Chris Usher, CBS News/AP
Lew would enter Treasury with lower net worth than predecessors
Obama nominee’s wealth is similar to immediate predecessor, but far less than Bush appointees.
President Obama’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Jacob Lew, would enter the office among the least wealthy of his recent predecessors, CNN has reported.
Lew, whose Senate confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled but is considered likely to be confirmed, is worth between $748,000 and $1.7 million according to financial disclosures with the Office of Government Ethics.
Lew’s net worth is actually similar to that of the man he is replacing, Timothy Geithner, who reported his wealth to be between $239,000 and $6 million. The wide range is due to Geithner’s four mortgages, according to CNN.
Other recent fiscal policy chiefs, however, all had a net worth of eight figures upon entering the job. Henry Paulson, John Snow and Paul O’Neill, all of whom served in the George W. Bush administration, were worth $91 million, $62 million and $63 million, respectively.
Lew has spent most of his career in the public sector, but spent three years at Citigroup. He lost a great deal of wealth when he returned to the public sector in 2009 and sold his stock in the company during the peak of the recession.
Lew would earn $199,700 per year as secretary.