Federal disclosure records show that the vice president and her husband, Doug Emhoff, are fairly conservative investors, keeping much of their money in plain vanilla index funds (known as “vanilla” trades). AFor deals that rely on basic financial instruments such as options and futures), with a sizable amount of cash. As Harris makes her case for running the country, voters can also consider how she handles her finances.
The couple earned about half a million dollars last year and have assets worth between $3.6 million and $7.36 million, in addition to real estate, a Wall Street Journal analysis found.
Financial advisers say the Harrises have most of their wealth in retirement accounts, unlike the average American. They also have a mortgage rate of 2.625 percent, the envy of most current home shoppers.
“She’s a bit of a financial bore, and she’s clearly taken great care to avoid anything controversial or overly risky,” said Megan Gorman, a wealth manager in San Francisco.
While Harris’ campaign declined to comment on its financial strategy.
Here’s a breakdown of their income and assets, according to property records, the couple’s tax returns and forms they filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which requires disclosure of asset values within broad ranges.
Income:
Emhoff and Harris together earned $450,299 in 2023, according to a jointly filed tax return. That includes $218,784 that Harris reported from her salary as vice president and $174,994 that Emhoff earned as a visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center. About $6,000 came from Harris’s book royalties.
They earned $50,603 in taxable interest on bank accounts and other investments.
The couple’s income is significantly lower than it was before Harris took over as vice president. Emhoff, who was a partner at corporate law firm DLA Piper, left the practice in August 2020 before Harris was inaugurated. He made more than $1.2 million in partnership income at DLA Piper in 2020.
Harris also earned more from her two books published in 2019. She has earned a total of $749,484 since 2020.
They made $23,026 in charitable contributions in 2023.
Their largest gifts went to two California colleges and Howard University, and they also gave to six nonprofit and religious organizations.
Investments:
The couple has retirement assets and bank account balances ranging from $3.6 million to $7.36 million.
A large portion of Harris and Emhoff’s net worth is held in retirement accounts, according to government ethics forms.
They also have between $850,000 and $1.7 million in four bank accounts, including one they jointly own with a balance of between $50,001 and $100,000.
Together, the two have between $1.79 million and $4.4 million in retirement accounts. That doesn’t include the estimated value of pension benefits Harris earned while working for state and local government in California.
Emhoff has two individual retirement accounts totaling between $1.27 million and $3.19 million.
Harris, a longtime government employee, has 401(k) accounts containing between $525,000 and $1.25 million.
The average American between the ages of 55 and 64 has about $537,560 in retirement savings, according to the Federal Reserve. But Harris and Emhoff’s retirement account balances pale in comparison to the $20.7 million to $101.6 million that Mitt Romney disclosed in his IRA when he ran for president in 2012.
The couple’s portfolio, including their retirement and bank accounts, is fairly conservatively allocated, with about half in stocks, about a third in cash and the rest in bonds. They have a broadly diversified portfolio that includes several low-cost index funds.
Harris has one thing that many Americans lack: pensions.
When she turns 60 in October, she will be eligible to receive $3,981 a month from the California State Retirement Plan, though it’s not clear when she plans to start taking benefits. Harris’s disclosure forms calculate the total value of the second pension, from the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, at between $250,001 and $500,000.
And you may receive additional retirement benefits from the federal government, which lawmakers are not required to disclose, according to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
Real estate:
The vice president and her husband own a 3,500-square-foot home in Los Angeles, according to property records. Records show she previously owned other properties in California and Washington, D.C., as well.
Emhoff bought the Brentwood home in 2012 for about $2.7 million. The house was transferred to the Harris-Emhoff family trust a few years later.
Like many American homeowners, the couple has benefited from rising housing prices in recent years. The four-bedroom home is now valued at about $5 million, according to estimates.
They also benefited from historically low interest rates that enticed many homeowners to refinance during the pandemic.
The couple took out a $2 million, seven-year, 2.625% mortgage, or ARM, in 2020. H had previously taken out a seven-year, 2.625% ARM in 2016 on the same property.
An ARM typically carries a lower interest rate than a 30-year fixed mortgage in the early years of the loan, then adjusts at regular intervals based on one of several indexes.
Wealthy customers often refinance their ARMs at the same interest rate before the loan resets to effectively extend the term of the loan, said Gordon Miller, a mortgage broker in Cary, North Carolina.
Source: “Wall Street Journal” + “mint”
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2024-07-24 08:53:07
