WASHINGTON — For years, Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Chris Cannon were listed among the wealthiest of the many millionaires in Congress.
But times are tougher and both, it appears, are just barely millionaires today.
"It shows I'm not getting rich in this job," Cannon joked about his latest personal financial disclosure form.
Congress is scheduled to release such forms for all members and candidates Thursday, but most from Utah released theirs early to the Deseret Morning News.
 | Deseret Morning News graphic Candidates financial disclosuresRequires Adobe Acrobat. |
They show Bennett and Cannon have been unable to reverse financial setbacks of recent years. They also show Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and 3rd District GOP candidate Matt Throckmorton have net worths near zero — while most other candidates and members are comfortably wealthy.
Bennett, who estimated his net worth at a whopping $30 million when he was elected to the Senate in 1992, now estimates his net worth between just $1 million and $5 million, said his press secretary, Mary Jane Collipriest.
Bennett built his early fortune on investments in the Franklin Quest time planner company, which he once led as its president. Once elected, Senate rules forced him to resign from directing Franklin. He took much of his wealth and invested heavily in other startup companies, hoping one of them would become another Franklin.
Instead, he lost heavily through the years. Most of his money is now invested in Watermark Corp., which owns Anniversary Inns in Salt Lake City. Last year, it sold off some of its lodging properties in Boise and Jackson Hole for between $7.5 million and $38.5 million — but Collipriest said that essentially just covered mortgages Bennett held on them.
Collipriest said that in the recession after 9/11, the hotel industry was hard-hit, but Bennett hopes for a resurgence as the economy is recovering.
Meanwhile, Cannon reported little change in his finances in his new forms covering 2003 — after he reported losses of up to $20 million the previous year.
His forms now list his net worth between $2.73 million and $12.14 million. He declined to narrow that range further. Forms disclose assets and liabilities only within broad ranges.
The year before, Cannon disclosed losses of up to $20 million as he wrote off several loans as uncollectible. That included revising the value of a loan he made to Cannon Industries — a venture capital firm of which he is the sole owner — from between $5 million and $25 million to between just $1 million and $5 million.
He said then that setbacks by the company made it unlikely it could ever pay back the full loan, so he lowered its value.
Much of Cannon's wealth may be only on paper. For example, while Cannon Industries owes him $1 million to $5 million in loans, he lists the worth of that company overall at only between $100,001 and $250,000.
Much of the assets he lists are in other loans, for which he received no payments during the year. That includes a loan of between $250,001 and $500,000 to his brother, Joe Cannon; a loan between $100,001 and $250,000 to David Cannon; and a loan between $50,001 and $100,000 to Gary Ruse.
Meanwhile, Throckmorton — who is challenging Cannon in next week's primary — lists a net worth between just $1 and $1,000, not counting his home or cars. He reported on forms that he had no income last year but told the Deseret Morning News that was an error because he misunderstood the form. He said he had an income of about $40,000.
Meanwhile, Bishop lists a net worth between a negative $47,998 and a positive $14,999, not counting homes or cars, which need not be disclosed. He said if they are included, his net worth "comes out in the positive but not by a heck of a lot. A lot of my debt is from my last election. Once I pay it off, the bottom line will be better."
Bishop's Democratic opponent, Steve Thompson, reported a net worth between $67,007 and $479,999, not counting his home or cars.
In the 2nd District GOP primary race, Tim Bridgewater says his net worth is between $750,000 and $1 million. He has poured $254,000 of his own money into his campaign — a huge chunk of his overall net worth. Fellow 2nd District candidate John Swallow listed a net worth between $317,005 and $863,000, not counting his home or cars.
Their opponent, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, reported a net worth between $123,031 and $845,000, not counting his home or cars.
E-mail: lee@desnews.com