White House wealth: President Barack Obama's team virtually all Chicago millionairesWhen President Barack Obama moved into the White House earlier this year, he took several of his fellow Chicago millionaires with him.
Newly released disclosure reports show virtually all of the top Chicagoans serving in the West Wing had assets valued at a million dollars or more at the end of 2008.
In several cases, the reports provide the first detailed look at the finances of some of the president's top aides and friends from Chicago who have risen with him. They also show the salary haircut many have taken to be in the White House, at least until they return to the private sector.
Some of the wealth can be attributed to the fact that the top staff members surrounding Obama — such as Chicagoans Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett — are from a big city where salaries tend to be higher. Many of the comparable senior staffers with the previous two presidents came from Austin, Texas, and Little Rock, Ark., where salaries for top professionals tend to be the lower than in Chicago. In contrast to his senior staff, Obama's Cabinet tends to have fewer high-net-worth people. That group includes former senators, governors and others who have spent much of their careers working in the lower-paying public sector.
Like those of his predecessors, Obama's top staff tends toward seasoned professionals, people who have moved up in their respective fields and found private sector wealth. The Tribune's review focused on Chicagoans serving in senior White House jobs.
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