By Rebecca Ballhaus
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and her husband
have a net worth of $59 million, her campaign said late Wednesday,
making her one of the wealthiest candidates in the race so far.
Mrs. Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive,
revealed her net worth alongside a personal financial disclosure
statement. The disclosure, required by law, allows candidates to
reveal their assets and income in broad ranges. But Mrs. Fiorina
went beyond the requirement, releasing tax returns from two recent
years as well as precise figures for her assets.
Mrs. Fiorina also included a thinly veiled jab at Hillary
Clinton, the Democratic front-runner whom she says she is uniquely
suited to oppose in the 2016 general election. Mrs. Clinton, who
released her financial disclosure form last month, has been
criticized by Republicans as overly secretive.
"I've taken hundreds of questions--whether about hot dogs or my
personal finances--and I think it's all fair game," Mrs. Fiorina
said in a statement Wednesday. "I think leadership of any kind
requires trust and transparency and voters should demand no less
from their political leadership in government."
According to their 2013 tax return, the Fiorinas earned nearly
$2 million that year, easily placing them among the highest earners
in the top 1% of the population. They reported $1.3 million in
income for 2012.
In 2012 and 2013, they paid an effective tax rate of 30%,
according to the Fiorina campaign. They also gave an average of 14%
of their income to charity in those years, the campaign said.
Mrs. Fiorina and her husband, Frank, a retired AT&T
executive, filed an extension on their 2014 tax return.
The couples' largest assets are their hefty stock portfolio and
the real estate. Their primary residence in Lorton, Va., is valued
at $6.6 million, according to the disclosure.
Mrs. Fiorina's disclosure also shows that since the start of
2014, she has earned $786,000 in speaking fees. She is scheduled to
deliver two more speeches this year--one for AT&T in Dallas and
another at the Young Presidents' Organization in Kissimmee,
Fla.--each for a fee of $48,000.
A note attached to her disclosure says she plans to donate the
fees she collects from those two speeches to charity.
Mrs. Fiorina previously has said her family is less wealthy than
the Clintons, but it is unclear whether that is the case.
The Clintons' disclosed assets ranged from $11.3 million to
$52.7 million in the 16 months starting in January 2014, and they
earned more than $30 million in that period. But Mrs. Clinton's
disclosure doesn't include the value of two properties the couple
bought after leaving the White House--one for $1.7 million in
Chappaqua, N.Y., and another in Washington, D.C., for $2.85
million, which have likely appreciated in value.
In April, Mrs. Fiorina cast herself as a candidate who could
better connect with average Americans than Mrs. Clinton. In an
interview with the Howie Carr Show, she said: "Bill and Hillary
Clinton are worth far more money than Frank and Carly Fiorina."
Presidential candidates are required to file personal financial
disclosure statements showing their income, assets and liabilities
in the year leading up to their campaigns. Mrs. Fiorina ran an
unsuccessful campaign for a California Senate seat in 2010, but she
has never held elected office.
Mrs. Fiorina on Wednesday joined Republican Florida Sen. Marco
Rubio and Mrs. Clinton, who have already filed their disclosures.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a Republican, is expected to file
his on Thursday.
Mrs. Fiorina served as CEO of H-P for six years before being
ousted in 2005, and has since served on the boards of several
companies, including the nonprofits Good360 and Opportunity
International. She wasn't paid for her roles on those boards.
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com
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