Ohio Gov. Kasich’s family worth between $9M and $22M

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio governor and Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich has publicly reported that he and his family are worth between $9 million and $22 million.

A personal financial disclosure report filed Friday offered the first detailed account of Kasich’s personal wealth. It included assets owned by Kasich, his wife Karen Waldbillig Kasich, and trusts set up for Karen and their twin daughters, Emma and Reese.

The Federal Election Commission requires federal officeholders and candidates to indicate the value of assets, such as stocks or savings accounts, in broad dollar-figure categories.

Presidential candidates are legally required to make their personal finances public within 30 days of officially announcing their candidacies, but Fox News required all Republican candidates seeking to qualify for Thursday’s debate to file forms by Monday. The 63-year-old Kasich entered the race July 21 to become the 16th major GOP candidate this cycle.

Before he was elected Ohio governor in 2010, Kasich spent 10 years at the now-defunct Wall Street investment firm Lehman Brothers and as a commentator on Fox. The former congressman has also written three books and done public speaking.

Democrats sought to make an issue of Kasich’s tenure on Wall Street during his runs for governor in 2010 and 2014, but the issue failed to gain significant traction among the voters who delivered him back-to-back victories. In the run-up to the announcement that he will seek the White House, Kasich has consistently emphasized his blue-collar roots as the son of a mail man.

Kasich reported three assets valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and the couple reported seven assets valued at between $250,000 and $500,000, according to The Columbus Dispatch. At least $2 million of the Kasichs’ largesse is in the form of tax-free investments, the newspaper reported.

Karen Kasich holds investments in several Ohio-based companies, including L Brands, Cardinal Health, Procter & Gamble and American Electric Power, the filing showed. A Kasich spokesman told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland that most of Karen Kasich’s assets were inherited.

The Plain Dealer reported that the family’s income since January 2014 ranged between $500,000 and $1.3 million. Kasich had previously released one year’s tax return information — for 2008 — while making his first run for governor in 2010. He reported making $1.4 million that year.