Financial disclosures made public Friday show Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's personal wealth remains near $250 million, changing little in the last year, even though the former Massachusetts governor sold a massive amount of stocks he perceived were out of line with his political views.
The Romney campaign said Friday the candidate's net worth was between $190 million and $250 million, although the actual number is more likely to be between $83 million and $255 million after valuation.
This number changed little from last year's disclosures even though Romney increased his cash-on-hand to $6.4 million, mostly through a large stock sell-off. Romney sold "nearly all" of his stock, many from familiar companies such as McDonald's, Exxon Mobil Corp., Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Apple, Boeing Co. and Volkswagen.
Romney also sold most of his overseas stock - such as Chinese-based firms Hang Lung and Komatsu - to make sure his own financial leanings did not go against his foreign policy stance to pressure China on currency valuation and economic openness.
Romney also sold his stock in two foreign companies undergoing investigation for bribery and phone-tapping inquiries respectively - Wal Mart de Mexico and Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting.
The Romney campaign said Friday the disclosures, which are required for presidential candidates, show the bulk of his net work is held in a blind trust administered by a Boston-based lawyer.
"Governor and Mrs. Romney's assets are managed on a blind basis," campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement Friday. "They do not control the investment of these assets, which are under the control and overall management of a trustee."
Other than the blind trust, Romney made $374,000 on the public speaking circuit and between $50,001 to $100,000 in royalties for his book "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," the latter of which he donated to charity. He also holds somewhere between $250,001 to $500,000 in gold.
The disclosure forms show Romney, if successful in his bid for the presidency, would be second in line among the wealthiest commanders in chief, just under America's founding father George Washington, according to a report by MSNBC. Obama is not among the top ten wealthiest, disclosing last month a personal worth of between $2.6 million and $8.3 million.
Washington was worth around $500 million in today's money mostly due to land holdings. Romney would be second wealthiest, pushing Thomas Jefferson and his $212 million to third place.
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