In Bernanke's portfolio: annuities, and a bit of Canada
If Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke leads the U.S. into financial ruin, he’ll still have his Canadian Treasury bonds to fall back on.
The Fed today issued Bernanke’s annual financial disclosure report, which shows the central bank chief is well-off compared with most Americans -- although he’s a pauper compared with the Wall Street CEOs who expect the Fed to save their bacon.
Bernanke and his family listed financial assets of between $1.2 million and $2.5 million in 2007, according to Bloomberg’s dissection of the report. Federal rules require only that Bernanke and other central bank officials report the range of their holdings, not a specific dollar total.
Bernanke, a former Princeton University professor, reported that his two largest assets were annuities: TIAA Traditional and the CREF Stock Large Cap Blend. Each was worth between $500,001 and $1 million, according to Bloomberg.
He also listed Canadian Treasury bonds as an asset. (His ticket across the border, maybe, if things get really bad? Just kidding . . . we hope.)
Bernanke, 54, is worth far less than his much older predecessor, Alan Greenspan. The previous Fed chairman, now 82, listed total assets of between $4.1 million and $8.9 million in his last year in office.
Bernanke, who draws an annual salary of about $190,000 from the Fed, succeeded Greenspan in February 2006.
Photo: Ben S. Bernanke. Scott Olson/Getty Images
