Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
- Tim Walz is among the least wealthy candidates to ever run for vice president.
- According to tax returns, Walz and his wife brought in $166,000 in 2022.
- The pair rent out a room in their DC townhouse, financial disclosures show.
Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota recently tapped to be Kamala Harris' running mate, is among the least wealthy candidates to run for vice president in US history.
According to financial disclosures reported by The Washington Post, Walz and his wife, Gwen, earned $166,000 in 2022. This includes income earned from renting out a room in their Washington, DC, townhouse, the outlet reported, and Walz's $115,485 annual salary for his role as governor.
Previous Business Insider reporting shows that Walz is just above the average middle-class American's salary band.
At 60 years old, his net worth — $330,000, per Forbes — is less than the median American citizen's of his age.
Though Walz, born in 1964, is just outside the upper age boundary for a typical Gen X-er, his finances appear to fit a pattern for the generation, which struggles with high debt and financial insecurity. While they should be thriving, Gen X is among the most financially insecure generations and frequently plays catch-up with their retirement savings over decades.
The Post reported that Walz would earn a salary of $284,600 if elected vice president.
In comparison, the Post noted that former president Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, holds assets valued between $4.3 million and $10.8 million in 2022. The outlet noted that the financial disclosures include numerous investments in startup companies and real estate deals, the liquidity of which contributes to the wide-ranging estimate of his total net worth.
Dick Cheney had a net worth of over $50 million when he became the GOP nominee for vice president alongside George W. Bush in the 2000 election. Similarly, John Edwards had a net worth of between $12 million and $60 million when he became John Kerry's running mate in 2004, the outlet reported.
"In recent years, he stands out considerably. If you look at the folks who have been chosen as running-mates, they've been relatively financially secure," Mark Updegrove, a presidential historian, told USA Today of Walz.
Early candidates for president were rich landowners, with more recent candidates earning their wealth from tech and oil investments or inheritances, Business Insider reported.
Walz, a former social studies teacher, doesn't own any stocks. When he won his seat in Congress in 2006, Forbes reported Walz told an aide his $165,200, salary "is four times what I've ever made in my life."
Representatives for the Harris and Walz campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.