"ClassWarz" <Outsourced@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:10dvcho43j7578@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 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)
> >
> >
>
>
noo,
rich Dem=ok
rich Republican=must have got the money from the Nazi's somehow.
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