- WASHINGTON (AP) -- President
George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney released their financial
disclosure forms for 2003, offering two illustrations of what the portfolios
of the well-to-do look like.
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- For the president, that means some real estate, along
with government Treasury notes, and for the vice-president, some tax-exempt
bond funds.
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- Friday's disclosure, required by law for U.S. officials,
offers a glimpse into the hobbies, as well as the finances, of the two
top U.S. elected officials.
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- Since ethics laws require a them to list gifts, the country
now knows Bush received a fishing reel and rod from a Texas businessman
and Cheney a flyrod from a Wyoming lawyer.
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- Cheney, a man of the West, also received a pair of cowboy
boots from Rocky Caroll, owner of a Houston boot and shoe repair shop.
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- Among the biggest investments of the two:
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- - Bush's 633-hectare Texas ranch is valued at $1-million
to $5-million and he has U.S. Treasury notes valued at $5-million to $8.7-million.
The president also has certificates of deposits with banks around the country
valued at $600,000 to $1.25-million.
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- - Cheney has $15-million to $75-million salted away in
tax-exempt bond funds and $2-million to $10-million in stocks that a global
investment-management firm is handling for him.
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- In times of turmoil, investments such as Treasury notes,
real estate and bonds can be relatively safe for a former part-owner of
a baseball team like Bush and a former CEO of an oil industry services
company like Cheney.
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- Because the ethics law allows them to list their investments
in wide ranges, it is unclear whether the two are wealthier than they were
a year ago.
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- One financial area they've excelled in, though, is taxes,
thanks in part to the cuts they have championed as the No. 1 and No. 2
U.S. officials. Last month, both reported reductions in their federal income
taxes.
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- The White House has pointed out they joined 109 million
other Americans also benefitting from the tax cuts. In Bush's case, he
and his wife paid $41,000 less last year than the previous year. In Cheney's
case, the reduction was $88,000.
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- © Copyright 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc.
All Rights Reserved. http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040514.wfort14/BNStory/Front/
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