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Report: Net Worth of Your Politicians
For the most part, Florida's elected officials suffered through the economic downturn like the rest of us. But some fared better.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D)
District 24: Parts of Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Brevard counties
Net Worth: $2.7 million to $5.9 million
Suzanne Kosmas |
Changes: Florida’s moribund real estate market whacked Kosmas’ income nearly in half between 2007 and 2008. Kosmas, who ousted Republican incumbent Tom Feeney last year, earned $157,476 in commissions from her real estate company, Prestige Properties of New Smyrna Beach, in 2007. Last year, however, she earned $86,549 in commissions. Several of her personal real estate investments have also declined in value. In 2007, four properties she owns in New Smyrna Beach and the office building where her real estate business is located were worth nearly $2.5 million, according to property tax records. In 2008, the value of those holdings dropped by nearly $500,000 to around $2 million. An Arlington, Va., home in which she has a 25% investment declined in value by $27,300 between 2007 and 2008. In 2008, her pension fund investments lost 27.79%, dragging her 2008 beginning balance from $537,391 to $376,813 as of Dec. 31, 2008.
U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam (R)
District 12: Most of Polk County, parts of Hillsborough County and a small section of Osceola County
Net Worth: $3.5 million to $10.2 million
Adam Putnam |
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (R)
District 14: Lee County and coastal portions of Charlotte and Collier counties
Net Worth: $468,072 to $1.9 million
Mack’s marriage to Rep. Mary Bono boosted his net worth. |
Dec. 15, 2007, Mack married Rep. Mary Bono, widow of the late entertainer and former Rep. Sonny Bono. While Bono’s assets have dipped slightly, the marital partnership lifted Mack well out of the negative territory. The “Bono Collection Trust” generates between $100,001 to $1 million in royalties and interest — and they have a home in Palm Springs to boot.
U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney (R)
District 16: Parts of St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties and Highlands, Glades, Okeechobee, Hendry and Charlotte counties
Net Worth: -$114,987 to $413,998
Tom Rooney |
Allen Boyd |
District 2: All or part of 14 Big Bend counties
Net Worth: $3 million to $12.8 million
Changes: Allen Boyd, a fifth-generation farmer who grows cotton, timber, sod and peanuts on his 2,500-acre farm in Jefferson County, fared well over the past year or so thanks in part to a $1 million-to-$5 million holding in BCT Cotton Gin in Valdosta Ga. In 2007, that interest generated $50,000 to $100,000. In 2008, Boyd earned between $100,001 and $1 million. At the same time, his liabilities have shrunk considerably. In 2007, he owed $500,001 to $1 million on a mortgage on his Millwood investment property in Jefferson County. By 2008, his debt on the property was between $250,001 and $500,000.