Tim Walz poorest of other V-P candidates with net worth of under $1 mn

By Gregory Korte

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is likely the poorest of the four people on this year’s major-party presidential tickets with a disclosed net worth of under $1 million, following his selection as Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate.

As a former House lawmaker who pushed a federal law tightening disclosures of congressional stock trading in 2012, Walz said at the time he did not own any stocks himself. More than a decade later, he still doesn’t, according to his most recent disclosures. 

Republican nominee Donald Trump is worth $5.7 billion, ranking 500th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, disclosed a net worth between $4.3 million and $10.7 million in his most recent US Senate disclosure.

 

Vice President Harris has disclosed between $550,000 and $1.1 million in cash in US bank accounts. She also holds between $775,000 and $1.8 million in retirement funds. 

Walz’s most recent disclosure to the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board listed no stocks, real estate or horse racing interests. Minnesota has a much narrower definition of reportable assets than federal law, however, excluding stocks worth less than $10,000 and any mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.

His congressional disclosures before that show relatively modest and conservative investments befitting his status as a retired teacher and Army National Guard soldier. In his last filing as a member of Congress in 2019, Walz disclosed assets worth between $362,000 and $830,000. 

Those numbers included the value of his home, which he ordinarily would not have to disclose. Because Walz and his wife rented out a spare room, however, it was listed as an income-generating asset. 

The Walzes sold their Mankato, Minnesota house for $304,000 in 2019 after moving into the governor’s mansion, according to property records.

Other assets disclosed in 2019 included a college savings plan, a state teacher pension and a whole life insurance policy.

Election to vice president would give Walz a considerable pay bump. He makes $127,629 as governor — the 37th highest paid state chief executive in the country, according to the Council of State Governments. State law allows for a salary of $149,550, but Walz has opted to keep his salary frozen during his tenure in office. 

The vice president’s salary is $284,600.

The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to requests for more information on his holdings. Walz has at least 30 days from Tuesday to file a federal financial disclosure statement.