2ND UPDATE: Bernanke's Wealth Drops Amid 2008 Market Plunge
28 Luglio 2009 - 11:41PM
Dow Jones News
The bloodbath on Wall Street last year appears to have claimed
one more high-profile victim: Ben Bernanke.
The Federal Reserve chairman's wealth took a hit last year,
according to financial disclosure forms released Tuesday by the
central bank. As of the end of 2008, Bernanke's asset holdings were
between $850,000 and $1.9 million. That compares to a range of $1.2
million to $2.5 million the year before.
The disclosure forms, used by officials across the executive
branch, report asset valuations and income in broad dollar
ranges.
Much of Bernanke's decline came from a large-cap stock variable
annuity he holds, whose value dropped from between $500,000 and $1
million at the end of 2007 to between $250,000 and $500,000.
Bernanke's Vanguard International Growth Fund also lost value.
Bernanke sold most of his Canadian government bond holdings in
two transactions last July and November, his latest disclosure form
said.
He listed two new accounts with SunTrust - a checking account
worth $15,000 to $50,000 and a money-market account worth $50,000
to $100,000. In 2007, he had checking and money-market accounts
with Wachovia, which was bought by Wells Fargo Corp. (WFC) last
year. His 2008 disclosure did list a saving account with Wachovia
valued at less than $1,000.
Bernanke also listed two funds for 2008 managed by Blackrock
Inc. (BLK) - a large cap fund worth $1,000 to $15,000 and a high
yield fund valued at $15,000 to $50,000. In 2007, his high yield
and large cap funds - in similar amounts - were managed by Merrill
Lynch.
The other two Fed governors who were in office before last year
also showed declines from their 2007 reports. Fed Vice Chairman
Donald Kohn listed assets of $570,000 to $1.3 million, down from a
range of $700,000 to $1.6 million. He sold two T. Rowe Price
Balanced funds - valued between $15,000 and $50,000 each - on April
18 and Sept. 15 - following a similar transaction in the fall of
2007.
Fed Governor Kevin Warsh listed assets under his own name of
$670,000 to $1.4 million at the end of last year, down from
$900,000 to $2 million. Warsh also reported hundreds of individual
bonds and other securities held by his wife, Estee Lauder Cos. (EL)
executive Jane Lauder, that amount to at least tens of millions of
dollars.
Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke, who took office in early August
before the worst of the financial crisis, showed assets worth at
least several million dollars. The former community bank executive
disclosed individual stock holdings in more than two dozen
companies, from Altria Group Inc. (MO) to Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)
to Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ).
Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo filed his disclosure form on Jan. 2,
more than three weeks before he took office. Tarullo, who reported
a 2008 salary of $218,250 as a Georgetown University law professor,
listed assets that topped the $1 million mark including some stock
in General Electric Co. (GE) and Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW).
-By Brian Blackstone, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-828-3397
-By Sudeep Reddy, The Wall Street Journal; 202-862-6693