One of the richest Members of Congress is on the short list to be Mitt Romney’s running mate.
So is one of the poorest.
Of the four lawmakers the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is said to be considering, Sen. Rob Portman is by far the wealthiest, recently filed personal financial disclosure forms show.
The Ohio Republican, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget and U.S. trade representative under former President George W. Bush, had a minimum net worth of $6.72 million at the end of 2011, up $1.4 million from the previous year.
The annual disclosures provide detailed information about lawmakers’ finances, including stock holdings, financial transactions and loans, but are only a rough guide to lawmakers’ actual wealth because assets and liabilities are reported in broad ranges. Roll Call subtracts the total minimum value of all liabilities from the sum of the minimum value of all assets to arrive at a minimum net worth.
Real estate holdings account for much of Portman’s wealth. The Cincinnati native owns about $1.2 million in commercial real estate, including the Golden Lamb, a historic hotel and restaurant in Lebanon, Ohio, worth at least $1 million. Portman made at least $415,000 from rent and capital gains on six commercial properties in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia last year, including at least $250,000 from the sale of a property in Nitro, W.Va.
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