Mitt might be the richest president. Is that OK?
Mitt might be the richest president. Is that OK?
Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you're in Romney territory.
He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected — probably in the top four.
He couldn't top George Washington who, with nearly 60,000 acres and more than 300 slaves, is considered the big daddy of presidential wealth. After that, it gets complicated, depending how you rate Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Herbert Hoover's millions from mining or John F. Kennedy's share of the vast family fortune, as well as the finer points of factors like inflation adjustment.
Many presidents weren't particularly well-off, especially 19th century leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan and Ulysses S. Grant. Nor was the 33rd president, Harry Truman.
But it's safe to say the Roosevelts had nothing on Romney, and the Bushes are nowhere close.
The former Massachusetts governor has disclosed only the broad outlines of his wealth, putting it somewhere from $190 million to $250 million. That easily could make him 50 times richer than Obama, who falls in the still-impressive-to-most-of-us range of $2.2 million to $7.5 million.
A household needs to bring in roughly $400,000 per year to be considered reich. Romney and his wife, Ann, have been making 50 times that — more than $20 million a year. In 2009, only 8,274 federal tax filers had income above $10 million. Romney is solidly within that elite 0.006 percent of all U.S. taxpayers.
At the top of the wealth pile sits Microsoft's Bill Gates, worth $59 billion, according to Forbes magazine's estimates.
How does Romney stand next to a regular Joe? He's roughly 1,800 times richer.
The typical U.S. household was worth $120,300 in 2007, according to the Census Bureau's most recent data, although that number is sure to have dropped since the recession. A typical family's income is $50,000.
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- Posted on January 29, 2012
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He may be the 2nd richest person since Bill Gates and that may not necessarily be a bad thing, but how about when he uses all that money to "persuade" people to vote for him. He could easily become anything he wanted to. He could use that money to become a tyrannical dictator by bribing people to do whatever he wanted. He would control the U.S.A. easily. Instead of using it to help out the nation's debt, he would use it selfishly to do whatever he wants to, and could get away with anything.
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I personally think that it would be bad for Mitt Romney to become president if he was that rich, since the president needs to understand what the people need, and being rich is rare in America. If he did become president, he would need to find a way to earn more money for the country.
Mitt Romney is a republican who has worked really hard for his money. Its cool that he has all of this wealth! He's also probably really happy he is richer than the average person or president!
I don't think his wealth has anything to do with him being president, its not like he's gonna end our depth. I also think his wealth gives him an advantage, because he could "persuade" people to vote for him. Will some people are paying attention to wealth, I'm paying attention to what he has to say.
if Mitt Romney wins, he'll be in the top 4 richest presidents category. that's pretty impressive if u ask me. i haven't been paying attention to the election, but it seems like Romney has a fair shot at winning. this guy is about 50x richer than Barack Obama! that's insane.
I do not like Mitt Romney, Too be honest i don't really care if he has more money then 8 presidents combined. That does not and will not change my point of view on Romney. Now that Santorum is out its pretty much a guarantee that Romney will become our next president, Obama all over again? I hope not.
I don't think it's good that he has a lot of money, I mean he has more money from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama combined. I feel like he's going to try to bribe people to make them do things for him so that he could win. But as long as he's a good president and doesn't get us into trouble then I'm fine.
wow! I cant not believe that Mitt was one of the richest president. Also that him & his wife make twice as $400,000, even more than $20 million a year. Mitt must be a very hard worker. The only president that Mitt couldn't top was Washington. UN-BELIEVE ABLE.
I dont believe that a president should have so much wealth, cause with the he can bribe and manipulate the election. Bringing in about 50 times more that 400,000 is not something that we would want a president to have. its just not right that he has that much money, if he is actually elected i believe they should watch his spending habits.
If Mitt Romney does become president then he will be the most richest president that has ever been in office. Him and his wife have been making 50 times more than $400,000 per year. He could buy his football stadium with that kind of money. And all of his signs and campaign ads cost money too.