In prior entries I looked at the individual net worth and incomes of the Republican and Democratic contenders for the Presidency. Now, let’s take a look at that data combined by estimated net worth and by estimated income to understand how representative our candidates are of the US at large. Caveats about the data and data sources are discussed in the individual entries about Democratic and Republican candidates.
Candidates ranked by estimated Net Worth
| Candidate | Party | Estimated Net Worth |
| Mitt Romney | R | $202,000,000 |
| John Edwards | D | $55,000,000 |
| Rudy Giuliani | R | $52,000,000 |
| John McCain | R | $40,000,000 |
| Hillary Clinton | D | $35,000,000 |
| Fred Thompson | R | $8,000,000 |
| Bill Richardson | D | $6,600,000 |
| Christopher Dodd | D | $2,400,000 |
| Ron Paul | R | $2,300,000 |
| Duncan Hunter | R | $1,500,000 |
| Barack Obama | D | $1,300,000 |
| Tom Tancredo | R | $800,000 |
| Mike Huckabee | R | $700,000 |
| Dennis Kucinich | D | $300,000 |
| Mike Gravel | D | $250,000 |
| Joe Biden | D | $93,000 |
| US Household (Median) | – | $93,100 |
As you can see, the candidates vying for the White House in 2008 are all at or above the median US Household Net Worth. It’s interesting to note as we think about these candidates as being representative of the population overall. Let’s see what it looks like when the candidates are ranked by 2006 income.
Candidates ranked by estimated 2006 Income
| Candidate | Party | Estimated 2006 Income |
| Mitt Romney | R | $38,000,000 |
| Rudy Giuliani | R | $17,000,000 |
| Hillary Clinton | D | $12,000,000 |
| Fred Thompson | R | $9,000,000 |
| John Edwards | D | $4,000,000 |
| John McCain | R | $4,000,000 |
| Barack Obama | D | $991,000 |
| Mike Huckabee | R | $488,000 |
| Bill Richardson | D | $452,000 |
| Mike Gravel | D | $387,000 |
| Christopher Dodd | D | $303,000 |
| Ron Paul | R | $295,000 |
| Dennis Kucinich | D | $240,000 |
| Tom Tancredo | R | $232,000 |
| Joe Biden | D | $201,000 |
| Duncan Hunter | R | $179,000 |
| US Household (Average) | – | $48,201 |
In Net Worth, at least one of the candidates was close to the people at large. In income, the lowest candidate still has 3.7x the earning power of the average US household according to data from the US Census Bureau. America is the land of opportunity and those with the most are perhaps the most likely to be able to sacrifice temporary income for public service, but I have to wonder, which candidate(s), if any, really understand what the average US household is facing? Are they aware of the struggles? It’s hard to tell, but with the wealth and income levels on this list, it’s not likely they understand from recent, first-hand experience.
If nothing else, it does make you think. Speaking of which, what do you think? Let your voice be heard, leave a comment below.
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This is really too true! These politicians, who are supposed to be public servants, are instead getting rich at taxpayer expense. And they have given government so many favors to hand out that people are willing to spend lots of money winning office, with the result that it’s very difficult for those who aren’t wealthy . Also relevant I think is whether the policies
It is also interesting to realize how many of the presidential candidates are lawyers. I know that at least Hilary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Fred Thompson, Chris Dodd, Duncan Hunter, and Joe Biden are lawyers — that’s 50% of the establishment-party candidates right there!
On the money question, I think we should also look at not just how wealthy the candidates are, but whether they are trying to increase their wealth at our expense. That’s one of many reasons I like Ron Paul (who is a doctor, not a lawyer) — he has always opposed congressional pay increases that would boost his own salary. He even voluntarily returns a portion of his office budget to the U.S. Treasury each year because he believes members of Congress get too much of the taxpayers’ money to run their offices!
I would also like to know how these candidate got their money. In Paul’s case, I believe a substantial portion of it comes from investing in gold, as he has been a noted advocate of sound money and the gold standard for many years, and over that time the price of the metal has risen dramatically. All else being equal I would certainly rather see a president who *isn’t* a millionaire, but I do give him credit for having a good grasp of economics, which is an important criteria for choosing who sits in the White House considering what a major issue the health of the economy is. Certainly better that a candidate made his money that way, or in honest private business, than inheriting it, suing people, marrying it, etc.
Oops, first paragraph of my previous comment got messed up. The ending was supposed to read “…very difficult for those who aren’t wealthy or incumbents to compete.”