Mike Huckabee Net Worth

A candidate’s policy positions are a very important part of deciding whether or not to vote for them. To some people, the policy positions are the only important issue. On the other side, some people take the view that the only thing that matters is a candidate’s background and qualifications. Sometimes looking at a candidate’s net worth can give some insight into both of these things. How did the candidate make their money? Is that relevant to the Presidency? How might the candidate’s self-interest impact their policy positions? There’s always some distance between what a candidate says they believe and how they actually govern. You can often judge their self-interest from their net worth and background. From there you might be able to get some insight at what that distance will be.

Mike Huckabee is a TV personality. He hosted the show Huckabee on Fox from 2008 until 2015. Huckabee was governor of Arkansas for almost twelve years from 1996 until 2007. He then ran for the republican presidential nomination in 2008. He was lieutenant governor for Kansas Governor Jim Tucker in 1993. Jim Tucker resigned the governorship after becoming embroiled in the “Whitewater scandal” where he fraudulently arranged for $3 million worth of loans. Before politics Huckabee worked as a Pastor for 12 years.

Mike Huckabee’s Net Worth

Age: 60
Occupation: Pastor/TV Personality
Most Money Made In: TV Personality/Public Speaker
Estimated Net Worth as of 2015: 7 Million

He makes a lot more money than his competitors: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Since leaving his job hosting Huckabee, Mike Huckabee has begun taking public speaking engagements for pay. Last year he took in about $800,000 for his public speaking. Huckabee’s Fox contract, before it was terminated, looks to have been worth $500,000 annually. This is quite a substantial salary especially considering that it was able to keep Huckabee’s profile front and center for a viewership of primarily republicans. He made most of his money ($3 million) last year from a publishing company of which he is president. Huckabees net worth is strongly impacted by what assumptions you make for the value of this publishing company. If that business income is sustainable then Huckabee’s net worth could easily be in the $20 million range. If the income generated is mostly from royalties (which are drying up) it could be as little as $5 Million.

Mike Huckabee’s Net Worth is given by his financial disclosure. His personal financial disclosure was taken from the Center for Responsive politics webpage: opensecrets.org. The disclosure itself is quite interesting. Aside from the publishing company Mike Huckabee owns mostly rental properties, which seem to throw off substantial rents mortgaged at low rates. Additionally, the rest of his money appears to be in mutual funds.

Mike Huckabee has a relatively standard set of economic views for a Republican. He supports of the Fair Tax.

His incentives are mostly aligned with the rich and the upper middle class. Mike Huckabee gets most of his money through pass through entities such as S-Corps and LLC’s has a great deal of skin in the game there. Mike Huckabee’s pensions and social security likely represent a small portion of his net worth, he therefore doesn’t have much monetary incentive to protect such things (though he may feel morally compelled to). Here is an example of a way his wealth might incentivize him to vote…

It is possible, as part of corporate tax reform, that the special treatment that LLCs and S-corps get compared to C-corps might change or go away (former treasury secretary Timothy Geithner proposed this in 2011). If Huckabee had to pay corporate income tax as well as a dividend tax this would cost him a great deal of money without benefiting him directly. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t support such a thing or if he opposes it that he does so out of greed. It’s just that the negative effects of a thing are easier to envision when a person has experience with them.