WSJ found. Vance’s campaign team did not confirm that figure. A chunk of the value comes from owning stakes in dozens of companies through his Narya Capital Management firm.

Politicians’ assets have become a hot-button subject, especially as high-ranking officials like Nancy Pelosi became just as famous for her uncanny knack when it comes to stock picking as she is for her politics

[wordstroken]

1. Wow!!! The more we learn, the more interesting our upcoming VP becomes.

My admiration and respect for his standards, his judgment and his principles increases every day.


Thank you for this post, MLAA.

[MLAA]

2. I just love him. Smart, kind, funny, full of joy and compassion and a desire to make others' lives better!

I also love that his kids are happy to be around him vs either being afraid of him (like TFG’s spawn) or obviously disgusted by him like Ted Cruz’s kids.

[wordstroken]

5. I hear you loud and clear.

And agree on all your points. He’s remarkable on so many levels.

[NickB79]

3. He's got a military pension, a teacher's pension, and a government pension

And his wife also has a teacher's pension.

And they have Social Security income when they retire.

What they did was plan on a comfortable, but not extravagant, retirement. Enough to have a decent house, do a little travelling, spend time with the kids and grandkids. Not own a yacht in the Mediterranean, private jets to Maui, a condo in Manhattan, etc.

They were fiscally responsible and weren't greedy. They realized it's possible to have enough money instead of constantly striving for more. They made the decision that there are more important things to life than millions in the bank.

[MLAA]

4. So true!