Politics

Contrary To Bill’s Claim, The Clintons Obtained Up To $7.4 Million In Capital Gains

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Bill Clinton’s claim that he and Hillary have paid “almost no capital gains” in the past 15 years was put in doubt Monday following reports showing the former first couple booked nearly $400,000 in capital gains between 2000 and 2006.

But a Daily Caller analysis shows the Clintons may have incurred vastly more capital gains than that: between $2 million and $7.4 million.

“Over the last 15 years, I’ve taken almost no capital gains and I’ve given 10 percent away,” Bill Clinton said in an interview with NBC that aired on Monday.

Buzzfeed and The New York Times fact-checked that by analyzing the power couples’ publicly available IRS filings. According to filings for the period between 2000 and 2006 — the only years available — the Clintons reported $371,000 in capital gains, mostly from the sale of property.

But Hillary Clinton’s 2007 Senate financial disclosure report shows the couple may have recorded capital gains as much as 20 times larger than that.

The report shows the Clintons sold approximately 170 stocks and bonds, all on May 16, 2007. The stocks include blue-chips such as American Express, Berkshire Hathaway, Boeing, Intel, United Health and Yahoo.

Rather than requiring filers to list specific amounts for dividends, interest income or capital gains, the disclosure provides general monetary tranches: for example, for income that falls between $15,001 and $50,000 or $100,001 and $1,000,000.

The stocks that brought the Clintons the highest capital gains were Amazon, Cisco and News Corp., which netted the couple between $100,001 and $1,000,000 each.

A complete tally of all stock sales shows the Clintons racked up between $2,083,100 and $7,390,500 in capital gains.

According to reports from that time period, the massive transaction was the result of the Clintons clearing out a blind trust they had held since 1993. The Clintons reportedly wanted to avoid the appearance that their investments in oil, pharmaceutical and foreign companies would present a conflict of interest ahead of Hillary’s 2008 presidential bid.

According to the Washington Post, another factor in the decision was that rules for blind trusts are tougher for presidential candidates than for Senate candidates.

The Clintons converted their portfolio into cash and U.S. Treasury notes.

“In doing so, the Clintons will incur a large capital gains tax bill for 2007 and will reduce their ability to earn new money because savings accounts and certificates of deposit traditionally offer lower rates of return than Wall Street,” the Post noted at the time.

As for why Clinton claimed he has paid “almost” no capital gains, it is unclear. An email request for comment sent to the Clinton Foundation and to Hillary Clinton’s campaign was not returnedt.

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