Millionaires-in-Chief

The top White House contenders are a lot richer than the rest of us. Here's where they got it...and where it goes.

Clinton's money
Net Worth: $34.9 million

Where she got it
When Bill Clinton first ran for President in 1992, Hillary provided most of the couple's income working for the Rose law firm in Little Rock; he earned only $35,000 a year as governor of Arkansas.

Although she takes in $165,200 a year as a senator, these days Bill is breadwinner-in-chief. His presidential pension is $201,000 a year, and he grabbed a $12 million advance for his 2001 memoir, My Life. (Her Living History won an advance of $8 million and $7 million in royalties.)

But it has been Bill's great gift for gab that has really feathered the Clintons' nest. He earned an astounding $41 million speaking to groups and corporations in the first six years since he left office. Standard fee: $150,000. The fact that he may be married to the next President can only burnish his star power.

Where it goes
Until May 2007, the Clintons had cash and a blind trust. When Hillary launched her campaign, however, she (and Mitt Romney) had to "unblind" the trust to comply with Executive Branch rules, so the contents became public. The Clintons' money was spread among 190 mostly large-cap stocks from A (Abbott Labs) to Y (Yahoo) with a sprinkling of New York State and U.S. bonds.

Jason Mirsky of RiskMetrics assessed the portfolio as aggressive but not foolish. A Black Monday event, he says, would have lost the Clintons about 16.5 percent of their portfolio's value.

Anxious about potential conflicts, the Clintons sold everything but the U.S. bonds. Allan Roth of Wealth Logic estimates the move cost $500,000 to $1.8 million in taxes. "They have done their fair share to shrink the budget deficit," he says.

How she could do better
The Clintons' cash hoard leaves them exposed to inflation, says Roth. Federal and state taxes put them in the 40 percent bracket, so the after-tax net on a 5 percent yield would be only 3 percent.

The Clintons should invest half their money in the stock market, using broad index funds to avoid conflicts of interest. If they set up a new blind trust, they should confine themselves to 30 to 50 securities.

"With the old portfolio," says Mirsky, "they had a lot of fragmented positions that didn't do much but add to their transaction costs."

Edwards' money
Net Worth: $54.7 million

Where he got it
Most of Edwards' wealth comes from awards won as a medical malpractice and personal-injury attorney.

After his 2004 run for Vice President, he joined Fortress Investment Group, a $40 billion manager of hedge funds and private equity, as a part-time consultant -- for an annual salary of $480,000 (plus profit sharing).

Edwards has since resigned, but Fortress has continued its generosity. Its employees have donated $190,000 in this election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The hedge fund industry is itself looking for continued generosity from the government: the ability of managers to pay taxes on carried interest -- that is, profits on investments -- as though they were capital gains (taxed at 15 percent) and not ordinary income (taxed at 35 percent).

But Edwards says they won't get a break from him. He wants the loophole closed and says that would save taxpayers $12 billion.

Where it goes
Edwards has $24 million -- or about 40 percent -- of his fortune in alternative investments, mostly Fortress-owned companies or pooled funds. In 2006 he even sold a $4 million stock portfolio he owned with his wife, Elizabeth, to put more into Fortress.

Investments in hedge funds and private equity, however, are risky and illiquid. Hedge fund investors usually have to agree to lock in for a specified number of years.

Such investments may also pay little or no current income -- although Edwards in 2006 reaped about $2.1 million from them. The balance of the Edwards' portfolios is in bonds issued by North Carolina counties.

How he could do better
No more than 10 percent of the Edwards' net worth should be in alternative investments, says planner Roth: "Fortress is $40 billion, but that's a pretty small part of the $51 trillion global market to concentrate in."

Roth also points out that such investments typically carry stiff management fees -- 2 percent of assets and 20 percent of any gain. He suggests that Edwards pare his hedge fund holdings as soon as he can.

If he becomes President, he should put the money in index funds to avoid conflicts of interest.

Giuliani's money
Net Worth: $52.2 million

Where he got it
Absent 9/11, Rudy Giuliani would have very likely followed the path of other retired mayors, joining a local law firm and reeling in politically connected clients. Instead he has become a publishing, consulting and speech-making juggernaut.

He received a $3 million advance for Leadership, a tome on management that appeared in 2003. He founded Giuliani Partners, a lobbying and security consulting company that paid him an income of $4.1 million in 2006.

He became a named partner at Bracewell & Giuliani, a Houston-based law firm with close ties to the energy industry. That job pays the ex-mayor another $1 million.

But Giuliani's greatest financial triumph has been his speech-making. In 2006 he took in $11.4 million by delivering 124 talks for up to $200,000 each, one speech every three days.

Where it goes
Giuliani's finances partly reflect his somewhat messy personal life. Nearly $100,000 in assets are half owned by Donna Hanover, his second wife, whom he divorced in 2002. (She got a $6.8 million settlement, according to news reports.)

He has since married Judith Nathan, a former pharmaceutical sales rep. With her he shares about $11.6 million in assets, and she has assets of $2.4 million in her own name.

Giuliani's most significant holding is his 30 percent stake in Giuliani Partners, which has some controversial clients, including the manufacturer of Oxycontin, a powerful painkiller that the government is trying to restrict. (A Giuliani spokesman said the company never discusses engagements.)

Of the couple's nearly $28 million in investable assets, about 46 percent is in cash and 25 percent in bonds.

How he could do better
Advisers Hugh Smith and Stewart Welch note that Old Westbury funds, in which Giuliani has invested much of his money, receive only one- to three-star ratings from fund watcher Morningstar, a mediocre record. (Top-ranked funds earn five stars. Not all Westbury funds are ranked.)

They think Giuliani would be better off if he had a manager invest in individual stocks. At his asset level, that would be a cheaper alternative to actively managed mutual funds.

Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani | McCain, Obama | Romney, Thompson