Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........
CLASSWARZ
"John De Gennaro" <rhadts1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:BiODc.3492$lh4.3182@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> From the Los Angeles Times
>
> Teresa Heinz Kerry, through a network of investments in blue-chip
> cor****ations, venture capital funds and municipal bonds, controls a
family
> fortune worth an estimated $1 billion, an examination of public records
> shows.
>
> The $1-billion figure is double the estimates of her wealth that are
widely
> cited in news stories about her husband, Massachusetts Sen. John F.
Kerry,
> the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
>
> The couple would rank as the wealthiest to occupy the White House, far
> surpassing such storied presidential fortunes as the Kennedys'. Their
assets
> are so vast and far-reaching that they mirror the U.S. economy, and will
> likely raise questions about conflicts of interest.
>
> "She represents a new ballgame in terms of her wealth and in terms of
the
> wealth she controls," said Kevin Phillips, a political commentator and
> author of the history "Wealth and Democracy."
>
> Heinz Kerry's investments, worth an estimated $500 million in 1995, have
> grown over the last nine years to $1 billion or more, even accounting
for
> large living expenses and charitable contributions, according to an
analysis
> of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Senate financial
disclosure
> re****ts, probate do***ents and other public records.
>
> Since key details of Heinz Kerry's investments are not in the public
record,
> a precise valuation is not possible. The Times analysis produced
estimates
> as low as $900 million and as high as $3.2 billion.
>
> Three senior executives at investment firms that handle accounts for
wealthy
> clients reviewed The Times' study and said the $1-billion valuation was
a
> fair and conservative estimate.
>
> Heinz Kerry has declined requests by The Times in recent months for
> interviews. Campaign representatives for Sen. Kerry and his wife said
the
> couple regarded their assets as private. The representatives also
declined
> to provide answers to written questions over the last two weeks.
>
> Heinz Kerry's money is actively managed every day of the year, providing
> capital to Gannett, Anheuser-Busch, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble, among
many
> others. It helps finance municipal sewer systems, technology start-ups,
> schools and more.
>
> The trust accounts are held at Mellon Financial Corp., the Pittsburgh
> institution that has long handled the affairs of the Heinz family. She
> inherited the family's fortune in the food business 13 years ago.
>
> In 2003, the Heinz trusts made 890 trades in stocks, bonds, funds and
other
> investments - more than three trades for every day that securities
markets
> were open. In dozens of cases, the trades were for assets valued above
$1
> million, and scores of other trades involved assets worth hundreds of
> thousands of dollars.
>
> Heinz Kerry's net worth is usually estimated at half a billion dollars,
> though these estimates are not explained in do***entation. In its latest
> annual ranking, Forbes magazine did not include her among the world's
> billionaires; the last time the magazine estimated her wealth was in
2002,
> when it said she was worth $550 million.
>
> But The Times examined financial disclosures as far back as 1982 filed
by
> Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.), who died in 1991, and Kerry. In 1995, H.J.
Heinz
> Co. filed an SEC do***ent that showed Heinz Kerry was the beneficiary of
> trusts that held $400 million of Heinz stock. Separately in 1995, the
year
> they married, Kerry filed a Senate disclosure re****t that showed Heinz
Kerry
> had other assets worth an estimated $100 million.
>
> The Times examined the ****tfolio of stocks and bonds for each year since
> 1995, and concluded that it grew to roughly $1.3 billion, in part by
> diversifying out of Heinz stock.
>
> Records and public statements show that charitable contributions and
family
> living expenses could have drained no more than $300 million out of the
> trust fund. Last month, she disclosed that she had income of about $5.1
> million in 2003, apparently representing some of the income generated by
the
> trusts.
>
> "If you had $500 million in 1995, I don't see how you couldn't be close
to
> $1 billion today with any reasonable equity strategy," said L. David
> Tisdale, chief executive of Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates, a Santa
Barbara
> investment advisor who reviewed The Times' work.
>
> Certainly, the Kerrys would be among the richest families to ever occupy
the
> White House, eclipsing even President Kennedy and well ahead of the
other
> moneyed chief executives over the last century.
>
> When Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office, he left an estate valued at
$1
> million, according to his presidential library. That would be worth
about
> $11 million today when adjusted for inflation. Herbert Hoover had
roughly
$8
> million when he entered office in 1929, according to archivists at the
> Hoover presidential library - an amount worth $88 million today.
>
> Lyndon B. Johnson was worth an estimated $14 million in 1966, Life
magazine
> said at the time. That would be worth $82 million today. The magazine
Trusts
> & Estates estimated Johnson's worth at $20 million in 1973, worth $85
> million today.
>
> President Bush's disclosure statement shows assets estimated by The
Times
at
> about $13 million, including his large ranch in Texas. The value of the
Bush
> family assets, managed by former President George H.W. Bush, is not
known.
>
> The most difficult former president to *****s is Kennedy, whose father,
> Joseph P. Kennedy, was still alive during his presidency and was worth
> perhaps $200 million to $400 million, according to historians at the
Kennedy
> library - an amount equal to $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion when adjusted
for
> inflation.
>
> President Kennedy's share of the income from the Kennedy trust was
$500,000
> annually, according to the book "Wills of the Presidents." Political
experts
> say that Kennedy was personally worth perhaps only $20 million when he
was
> elected president, or $124 million today. But Kennedy enjoyed the
largess
of
> his father, including payments for his wife's personal expenses, the use
of
> family yachts, and access to estates in Cape Cod and Florida.
>
> If Kerry is elected, he will join a long list of presidents who were
helped
> by their wife's wealth. Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, LBJ and William
> McKinley also married into wealth, said Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a
leading
> authority on first ladies.
>
> "George Wa****ngton married the wealthiest woman in the colony of
Virginia,"
> he added.
>
> Heinz Kerry inherited a vast fortune from Sen. Heinz, who was killed in
a
> 1991 private aircraft accident. Heinz, formally H.J. Heinz III, was the
> fourth generation of the Pittsburgh family famous for its ketchup and
other
> food products.
>
> The money is held mainly by seven trust funds and several other
investment
> accounts set up to benefit her and her three children, as well as to
provide
> for charitable contributions. Heinz Kerry's money is generally kept
separate
> from her husband's, according to the Senate disclosure re****t.
>
> The business affairs are managed by the Heinz Family Office, located in
an
> upscale office building just two blocks from the White House on
Pennsylvania
> Avenue. Besides overseeing the family business, the office helps manage
> Heinz Kerry's many public policy programs.
>
> In addition to her family holdings, Heinz Kerry controls three large
> nonprofit cor****ations in Pittsburgh and Wa****ngton that have a combined
> $1.2 billion in assets, according to Internal Revenue Service filings.
They
> have a wide-ranging agenda, sup****ting the arts, education, women's
health,
> the environment and much more.
>
> Tax records show that she supplements those activities with separate
money
> from family trusts. For example, she provides at least $6.5 million
annually
> to the Heinz Family Foundation, a nonprofit cor****ation, to help its
> activities.
>
> She also separately sup****ts half a dozen programs that involve
> environmentalism and archeology in another unregistered organization -
the
> Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation - that does not file tax
returns.
>
> Political experts predict the Kerrys will be compelled to disclose more
> about their assets and perhaps place them in a blind trust if Kerry wins
the
> election.
>
> Heinz Kerry has not said whether she will continue to oversee her
personal
> assets or the family trusts if Kerry is elected. A Kerry spokesman said
> Friday that these issues had yet to be seriously considered. However,
she
> has said repeatedly that she would not step down from her leader****p of
her
> philanthropic cor****ations.
>
> A key issue is whether a Kerry presidency would be hobbled by conflicts
of
> interest or the appearance of them because of her holdings or active
> trading. "It is hard to imagine that it would not cause conflicts," said
> Phillips, the author. "They should have thought of this long ago."
>
> Leon E. Panetta, White House chief of staff under President Clinton,
agreed
> that although the amount of Heinz Kerry's wealth was not a campaign
issue,
> it could cause problems if Kerry were elected.
>
> "They will have to seriously consider putting it in a blind trust,"
Panetta
> said. "All of us who have served in government have had to do that. In
the
> end, it is the better way to go, because it removes any suspicion that a
> decision is self-serving. You have enough problems just making a
decision,
> without dealing with the concern you may be putting money in your
pocket."
>
> (Trusts are legal vehicles dating back hundreds of years that hold
assets
> for the benefit of others. They are generally used by the wealthy to
> minimize taxes and eliminate long probate proceedings. A blind trust
puts
> management of money outside the view of its beneficiaries.)
>
> No specific law requires the president, much less the first lady, to put
> assets in a blind trust, said Stan Brand, a federal government ethics
expert
> and Wa****ngton attorney. In fact, federal law says almost nothing about
the
> first lady, though she does get protection and funding for an office.
>
> Since Heinz Kerry owns such a broad ****tfolio of U.S. and foreign
stocks,
> the actions of a Kerry administration could have a daily effect on
companies
> in which his wife has millions of dollars invested, said Robert M.
Stern,
a
> financial disclosure expert and president of the Center for Governmental
> Studies.
>
> "Almost any decision Kerry makes will affect one of her companies,"
Stern
> said. "It might help the situation if the wealth were put into a blind
> trust."
>
> President Bush has placed his assets in a trust that is invested almost
> exclusively in certificates of deposit, according to his financial
> disclosure statement on file with the federal Office of Government
Ethics.
>
> Political experts say Americans have a natural curiosity about the
personal
> wealth of their leaders, though it seldom becomes a central political
issue.
> Far from holding grudges against the rich, voters often elect wealthy
> individuals and even admire their lifestyles, the experts say.
>
> Heinz Kerry owns a Gulfstream jet and several properties around the
country,
> including a $5-million ski chalet in Idaho, a $9-million oceanfront
summer
> house in Nantucket, Mass., and a $4-million estate in western
Pennsylvania.
> After marrying nine years ago, the couple purchased a five-story mansion
> *****sed at $6.9 million in one of Boston's poshest neighborhoods.
>
> For all the wealth, however, the couple does not live ostentatiously,
> according to friends and associates. Among Heinz Kerry's vehicles is a
1989
> Jeep that she keeps in Idaho, state records show. "If you go to Teresa's
> homes, you could take the furniture and put it in any home," Jeffrey
Lewis,
> chief of staff for Heinz Kerry, said in an earlier interview. "It is
> comfortable, not ostentatious."
>
> Maxwell King is president of the Heinz Kerry endowments in Pittsburgh.
He
> said the 65-year-old heiress, who was born in Mozambique to a prominent
> doctor and was educated in South Africa and later Geneva, has her mind
on
> many matters other than her wealth.
>
> "For some people, having great wealth is a heavy burden," said King, a
> former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "She doesn't carry it
heavily
at
> all. She has a pragmatic view of her money. She doesn't view it as
> im****tant, but as a vehicle to do things. She holds close to Heinz
values."
>
> The Heinz family has long been known for its philanthropy, and Heinz
Kerry
> is but one wing of a family that has funded art museums, scholar****ps,
> university chairs, charities for the poor, hospitals, literary awards,
> symphonies, public service television, programs for women's health,
> architectural competitions and much more.
>
> Still, the fortune helped elect Sen. Heinz, and it has played a limited
but
> key role in Kerry's primary campaign.
>
> At a pivotal juncture, Kerry took out a $6.4-million loan in December on
the
> Boston property. The big loan, requiring interest payments that exceed
> Kerry's Senate salary of $154,700, is nearly as much as the *****sed
value
> of the property. It came from Mellon Trust of New England.
>
> "It was absolutely necessary for him to do that, and the wealth at that
> point helped him," said James Thurber, director of the Center for
> Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in
Wa****ngton.
> "It was not an issue in the primaries, and I do not think it will become
an
> issue in the campaign. There is so much money rolling in now from small
> contributions that he doesn't need to go to the personal wealth."
>
> --
> Let the name calling begin!!! (its all you libs have)
>
>
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