Presidential Portfolio Makeover: Al Gore

Oct. 26 -- Next month, Americans (those who vote, in any event) will head to the polls to choose a new chief executive. The major candidates and their running mates are pledging to steward the nation through continued prosperity and fiscal health. To determine which candidate is best suited to run the nation’s fiscal engine, we examined how the candidates handle their own financial house, and huddled with professional financial planners to hear their thoughts. The planners had some advice for the candidates on how to improve their portfolios. And if it doesn’t help you decide who you’re voting for, it may help you adjust your own portfolio.

First of all, let’s consider the astonishing fact that Al Gore, silver hoe and all, doesn’t even have enough of his own investible assets to qualify for a session with a wealth manager (though he may be able to tap into inherited funds — more on that later).

To hear a financial planner talk, Gore’s not so far removed from the po’ folks he’s trying to win over. (Drink twice next time you hear a reference to “the people, not the powerful.”).

“To give you an idea of his savings, his total taxable interest in 1999 was $1,267,” says Benjamin Tobias, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant at Tobias Financial Advisors in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “He has got virtually nothing in the form of stocks. And virtually nothing in the form of savings.”

Of course, this may mean that Gore has been doing a lot of planning to minimize his tax burden-a top priority of most wealthy Americans. If so, he’s doing a bang-up job.

Ever feel bad about your not-so-large retirement savings? Well, chew on this: The vice president’s IRA is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $8,000. You read those zeroes right. “That’s less of an IRA than most Americans. This is terrible!” says Tobias. Granted, after a lifetime in public service, Gore’s probably in line for a very respectable pension. But given his own minuscule savings, his passion for preserving Social Security comes across as a tad less righteous.