Financial Forms Reveal Wealth of '08 Candidates

May 16, 2007 — -- Former Sen. John Edwards' part-time work for the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group earned him $479,512 last year on top of $5.9 million he and his wife made in 2006 -- mostly from investments and sale of assets -- a fact revealed Wednesday as the first batch of presidential candidates filed their personal income disclosure forms with federal authorities.

The couple reported total 2006 income of $7.1 million and assets of approximately $29.5 million, including between $1 million and $5 million invested through Fortress. An Edwards adviser said the couple transferred personal funds to Fortress after he started working for the hedge fund.

In other disclosure forms filed this week with the Federal Election Commission, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani reported earning $16 million last year, including $9.2 million in speaking fees. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his wife reported earning $991,296 last year, including $572,490 in income from the two books he's written.

Edwards, who has made combating poverty a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, has had to answer a series of questions about his decision to work for a hedge fund -- a controversial investment option available only to the super rich -- in between runs for the presidency.

He has said he decided to work for Fortress in part because he wanted to learn more about the relationship between financial markets and poverty. He told the Associated Press Tuesday that his work for a hedge fund shouldn't be held against him in his campaign.

"If you look at what I've done since the last election, it is true that I did consulting work for a hedge fund, part time," Edwards said. "It's also true that I started a poverty center at the University of North Carolina, that I led minimum wage initiatives in six states -- all successful -- that I started a college-for-everyone program for poor communities in eastern North Carolina, that I helped organize thousands of workers into unions, that I did humanitarian work in Africa."

Edwards began working for Fortress as a senior adviser in October 2005, and ended his employment there in December 2006, shortly before he began his presidential campaign. While he was at Fortress, the company expanded its subprime lending business, a controversial practice that gives high-interest loans to buyers with poor credit.

Edwards' income also included $395,000 from speaking engagements, $333,334 from Harper Collins Publishers, and $40,000 from his post at the University of North Carolina. The couple donated more than $350,000 to charity during 2006, with money going to organizations that included Habitat for Humanity International and the International Rescue Committee.

Federal law requires all presidential candidates to file financial disclosure forms by May 15. Five candidates -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and former Govs. Mitt Romney, Tommy Thompson, and Jim Gilmore -- requested 45-day extensions.

Tahman Bradley and Teddy Davis contributed to this report.