Defense Nominee Gates Is One Rich FellaWe just picked up our copy of Defense secretary nominee Robert Gates’ financial disclosure forms. This gent has certainly found ways to keep the money coming in — Take a look.
Perhaps of greatest interest ot the public, Gates holds a total of between $450,000 and $1 million worth of stock options in companies he advises, including Parker Drilling Company, restaurant group Brinker International, and NACCO Industries.
NACCO has roughly $30 million in Department of Defense contracts, according to FedSpending.org. Conflict? The government’s ethics police allowed the last Defense chief, Donald Rumsfeld, to hold on to stock worth up to $25 million in a company, Gilead Sciences; its business with the Pentagon soared after Rumsfeld took over, according to the LATimes. (He cleared $5 million on the deal, the paper found.)
According to its Web site, Parker Drilling, an oil services company, has operations around the world including Kuwait, Russia, Kazakhstan and Colombia. Since 1994, the company has worked with Halliburton on a Chinese offshore drilling effort.
But Gates has a variety of other income streams. From January 2005 to the present, Gates has been paid $752,788 as president of Texas A&M, and earned over $135,000 in deferred pay, according to his filing.
During the same period Gates also earned $143,000 in fees for speaking to private groups, including the National Pest Management Association, numerous investment groups, and the retail giant Target. He made about $15,000 a pop with that gig.
Gates also picked up $788,366 as a director or adviser to companies.
The nominee also has money spread around a vast array of investment funds, including a few he shares with his wife and son.
Keep in mind that for all his wealth, Gates isn’t even approaching the wealth amassed by Rumsfeld. According to opensecrets.org, Rumsfeld, worth as much as $199 million, could buy and sell Gates many times over.