How Bernie Sanders, the Socialist, Quietly Entered the Top 4% of Earners

[riversedge]

http://fortune.com/2016/02/28/bernie-sanders-socialist-finances/


How Bernie Sanders, the Socialist, Quietly Entered the Top 4% of Earners

COMMENTARY by Daniel Gross

February 28, 2016, 9:03 AM EST

A close look at Bernie Sanders’ finances.
...................................

And yet, by dint of his success as an anti-capitalist politician, Sanders has managed to make a quite comfortable living. While Sanders wouldn’t describe himself as rich, the scourge of the 1% has income that puts him in the top 3.8% of American households, according to CNBC.

Just as Sanders has managed to accumulate significant assets and pull down a six-figure income while being hostile to business and capitalism, his campaign has done the same. Eschewing PACs and high-dollar fundraisers on Wall Street, Sanders has managed to raise a stunning $95 million, from a virtual army of 3 million small donors.

Here’s how Sanders became America’s six-figure socialist:


Virtually all of the couple’s assets are in Jane’s name, and they own a condo in D.C. and a rental property in Vermont..

[JaneyVee]

1. His govt salary alone puts him in the top 5%.

Let alone his assets.

[djean111]

2. Good for Bernie!

Oh, is this supposed to make him look bad? Um, did he make his money enabling arms deals or stuff like that?

Oh, and there needs to be more coordination - I thought it was said that Bernie must be a poor money manager, if he is in Congress and not rich as Croesus. or Hillary.

Also, being a Democrat Socialist does not mean that all people with money are bad. But you knew that.

[R B Garr]

3. He's one of the elite and a total Washington insider.

Very gimmicky putting everything in Jane's name. This is not surprising.

[Adrahil]

4. It's actually not THAT hard to get into the top 5%...

Part of the reason for that that is the disintegration of the middle class.

Many professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer, professor, etc) households earn top 5% incomes. Those are traditionally upper-middle-class jobs, but their elevation percentage wise is due to the failure of middle-class blue collar jobs.

[NobodyHere]

15. Tell that to the 95% percent.

[Adrahil]

25. I just did.

Seriously, I'm an engineer, and my wife is a college professor. Two professional salaries put us into the top 5%. Are we the enemy now?

[NWCorona]

28. I don't think Bernie has called you the enemy

That's Hillary language.

[leftynyc]

33. No

That's Bernie's supporter's language. It's getting mighty crowded under that bus.

[NWCorona]

34. And Hillary's supporters as well

The question I have to you is why are you even listening to an anonymous poster that we can't even be sure of there true motives?

[leftynyc]

36. Your question makes zero sense

and I agree with the poster that said it's not hard to get to the top 5% of wage earners. This is a nothing story.

[NWCorona]

37. How doesn't it?

[bigtree]

5. I think, despite the spin, this reflects pretty well on the Sanders

...although they're both far above what I hope to earn in my lifetime, they both have a good record of public service to back up their compensation.

About what I'd expect for a professional in government, yet remarkably void of the familiar get rich schemes which inflate most legislators incomes far above their salaries.

[jeff47]

6. Someday, you'll bother to learn the difference between socialist and democratic socialist.

Today is not that day.

[UglyGreed]

9. Like I wrote in another thread

I'm pretty sure Bernie Bros is a David Brock creation and is a reflection of some Hillary supporters.......

[artislife]

48. They will when they wonder where the numbers went.

Or not. Self reflection isn't automatic.

[Betty Karlson]

7. Something to do with Clinton and her buddies topedoeing the Middle-Class?

No, of course not: it's just another smear on his character. Hey Clinton campaign: in case, you haven't yet read the memo:

All these smears are sinking your GE chances like the Titanic, which was another unsinkeable and inevitable case of hubris going down.

[LexVegas]

8. He is just about as establishment as it gets in America.nt

[NWCorona]

29. Not even close.

[LexVegas]

30. Way close. nt

[NWCorona]

31. We will just have to respectfully disagree then.

[LexVegas]

32. Ok.

[artislife]

49. It's like he almost has 45 million in cash. nt.

[Armstead]

10. Stupidest post of the day...But the day is still young

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. VOTES put him in Congress. Minimum salary for a sitting Senator is $174,000.

This is one stupid post.

[Herman4747]

13. Exactly!!! It SHOWS THE DESPERATION OF SOME OF...

HILLARY'S SUPPORTERS.

One of the dumbest posts I have encountered.

[Lizzie Poppet]

12. Clearly the moral equivalent of Hillary's $21 million in corporate speaking fees!

Why that dirty hypocrite!!!

Nice ratfuck, though...

[UglyGreed]

14. Oh look what I found

Daniel Gross
Journalist
Daniel Gross is an American journalist and author. Since July 2012 he has been editor of global finance for Daily Beast/Newsweek. He was formerly Senior Editor at Newsweek, and between 2010 and 2012 was employed at Yahoo! Finance. Wikipedia

http://iac.com/about/leadership/board-directors/chelsea-clinton

http://iac.com/brand/daily-beast

Ties that bind............

Cronyism at it's finest!!!!!!!

[riversedge]

16. So you do a Rovian and hit the messenger. Do you have problems with any of the content???

[UglyGreed]

18. There's the other meme

and slander how very David Brock of you

[riversedge]

22. I slandered no one. Good bye

[UglyGreed]

24. "So you do a Rovian and hit the messenger"

OK I concede, an artful smear then.

[BernieforPres2016]

23. I've got a problem with the content

Last edited Mon Feb 29, 2016, 02:53 PM - Edit history (1)

Bill and Hillary have raked in what, $150 million in legal bribes under titles like speaking fees, consulting fees, etc. over the last 15 years? That's about 200 times the net worth of Bernie Sanders. Their daughter Chelsea has a part time job as a Board member of IAC, which employs the writer of this pathetic hit piece on Bernie Sanders, that pays her over 50% more than Bernie Sanders makes as a U.S. Senator.

So if you think Bernie has gotten rich you must have a big problem with the Clintons, right? Are you one of the people demanding that Hillary release the transcripts of her speeches to Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions?

[artislife]

50. Yes...both are equally laughable. nt

[Marr]

57. Of course there's a problem with the content-- are you seriously going to sit there and deny

the fact that criticizing a Senator for being the top 5% of wage earners is unreasonable, when the Senate salary ALONE is enough to put one there?

It's asinine. It's a painfully thin attempt to make Sanders look like a hypocrite, and I think any honest person would admit that.

[UglyGreed]

17. Funny stuff

BTW my wife earns all the money in our household and guess what??? All the assets are in her name because she paid for it!!!!!! Wouldn't it be sexist of me to claim her earnings as my own???

[cyberswede]

19. Wait...I thought he was bad because he doesn't have any money

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026624652

[UglyGreed]

20. All depends on the day

of the week silly

[BernieforPres2016]

21. Hillary took bigger legal bribes from Goldman Sachs for one hour of "work"

than Bernie makes in a year as a U.S. Senator.

Hillary made almost $10 million in legal bribes from corporate interests in 2013 alone for "speeches". Bernie is a 74 year old man who ha been in Congress for 25 years and has a net worth of around $700,000.

And a Hillary supporter actually posts this crap from a guy who works for a subsidiary of IAC? IAC, where Chelsea Clinton, whose primary qualification to do anything is her last name, pulls in $300,000 a year plus stock options for perhaps 10 days a year of work if you added it all up? More than Senator Bernie Sanders makes in a year.

LOL at the OP.

[MaggieD]

26. LOL!

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

27. This is a great preview of the kind of attacks Bernie would receive in the general election!

... oh wait, is that all you have? That he is a U.S. Senator and receives a U.S. Senator's salary? That his net worth is less than Hillary made in a couple of speeches to Goldman Sachs?

[basselope]

35. Bernie is DEMOCRATIC socialist.. not ANTI capitalism.

Bernie has NEVER said there is anything wrong being a millionaire or billionaire.

He does; however, decry the "give me more" greed from SOME millionaires and billionaires.

He does; however, rally against the reality of politics today in which those with money have more say in policy than those who don't.

Do I need to dig up the chart that shows the direct correlation between what money interests want vs what the people want Re: what legislation gets passed?

As one of those millionaires (not billionaire), I feel no resentment from Sanders and no hatred.. but then I would also be happy to pay more in taxes IF I felt confident than it was going to be going towards good and BTW, I trust the government far more than most charities to do things properly... because history has shown that government actually works quite well when WE keep its feet to the fire.

[Depaysement]

38. Being in the top 3.8% makes him a . . .

. . . wage earner like everyone else. He just gets paid better than most. He basically has his salary.

He has two homes because, as a Congressman and Senator, he has to. He effectively lives in both places. Anyone who doesn't know that, doesn't belong in politics.

Three speeches to Goldman and Hillary exceeded Bernie and Jane's total lifetime assets.

What a joke of an OP.

[renate]

45. exactly. Are we supposed to drop him because he... earns his salary?

I don't know if the fact that Bernie is in the 4% is supposed to persuade us to switch to Hillary or what, but this is just silliness.

[Autumn]

39. Awesome. That Democratic Socialist worked hard for that money,

looking out for my interests not some corporations or Wall Street. I think just about all politicians are in the six figure bracket. Now some give speeches to banks, Wall street ans the like and they really rake in the fucking cash.

[auntpurl]

40. As a Hillary supporter, I find this OP a bit silly.

I've never understood the obsession some supporters on both sides have with how much money either candidate makes. They are both national political figures. Let's assume neither of them will be on the bread line any time soon.

[NurseJackie]

47. As a stand-alone post and without any context, I'd be inclined to agree with you.

[Orsino]

41. Brain-dead opinion. n/t

[hobbit709]

42. That's about a 25,000 rpm on the bullshit spin machine there.

Better oil those bearings

[DemocraticWing]

43. It's a bit offensive to suggest Jane's assets are just assets Bernie hid for PR reasons

She has a long career of her own, and Bernie doesn't own her.

[DefenseLawyer]

44. This says less about Bernie's "success"

Than about how many people live in poverty in this country.

[Vinca]

46. Why can't a socialist have a six figure net worth?

We know he has a six figure salary since they're all paid $174,000. He's not suggesting we all sell our possessions and head off to the commune. Give it a rest already. This is stupid.

[AgerolanAmerican]

51. The top 5% of earners isn't the problem

Those tend to be successful, productive people.

It's the top 0.001% of earners who are the problem. They tend to be people for whom no amount of money is ever enough and they don't care who needs to die for them to get more and more and more and more and more.

So let's talk about what's in those Goldman Sachs transcripts and why they were worth a quarter-million a pop to them, that's really much more interesting than a misleading statistic about Sanders' income.

[oasis]

52. Don't tell Susan Sarandon, her finger wagging has no limits.

[Nanjeanne]

53. OMG - Bernie Sanders makes a living! Such NEWS!

[Omaha Steve]

54. Forbes: The Mystery Of Hillary's Missing 50 Million!!!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2015/09/29/the-mystery-of-hillarys-missing-millions/#5f4d6e2e5505

Dan Alexander This story appears in the October 19, 2015 issue of Forbes.

Since Bill and Hillary Clinton left the White House in 2001, they have earned more than $230 million. But in federal filings the Clintons claim they are worth somewhere between $11 million and $53 million. After layering years of disclosures on top of annual tax returns, Forbes estimates their combined net worth at $45 million. Where did all of the money go? No one seems to know, and the Clintons aren’t offering any answers.

From 2001 to 2014 the power couple spent $95 million on taxes. Hillary’s 2008 presidential run cost her $13 million. Their two homes cost a combined $5 million, and the Clintons have given away $22 million to charity. All of this is according to FEC filings, property records and years of tax returns. Add it up and you get $135 million. If the Clintons made $230 million, spent $135 million and have just $45 million left over, what happened to the other $50 million?

“That’s kind of strange,” says Joe Biden’s accountant, Walter Deyhle. “You have to report all of your assets. You have to report assets that are owned by your spouse.”

It seems unlikely that the Clintons could have spent all of it. Over 14 years $50 million averages out to $3.6 million in extra expenses per year, or $9,800 per day.

FULL story at link.

[ljm2002]

55. So was he supposed to turn down his Senate salary...

...in order to maintain his socialist cred?

Sanders has not built up some huge personal war chest like many other politicians. But yes, as a U.S. Senator he does earn a good salary (and BTW, $174,000 ain't that high by private standards for a position of such responsibility and visibility). Should he have turned the salary down, or asked to take less, or given it away? Should he and Jane have not managed their money, and not availed themselves of opportunities to own properties to live and vacation in? What about the good old "American Dream" -- are democratic socialists not allowed to partake for some reason? We do live in a capitalist society and we all have to make our way within those confines.

And then to go on about his campaign raking in money. Well FFS, of course the campaign has raised huge wads of cash. Otherwise it would not be competitive in this current money drenched political environment. The fact that Bernie has raised what he has through mostly small individual donations is huge, and is very compatible with his socialist leaning philosophy.

[Marr]

56. Wow, now he's been castigated for being a financial failure, AND

for being a financial success.

As usual, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't.