Ohio U.S. Senate candidates disclose personal net worth, and most are millionaires

Senate Moves To Consider Budget Reconciliation Package

Republican candidates who have disclosed their households' personal net worth are all multi-millionaires, while the lead Democratic candidate reported having more debts than financial assets. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Getty Images

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New financial disclosures show a huge personal financial gap between the leading Republican candidates and the Democratic congressman running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio next year.

All three candidates seeking the Republican nomination who filed financial disclosure statements this week -- former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio Republican Party chairman Jane Timken and Cleveland luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno -- are millionaires, the disclosures show.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, of Trumbull County, reported a precarious personal financial situation, owing more money than he has in financial assets. His debts include his mortgage, tens of thousands in unsecured personal loans and his wife’s student loans -- although his disclosure didn’t include the value of his personal home.

This week’s filings offered the first detailed look at the personal finances of Moreno and Timken, who both are wealthy first-time candidates and are capable of self-funding a campaign. Each disclosed tens of millions of dollars in household assets, as well as millions in household income during the most recent filing period. The vast majority of Timken’s assets are owned by her husband, Tim Timken, whose family founded prominent manufacturing businesses that carry the family name. Moreno’s assets, which included commercial real estate, a boat and a vacation home in the Bahamas, were partially offset by at least $13 million in business loans.

Mandel, meanwhile, disclosed at least $2.2 million in assets, although that number was boosted by at least $775,000 in three 529 college savings accounts for his children. Mandel, who left the public sector at the end of 2018 after eight years as state treasurer, disclosed more than $1 million in income, which includes a $205,000 cash-out of state pension, with the rest coming from corporate board positions.

Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland investment banker who is funding his campaign through a $5.7 million personal loan, still hasn’t filed a required financial disclosure form that was due in May. And, unlike other candidates in the race, he hasn’t formally requested an extension. The campaign recently paid a $200 late fine and plans to compile something within the next 30 days, David Warrington, Gibbons’ attorney, said in an Aug. 12 letter to the Senate ethics committee.

“Mr. Gibbons has unusually complex finances to disclose, including hundreds of properties and several stock portfolios,” Warrington said.

JD Vance, another high-profile Republican candidate, just got in the race in July and doesn’t have to file disclosure paperwork until September.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer asked the Republican candidates who did file how they are able to relate to average Ohioans, given their financial situations.

In a lengthy written response, Moreno, whose family immigrated from Colombia, said he worked hard to get where he is, and he continues to give to charity.

“I came to Cleveland and put everything I had into buying one dealership,” he said. “I know what it’s like to sweat not knowing if you’ll be able to make payroll, not knowing if you’ll be able to pay your bills, and not knowing whether you’re going to have enough money to take care of your family. I used my grit, determination, and worked my butt off to succeed.”

“The real question is this: how can someone who has never worked in the private sector, who never had others rely on them to make a living, and who never understood what it feels like to be self reliant possibly produce public policy that creates economic growth?” Moreno said.

Mandi Merritt, a Timken campaign spokesperson, said Timken has “fought in the trenches for Ohioans” as state GOP chair, crisscrossing the state during the four years she worked there.

“Jane didn’t come from privilege - she is the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants and has worked hard her whole life, from delivering newspapers in grade school to cleaning dorm bathrooms in college, to establishing her own successful legal career before entering politics,” she said. “It was Jane’s ability to get a good education and live her American Dream right here in Ohio that makes her want to fight for Ohio families and the ability to live theirs.”

Scott Guthrie, Mandel’s campaign manager, said: “Josh’s grandfather Joe worked in a factory making plumbing parts and his grandmother Fernanda worked at a drug store stocking shelves. Both instilled in Josh the importance of hard work, sweat and love of America. While other candidates in this race prefer Silicon Valley or the halls of Harvard, Josh plans on being the worst nightmare to those anti-Trump, cocktail party elitists.”

We also asked Ryan for details on his personal loans, which range from $65,000 to $150,000, and how his financial situation informs his political views. Congressional and Senate financial disclosures generally require candidates to provide a range, not give an exact amount. A statement from Izzi Levy, a campaign spokesperson, didn’t directly address them.

“Unlike his multimillionaire opponents, Tim comes from a working-class family in a working-class community, understands the rising costs of raising a family in America today, and will take his focus on raising wages and cutting workers in on the deal all the way to the U.S. Senate,” Levy said.

If any of the Republican candidates are elected to the Senate, they wouldn’t be alone in being wealthy. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. senators are millionaires, according to Politifact, including outgoing Sen. Rob Portman, who is vacating the Ohio U.S. Senate seat that will be up for grabs in next year’s elections.

Here are more details about each candidate’s personal finances:

Jane Timken

Timken reported one source of personal income last year: the $189,615 she made running the Ohio Republican Party, a job she quit to run for the U.S. Senate earlier this year.

But her financial disclosure was much more voluminous, totaling dozens of pages detailing hundreds of holdings in cash, as well as stocks, bonds and other business interests.

Timken’s household assets ranged in value from about $40 million to about $72 million. Of that, $2.2 million to $5.2 million in assets were held by her personally.

Between she, her husband and their children, the Timkens reported owning about $3 million to $9.2 million worth of TimkenSteel stock, and Timken Co. stock worth from $157,000 to $1.1 million. TimkenSteel spun off from the main parent company in 2014.

Tim Timken also exercised Timken Co. stock options worth $6.3 million, and received another $5 million in deferred compensation and other payments from TimkenSteel. Tim Timken was fired as CEO of TimkenSteel in October 2019, with a severance agreement that included $4 million in cash, according to the Canton Repository.

The largest non-financial asset the Timkens own is Oakdale Farm, a 699-acre property in Jackson Township, outside Canton. Jane Timken’s share is worth $500,000 to $1 million, while Tim Timken’s share is worth more than $1 million.

Tim Timken also owns a lobbying business, McKinley Strategies, which paid him no reportable salary, but which he said was worth from $100,000 to $250,000.

Like Gibbons, Timken has exercised some of her personal wealth in her bid for Senate, loaning her campaign $1 million earlier this year.

Bernie Moreno

Moreno reported household assets worth $20.3 million to $93.1 million, a wide range attributable to several commercial real estate developments he owns in the Cleveland area, each worth $1 million to $5 million, as well as a home in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million.

Moreno and his wife, Bridget, also reported owning condos in Washington, D.C., New York City and Columbus. Bernie Moreno, an enthusiast of the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrency, reported from $100,000 to $250,000 of bitcoin. And, Moreno owns a boat worth $500,000 to $1 million.

Among Moreno’s personal investments is an amount between $50,000 and $100,000 he invested in Narya Capital, a Cincinnati-based venture fund co-founded by Vance, one of his fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidates.

Moreno’s assets are offset by mortgages and business loans ranging from $13.5 million to $63 million, including a PPP loan ranging from $500,000 to $1 million and a Small Business Administration Loan ranging from $5 million to $25 million.

Moreno’s only source of employment income was a $63,657 salary from Ownum, a blockchain-focused tech company he owns. But he made an amount ranging from $2.9 million to $13.7 million, thanks mostly to capital gains and rent and royalties from his commercial properties.

Josh Mandel

Mandel remains financially well-off after his 2020 divorce from his ex-wife, Ilana, who is a member of one of Cleveland most wealthy families. He reported owning assets worth $2.1 million to $7.5 million, most of which was contained in several brokerage accounts, and at least $750,000 of which was split between three college-savings accounts for his children. Mandel also reported owning an interest in LiftCamp, a Beachwood technology company where he serves as CEO, worth $100,000 to $250,000.

Mandel disclosed making $809,700 from various businesses:

  • About $287,200 from Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance, a financial services company in Bermuda
  • $250,000 from Lonestar Generation, LLC, a power-generation subsidiary of Blackstone, the massive New York City investment firm
  • $150,000 from Legal Business Services, LLC in New York City
  • $68,000 from Schear Financial Services, a payday-lending company in Dayton
  • $42,000 from Hawkeye Capital Management, a Miami Beach hedge fund
  • $12,500 from LiftCamp

Tim Ryan

Ryan, who has served in Congress since 2003, representing the Youngstown area, reported a precarious financial situation in a disclosure filed with the U.S. House earlier this month. He said owned financial assets worth $85,009 to $276,000 -- mostly his wife’s state pension, and his personal investments in mutual funds -- compared to between $380,000 and $800,000 in debt.

Ryan’s reported assets also include royalties from two books he wrote, “A Mindful Nation” and “The Real Food Revolution,” which he said each were worth $15,000 and $50,000, although he didn’t report any annual income from either. Members of Congress make a base salary of $174,000 annually.

Meanwhile, Ryan said he owed from $250,000 to $500,000 on his mortgage, plus from $50,000 to $100,000 on a home-equity line of credit. He also reported taking out two unsecured personal loans, one ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 and the other of $15,000 to $50,000.

His debts also include student loans from his wife, Andrea, who is a schoolteacher.

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