The Fords' Finances

Gerald Ford last week released a personal financial accounting for himself and his wife Betty showing that their net worth had grown by $67,000, to $323,489, since he was nominated for Vice President in October 1973. Most of the rise came from increased valuations of their unmortgaged houses in Alexandria, Va., and Vail, Colo. Their small stockholdings (135 shares of Central Telephone of Illinois and 72 shares of a mutual fund, Stein Roe & Farnham Balanced Fund) have fallen in the past two years, to a value of $3,942. The President holds only $1,239 in bank accounts.

More to the political point, on a 1974 gross income of $147,683.10, he paid $62,281.20 in federal, state and local taxes, placing Ford among those who paid 42% of their income in taxes. This provides a partial contrast with Ronald Reagan, who has conceded that he paid no state income taxes at all in 1970 because of legitimate deductions for "investment losses." Reagan has promised to furnish a fuller explanation of his own financial situation soon.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.