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Friday, April 08, 2016

Forbes’ 2016 Presidential Candidate Wealth List

Forbes put together the definitive wealth list of the 2016 presidential candidates. Looking at both major parties, we have come up with net worth estimates for the 20 top Republican and Democratic contenders.

To piece together a precise picture of their individual wealth, Forbes used a variety of documents, starting with financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission. Candidates are only required to report their net worth in ranges, so the Forbes wealth team dug deep, looking through property records, mortgage papers, and tax records when available. We called experts and checked with county clerks. Finally, we called the candidates themselves, looking to corroborate our figures. We didn’t always get a response.

Their average net worth, excluding Trump, tops $13 million, while all but four can call themselves multi-millionaires. Several of them have leveraged their political capital–contacts while in office, influence, power–into successful careers in the private sector (particularly private equity and consulting), or turned to media, raking in big bucks from book deals, radio shows, TV appearances, and even films. At the end of the day, being a successful politician is a lucrative business, as the Clintons can attest to.

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