Democrats running for president
have no shortage
of cash.
Senator Kamala Harris and
her husband top just
about all of them.
The senator from California
and her husband,
lawyer Douglas Emhoff,
reported about $1.9
million in adjusted gross
income last year.
Their income more than
doubles the next highest
earning candidate in the
2020 primary field.
So how did they
come by their cash?
Harris wasn't always
this rich.
She made six figure salaries
during her years as
attorney general,
first for San Francisco and
then the state of
California.
Then her household income
skyrocketed in 2014 when
she married Emhoff and
they first filed their
taxes jointly.
They reported $1.2
million in adjusted gross
income that year.
The couple has stacked up
wealth along the way.
Harris listed assets
worth between $2.5
million and $5.8
million on a 2018
Senate financial
disclosure form.
They also had
between $2.8
million and $3.6
million in liabilities.
That's tied up in mortgages,
home equity lines of
credit and a
commercial loan.
And Emhoff rakes in
millions as an intellectual
property lawyer
in California.
He made a whopping $1.5
million last year alone.
More cash is starting to
flow into Harris's pocket too
She reported about $157,000
in earnings from the
Senate last year.
That's a hike from what
she made as California
attorney general in 2016.
But that's not where she
makes her big bucks.
Harris reported about $320,000
in net income from
her memoir 'The
truth we Hold.'
It was released in January
2019, as Harris geared
up for her
presidential campaign.
Since she won her Senate
seat in 2016, Harris has
been seen as a
strong presidential candidate.
But she struggled for a
breakthrough into the top
tier of the
Democratic field.
That was until the
first 2020 presidential debate
where she confronted former
Vice President Biden
about his record on race.
But I also believe, and it
is personal, and I was
actually very, it
was hurtful,
To hear you talk about
the reputations of two
United States senators
who built their
reputations and career on
the segregation of race
in this country.
And it was not only
that, but, you also worked
with them to
oppose bussing.
And you know there was
a little girl in
California, who was part of
the second class to
integrate her
public schools.
as she was bussed
to school every day.
And that little
girl was me.
Harris isn't the only Democrat
at the front of the
pack making big money.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and
her husband Bruce
Mann made nearly
$850,000 in 2018.
Senator Bernie Sanders and
his wife Jane made
$560,000 in 2018 after raking
in more than a
million bucks in 2016
and 2017 each.
Biden hasn't unveiled his tax
returns yet, but he
reportedly made millions after
leaving the White
House in 2017.
Still Harris and Emhoff's 2018
haul is easily the
highest of all the
candidates who have released
their taxes.
That could put Harris in
an awkward spot as she
vies to take on
President Donald Trump.
There's a lot of talk
in this primary about new
government benefits such
as student loan
cancellation, free college, health
care and more.
Do you think that
Democrats have a responsibility
to explain how they will
pay for every proposal
they make along
those lines?
Well let me tell you
something, I hear that
question.
but where was that
question when the Republicans
and Donald Trump passed
a tax bill
that benefits the top 1
percent and the biggest
corporations in this country?
When we reached out to
the Harris campaign, a
spokesman said she is
committed to lifting up
average Americans.
He said her agenda is
meant to address their needs
and improve their lives.
Harris opposed the 2017 GOP
tax law which cut
rates for most Americans but
slashed taxes on the
wealthiest.
She wants to reverse those
cuts and give up to
$6,000 a year in tax
credits to working and
middle-class Americans
instead.
She also marched with
striking McDonald's workers
in Las Vegas, who pushed
for higher wages and
changes to
harassment policy.
But the fact remains,
Harris is still technically
a millionaire.
And we'll see if that
affects her image as a
champion for the working
class as the 2020
