Ted Kennedy Rents Out Parking Space for $2,500

[DC09]

WASHINGTON -- Senators' financial disclosure reports showed anew today how wealthy most of them are, with quirky nuggets like a $1,059.75 Taurus and the gift of a sled dog buried amid trust funds, blind trusts and real estate holdings.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who reported from $8 million to $40 million in family trust funds, listed up to $2,500 in rental income for a single parking space in Boston.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said his three sons' holdings included small interests in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Wendy's International Inc. Those companies' fast-food products seem counterintuitive for the senator, a heart surgeon and avid jogger.

The 2003 forms, as always, present data in broad ranges of dollars. They go beyond senators' salaries, which are $154,700. Three leaders -- Frist, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the Senate's president pro tempore -- were paid $171,900.

Once again, the filings show that riches know no political boundary and that the Senate's millionaires are not limited to those from families of renowned wealth.

Yes, there is Kennedy. And Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., reported three blind trusts exceeding $80 million in value.

But there are also the lesser known millionaires like Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Shelby, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has assets including an apartment complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala., he valued at $5 million to $25 million.

Similarly, Sen. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, who chairs the Senate Democrats' campaign committee, reported holdings including $25 million to $50 million in stock in The Goldman Sachs Group plus a tax-free fund worth another $25 million to $50 million. Corzine is former chairman of Goldman Sachs & Co., the investment bank.

Stevens, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, listed Alaska real estate worth up to $1.5 million, though he reported losing $43,000 on his home-state land investments. His financial dealings were examined by The Los Angeles Times, which reported his wealth had grown from investments with people whom he helped with legislation.

Stevens was given a sled dog for his public service by an Alaska sport fishing group. He then bought the dog's twin for $250.

Full Article

[Falco Rex]

Damnit Ted! Put some pants on and drop the whiskey bottle!!! Then maybe you can keep your finances straight!!

Sorry, I lived in Massachussetts for a long time. Nothing gets me going like the Kennedy family..

[Barnacle Battlefront]

wow parking spots must be REALLY hard to find. or he could be trying to bet the meter maids.

[doomgirl]

I could think of a few things I could do with that money

[Ozmeister]

Damnit Ted! Put some pants on and drop the whiskey bottle!!! Then maybe you can keep your finances straight!!

Pity ol' Rose is dead....she'd straighten the "boy" out

[mypaddedroom]

What a shame! Such a large waste of money!