To be fair to Gingrich, he's hardly the only politician to go from a "normal" lifestyle to being a multi-millionaire via public service. Bill Clinton's rise to riches puts Newt's numbers to shame as does Tony Blair in the UK. Heck, Chelsea Clinton graduated from Stanford and walked into a six figure job which isn't that much different from Mary Cheney getting paid millions to write a book that nobody wanted. (Maybe they are both deserving, but clearly links to a public servant also played a role for both.) The political class sees no issue with using public service to enrich themselves.
In Gingrich's case, he went from owning up to $50,000 to a net worth of over $7 million. If nothing else, it certainly contributes to entrenching a political class. Is it right or wrong or even fair?
But as a former Speaker still considered a leading intellectual of the right, Gingrich proceeded to build an empire as a paid public thinker. The Washington Post reported last week that Gingrich’s web of enterprises ranging from a health care think tank to a documentary production company “generated close to $100 million in revenue over the past decade.”
The financial disclosure form Gingrich filed this summer as a presidential candidate reflects that prosperity.
The former Congressman now lists assets worth a minimum of $7.3 million — which does not include homes or other non-income-producing property — and millions more in income. His dividends from Gingrich Productions for the year before becoming a presidential candidate were just shy of $2.5 million, and his family-run talent agency paid him another $72,000. He reports no liabilities.
