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Opinion: Ron Paul, the little guy’s champion, turns out to be a millionaire

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Rep. Ron Paul is a presidential candidate who supports a return to the gold standard, among many other things. Although he’s got no sympathy for Burma’s cyclone victims.

Now, we know that Paul puts his personal money where his personal mouth, and public policy, are -- in precious metals.

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Paul complied with federal law by filing his personal public financial disclosure statement with the Federal Election Commission by the deadline the other day. The Times’ conscientious Dan Morain pored over it.

Turns out, the old doctor (he’s even older than Sen. John McCain) is a millionaire, a few times over.

An Air Force veteran and ob-gyn who often champions the cause of the little guy, Paul disclosed 41 separate financial holdings that have a combined value of between $2.29 million and $5.3 million. The disclosure statements require officeholders and candidates to disclose a range of values for their holdings.

The 72-year-old Texas Republican, who leans libertarian, wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and issues warnings about....

the U.S. economy, will certainly lose the GOP nomination ‘struggle’ to McCain, who has somewhere around 72 times as many convention delegates as Paul’s 20.

But don’t cry for Paul in St. Paul. He’s got personal investments that are bearish and conservative. He has money in gold mining companies such as Barrick Gold, Vista Gold, Kinross Gold, and Apollo Gold Corps. And he’s still got somewhere around $5 million of the $34.5 million his followers donated to his campaign in the last year or so.

Among Paul’s mutual fund holdings is one Prudent Bear Mutual Fund, which has warned about risks created by “the historic expansion of credit.”

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Paul, whose 10 terms have frightened off any Democratic opposition in November’s House election, continues to be president of his medical corporation, Ronald E. Paul, MD, Assn., of Lake Jackson, Texas.

In addition, he’s honorary chairman of the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education Inc., a website devoted to Paul and which advertises his writings. One is “Gold, Peace, and Prosperity,” described on the foundation’s website as “the best introduction on the history of money and how government has destroyed it.”

Another Paul writing is “Ten Myths about Paper Money.” “This concise essay argues against fiat paper money and answers common objections to a gold standard. Tells why the politicians and bureaucrats like paper money and how the State thrives on it. Buy several copies and give one to your congressman!”

Though a presidential political loser, Paul also has recently published his latest book, ‘The Revolution: A Manifesto,’ both a call to arms and a long-term source of income for Paul’s struggle to take control of the Republican Party.

The enemy are the fake conservatives and moderates who got the nation into the Iraq war, who support big government and big spending and may well be planning a secret political union with Canada and Mexico using an unbuilt highway across Texas. Don’t ask; it’s just gospel.

Thanks to Paul’s loyal thousands of followers, his new little book zoomed to the top of the Amazon.com bestseller list even before publication.

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Now, his new book is also bouncing around among the top 10 on the bestseller list of the New York Times, which is not a libertarian publication.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo Credit: AP

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