Trump: I'll Be President for Free
HE'S NOT THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO CAN AFFORD TO GIVE UP SALARY
By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff
newser.com
Posted Sep 18, 2015 7:45 AM CDT
(NEWSER) – Donald Trump doesn't want your $400,000 a year, America: At a town hall event in New Hampshire last night, he told a questioner that he would reject the presidential salary if he was elected, Reuters reports. "The first thing I'm going to do is tell you that if I'm elected president, I'm accepting no salary, OK?" he said. "That's no big deal for me." Trump—whose fortune is estimated at $4 billion by Forbes and at $10 billion by himself —wouldn't be the first to turn the money down: Reuters notes that wealthy presidents Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy gave their salaries to charity.
Trump is richer than the rest of the candidates from both parties put together, according to a Politico analysis of FEC filings, but he's far from the only one who can afford to do without the salary. Carly Fiorina comes in second, with an estimated net worth of $58.9 million, followed by Hillary Clinton, with $32 million. Lincoln Chafee and Jeb Bush are also worth more than $20 million. Down at the bottom end of the scale, Bernie Sanders has a net worth of $419,000, according to Politico, while candidates including Marco Rubio and Scott Walker are in the red when liabilities are subtracted from assets. At the very bottom is Martin O'Malley, with a net worth of -$244,000. (At the New Hampshire town hall, Trump didn't correct a man who told him that President Obama is a Muslim and a foreigner.) |
