Lucy Goosey
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:08 AM
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Is Obama personally wealthy? |
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I had always thought that being so successful in American politics required an enormous amount of personal wealth, but I haven't heard much about whatever fortune he might have. Obviously McCain, Clinton, Edwards, Romney, etc are all multi-millionaires, so if Obama won the nomination without this kind of bank account, I'm even more impressed with the man than I already was.
(Forgive me if this is a stupid question - I live in Canada.)
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Starbucks Anarchist
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:08 AM
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1. I think he's got a few million, but it's mostly from book sales. |
Lucy Goosey
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:11 AM
Response to Reply #1 |
8. Ah, yes, the books. I forgot about the books. |
Max_powers94
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:09 AM
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2. He just became a little wealthy within the last two years |
PBS Poll-435
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:09 AM
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3. As a best-selling author. and having two 6 figure W-2 incomes... |
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They are rich.
And a hell of a lot "richer" than the Clintons were before 1992
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cali
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:10 AM
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4. Yes, he's wealthy. He became so through his 2 best selling books. |
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His wealth is nothing compared to McCain's or Clinton's or Romney's, but he he's worth several million.
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FlaGranny
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:10 AM
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5. Nowhere near wealthy when |
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Edited on Thu Jun-05-08 10:11 AM by FlaGranny
compared to other present and previous candidates. I don't remember exactly, but I think they earned a couple hundred thousand a year until he wrote his books. Most of his income came from the books. It took them a long time to pay off their student loans and they were, more or less, struggling middle class at that time.
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pnwmom
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:42 AM
Response to Reply #5 |
20. Actually, he and Michelle have a great deal more than the Clintons did |
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when Bill was elected President. They didn't make much as the Governor of Arkansas and an attorney there, and they had had no book deals.
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NightWatcher
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:11 AM
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6. more than 1.5 million donors put him over the top. he did not loan himself anything |
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nor did he have to pull a Mittens and use only his money.
WE donated to him. He is the people's candidate
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Kerrytravelers
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:11 AM
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7. He is worth about $4 million. Which, in the world of politics and in comparison to this rivals, is |
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peanuts. Most of the money came from book sales. I saw Michelle at a Women for Obama rally and she made the remark that they had both just finished paying off their school loans with the money from the book sales. These are not people who come from money.
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Starbucks Anarchist
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:24 AM
Response to Reply #7 |
18. I think that's a very appealing part of their story. |
Jersey Devil
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:12 AM
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9. Until he sold his books he was still paying off college loans |
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So no, he was not wealthy up until only a few years ago. I think he made something like $7 million from the books.
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SteppingRazor
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:13 AM
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10. Neither Michelle nor Barack Obama grew up wealthy ... |
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and there's the now-famous story that the royalties from book sales allowed Barack Obama to finally pay off his student loans from college. But certainly, at the present time, they ain't hurtin'.
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rox63
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:14 AM
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11. The Obama's are wealthy compared to most of us |
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But as politicians go, not so much. Strong sales of Barack's 2 books have helped increase their net worth. But it wasn't that many years ago that they finished paying off their student loans. I think the book income helped with that.
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Marrah_G
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:14 AM
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12. His wife makes a great deal of money |
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and he made quite a bit from his books sales.
They are not as wealthy as some politicians, but they are doing extremely well for themselves.
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undeterred
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:15 AM
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13. Neither he nor his wife come from wealthy families |
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but they were both smart enough to get into the best schools and get the best education. Things have gone well for them because of their hard work.
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Orangepeel
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:18 AM
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14. compared to me? Yes. compared to other Senators and POTUS candidates? No. |
slackmaster
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:19 AM
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15. The Obama household has a whole lot more income than mine does |
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I guess that makes them wealthy to me.
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backscatter712
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:20 AM
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16. He only recently became wealthy. |
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Edited on Thu Jun-05-08 10:20 AM by backscatter712
Up until a couple years ago, he was simply middle class, or even working class - working as a community organizer.
It's only after he became a U.S. Senator, and sales of The Audacity of Hope took off, when he acquired his current wealth of what? 4 million?
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ingac70
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:20 AM
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17. Obama's net worth is $1.3 million. |
pnwmom
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:46 AM
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21. Those figures are from 2006 and don't include Michelle's retirement funds. |
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I'm sure he's worth significantly more now.
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papapi
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Thu Jun-05-08 10:25 AM
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19. His wealth was earned on merit just like his nomination... |
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no one can fault him on that. His books are bestsellers.
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Seabiscuit
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Thu Jun-05-08 11:08 AM
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22. Well he's not really that wealthy compared to others in politics, but I'm sure he'll get there. nt |
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