Obama assets valued between $2.6M and $8.3M

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million...

TheGrio Staff

May 16, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million, according to financial disclosure reports released Tuesday by the White House.

The documents show the couple’s assets for last year. The first family’s assets were valued between $1.8 million and nearly $12 million in 2010.

Obama released the annual report in the middle of a presidential campaign that has brought attention to the wealth of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor is worth $190 million to $250 million, with much of his money coming from investments.

Romney has amended his 2010 financial disclosures during this primary season, and also caved in to pressure to release his tax returns. The returns showed a series of offshore holdings that weren’t in the former Massachusetts governor’s 2010 financial disclosure, including a Swiss bank account that has received criticism from the Obama campaign.

Obama’s disclosure forms show he holds between $500,000 and $1 million in a JPMorgan Chase checking account. The Wall Street firm has faced scrutiny this week after it reported losing more than $2 billion on bad trading bets, prompting renewed calls for more stringent oversight of the nation’s top financial institutions.

Obama said Monday that JPMorgan Chase’s loss showed the need for Wall Street rules passed by Congress two years ago, many of which are still being written and have not yet gone into effect. He said in an interview with ABC’s “The View” that JPMorgan is “one of the best managed banks there is” and CEO Jamie Dimon is “one of the smartest bankers,” but even the best-run banks can make mistakes, underscoring the importance of the regulations.

The disclosure form requires public officials to list their assets in broad ranges, for example, between $1 million and $5 million, making it difficult to determine a precise net worth.

The president and first lady’s asset mix includes Treasury notes valued at between $1 million and $5 million, Treasury bills worth $500,000 and $1 million, along with retirement and checking accounts.

Royalties from Obama’s books, “Dreams From My Father,” ‘’The Audacity of Hope” and “Of Thee I Sing,” totaled between $250,000 and $2.1 million.

The Obamas have a 30-year mortgage on their Chicago home worth between $500,000 and $1 million with an interest rate of 5.625 percent.

Vice President Joe Biden listed assets of between nearly $230,000 to $860,000, many of them in investment accounts and insurance policies. The vice president disclosed in his 2011 tax returns receiving $20,900 in rental income on a guest house in Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden also disclosed receiving an $800 Vulcain Cricket watch as a gift from a Helsinki, Finland, jewelry store owner who has given watches in the past to U.S. presidents who have visited Finland.

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Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.