2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumRubio cashed out retirement before presidential run
DENVER (AP) Sen. Marco Rubio cashed out most of his retirement savings while preparing to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, records released Friday show.
Rubio, 43, sold six retirement funds in September 2014 for $68,241.09, according to his personal financial disclosure statement. He made the sale even though he apparently had ample cash in the bank: He reported between $100,000 and $250,000 in a checking account and between $50,000 and $100,000 in a money market account at the end of 2014. And, so far in 2015, he estimates he has earned between $100,000 and $1 million from a new book.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio formally launched his presidential bid last month with a speech recalling his humble upbringing and about how hard his father, a bartender, and mother, a housekeeper, worked to ensure he could have greater opportunities than they did.
For much of his political career, Rubio has struggled with debt. He paid off student loans only after becoming a U.S. senator in 2010 and writing an autobiography that paid him more than $1.1 million in royalties. His latest filings show he owes at least $450,000 on two mortgages and a home equity loan he took out in 2005.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Rubio-cashed-out-retirement-before-presidential-6267118.php
DFW
(54,369 posts)But if he thinks he's going to launch a presidential run on a $1 million budget, he probably also thinks he can finance a two week vacation in Hawaii, flying first class and staying at the Mauna Lani for $49.95 too.
joshcryer
(62,270 posts)He'll get plenty of donations and supporters to make it well worth his effort, even if he doesn't get one single caucus vote.
Think of it more as an investment.
Hoppy
(3,595 posts)joshcryer
(62,270 posts)Which is really sad.
SmittynMo
(3,544 posts)Who takes out 68k in retirement savings, pays taxes and a major penalty doing so? I'm willing to bet his final payoff will be about 40% of his investment. Pretty smart, eh? And this guy wants to run for president? OMG. That's too funny. Such fiscal irresponsibility!!!!