Senate candidates Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman have wildly different personal finances, new congressional financial disclosures show
- John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz have submitted financial disclosures as they run for US Senate in Pennsylvania.
- The disclosures reveal wildly different personal finances between the two candidates.
Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz have wildly different personal financial situations, according to new congressional financial disclosures the US Senate candidates filed as part of their increasingly bitter race in Pennsylvania.
Their portfolios also largely reflect their political personas: Oz the competitive, business-minded television doctor and international celebrity, Fetterman the wears-shorts-in-winter everyman with a nearly fatal aversion to doctors.
Oz's portfolio is replete with stock in Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and numerous others. Fetterman, in contrast, has a holding in just one stock: Verizon.
Oz reported large investments in several pieces of real estate and limited liability companies. Fetterman has invested the bulk of his money into savings accounts for his three children.
Fetterman, who submitted a mandatory federal financial disclosure on July 29, reported earning $255,184 from his time as the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and $347 from his wife's appearance last year on a TV show. He also reported several bank accounts for himself and his three children, each worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Fetterman, who serves as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, reported that he's personally invested in just one company, Verizon — he owns between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock in it.
Oz, who last submitted a financial disclosure in April, reported earning a $2 million salary for hosting his television show, "The Dr. Oz Show," and an additional $193,799 as the show's supervising producer.
He also reported earning more than $7 million from his stake in Oz Media, $332,000 in royalties from a heart surgery procedure he patented, MitraClip, and hundreds of thousands of dollars from making personal appearances and delivering speeches.
One speech in 2020 to the American Pistachio Growers Association earned Oz $125,000.
Oz, who earlier this year won the Republican nomination by fewer than 1,000 votes, is also heavily invested in the stock market.
He reported investing more than $5 million in Amazon, and more than $1 million each in Microsoft and Alphabet stock.
Oz also reported owning several investment properties and residential real estate that together he valued in the millions of dollars.
A congressional stock-trade ban?
Members of Congress are actively debating whether they and their spouses should be allowed to trade stocks at all.
Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation found that 66 members of Congress have violated the STOCK Act, a federal law designed to defend against conflicts-of-interest, curb insider trading, and enhance transparency. Dozens of other lawmakers were found to have stock holdings that conflict with their official duties or policy positions.
In a statement from January, Fetterman rallied behind the push to ban federal lawmakers from trading stocks.
"Allowing members of Congress and their spouses to trade stocks is a clear conflict of interest," Fetterman said. "Lawmakers should not be making profits off of the same companies they are supposed to be regulating, based on closed-door information that isn't available to the public."
Fetterman's campaign on Monday affirmed this and told Insider that the candidate would sell his Verizon stock or place it into a blind trust if elected.
Oz's campaign declined to comment Monday on whether the candidate supports a congressional ban on trading stocks or whether he would sell his stock holdings or place them into a blind trust if elected.
The Oz campaign instead directed Insider to a radio interview Oz conducted with conservative radio host Chris Stigall on March 1. Then, Oz said he'd aim to put his money into a trust. He also said he would donate his congressional earnings if he wins in November.
"Well, in my own personal case, I have intended to put the money that I have into a trust so that I could not be conflicted by it," Oz said.
When asked if he supported limits on stock trading in Congress, Oz said: "I'd be okay with that. I think they should be reasonable ones. I mean, for example, if you put it into a trust and let someone who's savvy about money trade for you outside of your purvey – you know, you don't control it, they do it outside of you, I think that will be fine."