Call it the $45 million question, the question of what exactly is the net worth of Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.
Personal financial-disclosure forms that he filed with the Senate — after earlier requesting an automatic 90-day extension — show it is between a minus $24.2 million and a positive $20.9 million, a laughably large range of $45 million.
"It is nowhere near either of those extremes, I can assure you," Bennett told the Deseret News.
"But frankly, I'm almost as much at sea as you are (about the real net worth), because there are real estate assets in there that, at today's market, who knows what the real estate assets are worth," he said. So he declined to try to narrow the range beyond what was required on forms.
Members of Congress report their assets, income and liabilities by checking boxes on categories that have wide ranges of values. Their precise net worth is not revealed, and instead, only a broad range is given.
For example, Bennett's largest asset — ownership of the Anniversary Inns in Utah through a managed trust — is valued at between $5 million and $25 million. (Bennett said he is in the process of trying to sell the inns, but the sales have not closed.)
Mortgages on the Anniversary Inns are also Bennett's largest liabilities; he owes somewhere between $6 million and $30 million.
Overall, Bennett lists assets worth between $5.78 million and $26.9 million, and liabilities (all for the Anniversary Inns) between $6 million and $30 million. That means his net worth is somewhere between minus $24.2 million and $20.9 million.
One thing that Bennett said is certain is that he is worth much less now than when he entered the Senate in 1993. During his first campaign, he said his net worth was about $30 million, with much of that coming from stock in the Franklin Quest time-management company that he helped lead.
When he entered the Senate, ethics rules prompted him to turn over most of his business assets to a managed trust of which he had no day-to-day control. Initially, he directed trustees to invest in Utah start-up companies to support Utah jobs and growth.
Many of them were not successful, and Bennett lost millions on them.
Also, lines of credit required him to sell much of his Franklin stock if it hit predetermined low points — which it did — also hurting his net worth.
"I think you are just right to indicate that the net worth has gone down very significantly since I entered the Senate, and I hope things get better," Bennett said.
On the bright side, he didn't seem to lose much between 2007 and 2008, when other members of the Utah delegation had large losses.
"I'm probably not down that much from last year, but last year wasn't that good," Bennett said.
His net worth of up to $20.9 million in 2008 was down just 2 percent from his top-possible net worth in 2007, according to disclosure forms.
Forms filed last May by other delegation members show they had a tough time as the recession hit.
The top-possible net worth of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, dropped by a half because of stock values dropping; Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Rob Bishop, both R-Utah, had their top-possible net worths drop by about a third; and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, had his drop by about a fifth.
Besides a 2008 Senate salary of $169,300, Bennett reported additional income during that year between $42,000 and $132,500, mostly from stocks, bonds and similar investments. That was down from 2007, when he reported between $52,900 and $117,000 in income from such investments.
e-mail: lee@desnews.com