ICYMI: “Eye-Popping” Financial Disclosures Reveal GOP Senate Candidates Are Out-Of-Touch Multi-Millionaires
August 18, 2021
Columbus, OH — New reports from the Columbus Dispatch and Cleveland.com reveal Republican U.S. Senate candidates’ “eye-popping” financial disclosures from a field full of out-of-touch multi-millionaires.
“No matter which country club elitist emerges from this nasty primary, the Ohio GOP will be stuck with an out-of-touch multi-millionaire who puts their wealthy self-interest ahead of working Ohioans. Instead of focusing on building good-paying jobs and fixing our infrastructure, all of the Ohio GOP Senate candidates have made it clear their priorities are lining their pockets and not Ohio families said Michael Beyer, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
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Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Republicans running for U.S. Senate are millionaires, disclosures show
- The real estate, business assets, investment portfolios and paychecks of Republicans who want to represent Ohioans in the U.S. Senate are nothing short of eye-popping.
- Bernie Moreno has a place in the Bahamas worth between $5 million and $25 million. He also has a yacht worth between $500,000 and $1 million, condos in Washington, D.C. and New York and houses in Columbus and Florida, according to Moreno’s financial disclosure statement.
- Jane Timken and her husband own a 699-acre farm near Canton and have vast stock and bond holdings, Timken’s 65-page report shows. Jane Timken’s investments are worth between $2 million and $4.8 million while her husband’s holdings are valued between $30.3 million and $55.8 million and the couple has between $5.1 million and $10.8 million invested on behalf of their two adult children. Timken reported no liabilities.
- Former state treasurer Josh Mandel reported he made $839,571 between Jan. 1, 2020 and May 15, 2021, plus he cashed out his Ohio Public Employees Retirement System account for a $205,413 windfall. He also liquidated stock holdings and poured more than $1 million into his bank accounts. Mandel paid off his only liability – a self-issued loan for the purchase of his home – in March 2021.
- Mike Gibbons’ financial holdings are so complex that he had to hire an accounting firm to prepare the report, according to his campaign. Gibbons’ attorneys told the Senate Ethics Committee that the campaign of the Cleveland businessman expects to file the report within 30 days.
Cleveland.com: Ohio U.S. Senate candidates disclose personal net worth, and most are millionaires
- All three candidates seeking the Republican nomination who filed financial disclosure statements this week — former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio Republican Party chairman Jane Timken and Cleveland luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno — are millionaires, the disclosures show.
- This week’s filings offered the first detailed look at the personal finances of Moreno and Timken, who both are wealthy first-time candidates and are capable of self-funding a campaign. Each disclosed tens of millions of dollars in household assets, as well as millions in household income during the most recent filing period. The vast majority of Timken’s assets are owned by her husband, Tim Timken, whose family founded prominent manufacturing businesses that carry the family name. Moreno’s assets, which included commercial real estate, a boat and a vacation home in the Bahamas, were partially offset by at least $13 million in business loans.
- Mandel, meanwhile, disclosed at least $2.2 million in assets, although that number was boosted by at least $775,000 in three 529 college savings accounts for his children. Mandel, who left the public sector at the end of 2018 after eight years as state treasurer, disclosed more than $1 million in income, which includes a $205,000 cash-out of state pension, with the rest coming from corporate board positions.
- Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland investment banker who is funding his campaign through a $5.7 million personal loan, still hasn’t filed a required financial disclosure form that was due in May. And, unlike other candidates in the race, he hasn’t formally requested an extension. The campaign recently paid a $200 late fine and plans to compile something within the next 30 days, David Warrington, Gibbons’ attorney, said in an Aug. 12 letter to the Senate ethics committee.
- Timken reported one source of personal income last year: the $189,615 she made running the Ohio Republican Party, a job she quit to run for the U.S. Senate earlier this year. But her financial disclosure was much more voluminous, totaling dozens of pages detailing hundreds of holdings in cash, as well as stocks, bonds and other business interests. Timken’s household assets ranged in value from about $40 million to about $72 million. Of that, $2.2 million to $5.2 million in assets were held by her personally.
- Moreno reported household assets worth $20.3 million to $93.1 million, a wide range attributable to several commercial real estate developments he owns in the Cleveland area, each worth $1 million to $5 million, as well as a home in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million.
- Moreno and his wife, Bridget, also reported owning condos in Washington, D.C., New York City and Columbus. Bernie Moreno, an enthusiast of the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrency, reported from $100,000 to $250,000 of bitcoin. And, Moreno owns a boat worth $500,000 to $1 million.
- He [Mandel] reported owning assets worth $2.1 million to $7.5 million, most of which was contained in several brokerage accounts, and at least $750,000 of which was split between three college-savings accounts for his children. Mandel also reported owning an interest in LiftCamp, a Beachwood technology company where he serves as CEO, worth $100,000 to $250,000.