Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards earned nearly a half million dollars while working as a part-time adviser for a New York-based hedge fund.
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, reported in a campaign filing today that he earned $479,512 as a senior adviser to Fortress Investment Group LLC last year, Rob Christensen reports.
Edwards also earned $333,334 in royalties from his book on boyhood homes that was published by HarperCollins Publishers. He donated the money to charity.
Edwards reported that he earned $40,000 from his position as director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty Work and Opportunity.
He also reported earning $415,000 in speaking fees, mainly to universities. He typically charged $32,000 to $40,000 per speech.
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Re: Edwards' money report
Where is the story here? Is any of this money obtained illegally? No. So there is no story. I don't think any candidate's personal wealth is an issue as long as it was obtained legally.
It is a substanceless canard to accuse liberals like Edwards of being hypocritical for having personal wealth while advocating progressive economic views.
Franklin Roosevelt was quite wealthy, but he worked diligently to help the less fortunate. The same can be said of the Kennedys, Al Gore, John Kerry, John Edwards and many others. I begrudge no one the fruits of their labors; however, I do have issues with those wealthier types (typically Republicans) who ignore their obligations to society.
And, let's be realistic here. Without true campaign finance reform, the only people who can get elected are millionaires. The best we can do is elect millionaires who care about the rest of us, rather than millionaires who care only about other millionaires.
Rob's obsession with John Edwards' wealth is getting to be pathetic. He continues to write less as a journalist and more as a political operative. Please stop Rob -- you're embarrassing yourself.