Bush, Cheney assets stable as economy slowed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. economy slowed in 2007, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney saw their assets stay stable, according to financial disclosure reports released by the White House on Thursday.
The reports showed little change for Bush and Cheney even as a collapse in the housing market caused a credit crunch and led the Federal Reserve to rapidly cut interest rates.
Bush and his wife Laura reported assets worth between $7.2 million and $20.2 million last year, nearly matching the $7.5 million to $20 million they reported in 2006.
Cheney, who spent years in the corporate board room, reported significantly higher assets for himself and his wife Lynne, ranging from almost $21 million to $99.3 million, according to his financial disclosure.
The Cheneys' assets mirror a range of $21 million to around $100 million reported in 2006. Much of his wealth came from his past role as the head of the oil services firm Halliburton Co.
The disclosures only give the asset values in ranges.
Bush reported gifts worth $15,370. An avid biker after he had to give up running because of knee problems, the president received a $6,160 bike from Trek Bikes and two bike power meters worth almost $3,000.
He also received night vision goggles from Cheney worth $579, a $1,155 self-propelled trimmer/mower and accessories and a $400 custom Hawaiian shirt which were both given to him by the White House staff, according to his disclosure report.
Bush held a wide range of assets, including $2.95 million to $5.75 million in U.S. treasuries, his Texas ranch worth between $1 million to $5 million, a $844,000 stake in a tree farm and $123,715 in the GWB Rangers Corp -- the assets from when he was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team.
The gifts the vice president reported were more modest than Bush, totaling $5,364. They included two days of accommodations and hunting from the Greenbriar Lodge of Carlisle, Arkansas, valued at $1,600 and a $490 leather duffel bag from the White House senior staff.
Cheney received from Bush a framed 1758 map of the Chesapeake Bay valued at $723, according to his financial disclosure.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Deborah Charles and David Wiessler)
