Adagio for Scott: Governor’s Net Worth Drops by Half, to $102 Million

Florida Gov. Rick Scott saw his net income plummet in 2010 from the year before, but the Naples business executive still showed a net worth of $102 million, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the state.

Last year when he was running for governor, the former health care executive said he was worth $218 million.

Scott’s wealth, which dropped in part because he spent more than $70 million of his own money to finance a successful gubernatorial campaign, also still topped that of all other Cabinet officials combined, according to reports filed with the Commission on Ethics that were due July 1.

Despite the lower net worth, Scott reported 2010 income of $11.5 million, up nearly 46 percent from the $7.9 million he posted in 2009. It’s almost all investment income; as governor, Scott makes 1 cent a year.

Included in Scott’s portfolio was $9.1 million for the couple’s Naples residence, $19.9 million in stock in Drives, an Illinois-based manufacturer of conveyor and power transmission equipment and $5.2 million of stock in Quepasa a Mexico-based social network.

Scott also reported about $7.6 million in cash. Scott’s assets included $14 million in stock from Solantic, a Jacksonville-based health care company that Scott sold earlier this year to alleviate conflict of interest concerns.

Florida Agriculture Commission Adam Putnam’s net worth in 2010 was pegged at a shade over $6.8 million. The majority of that came from Vanguard investments valued at almost $2.7 million and a stake in Putnam Groves, Inc., worth almost $2.4 million. He lists $122,895 in liabilities to Bank of America.

It’s difficult to tie down how much Putnam’s net worth increased or fell in 2010; the report he filed as a member of Congress covering 2009 lists broad ranges associated with different assets. In all, Putnam listed assets of somewhere between $3.2 million and $9.7 million.

Putnam listed $408,855 in real estate holdings on his Florida disclosure.

Putnam actually took a slight salary hit, going from the $169,233 made by members of Congress to the agriculture commissioner’s salary of almost $128,972, according to state records. However, between investments and other transactions and sources of income, Putnam earned a total of $578,552 in 2010.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater declared his net worth as $1.6 million, mostly in investments and a North Palm Beach home. That was up from $1.55 million in 2009, according to the disclosure he filed for 2009 as a candidate. Part of the increase was growth in the value of his home, which went from $267,000 in 2009 to $270,000 last year.

Atwater’s salary last year was much lower than his current one – as a state senator he made just $34,649, although his salary was augmented with some deferred compensation from former employer Bank of America and interest from an IRA.

Attorney General Pam Bondi reported a net worth at the end of 2010 of $472,696, a slight increase from her 2009 net worth of $450,735.

Much of that increase is due to paying off debt, such as a mortgage and car loan. Bondi owns a home worth $635,400. But unlike many Floridians she isn’t underwater, a term for when a homeowner owes more on a loan than the home is worth. According to her financial disclosure form, she owes less than $325,000 on her home.

She reported no income in 2010, with a note that said she was unemployed and only worked as a candidate for Attorney General. Bondi earns $128,972 as Florida’s top law enforcement officer, about $5,000 less than her state prosecutor salary of $133,685 that she reported in 2009.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll reported a net worth of $554,421, which includes her ownership stake in several properties she owns with her husband, along with a $47,000 bank account balance and $200,000 life insurance policy.

Besides her $30,000 legislative salary, Carroll also reported income of $36,672 from the Navy, where she served for 20 years and retired as a lieutenant commander, and earned $10,000 as an online instructor at Axia College at the University of Phoenix. She will earn nearly $125,000 a year as lieutenant governor.