New financial disclosure requirements reveal Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s investments ballooned by about $500,000 over the last two years, fueled in part by oil company stocks.
The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and state lawmakers filed financial disclosure statements on Monday as required by Proposal 1, a ballot initiative approved by 66% of voters in 2022.
The intent of the initiative was to force public servants to annually disclose information on income, assets, liabilities, lobbyist gifts, and business interests, though legislation approved last year to implement the initiative created loopholes that shield critical information about salaries, and assets held by spouses, according to Bridge Michigan.
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Whitmer declined to voluntarily disclose her $159,000 annual salary as governor, but she did report $50,237 in unearned income, including $18,432 in stock dividends, $17,672 in qualified dividends, and $10,657 in tax-exempt interest.
Whitmer’s reported securities and investments include seven 401k tax-deferred investment accounts and four ETF/Index/Mutual Fund accounts for a total of about $2.5 million invested. Whitmer voluntarily disclosed roughly $2 million in investments in 2022, according to Bridge.
The governor’s largest account is more than $1 million invested in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral, known as VTSAX, which is up more than 26% since 2022. The index fund consists of 3,717 stocks, including billions invested with Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp., and ConocoPhillips.
Whitmer’s financial investments in those oil companies seemingly conflict with her efforts in Michigan to invest billions of taxpayer dollars in the electric vehicle industry. In recent years, the Whitmer administration has inked investment packages that will steer $236.6 million in taxpayer money to a Next Energy battery gigafactory in Novi, $800 million for a CCP Gotion battery parts plant near Big Rapids, and $1.7 billion for Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park in southwest Michigan, MLive reports.
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Other Whitmer disclosures shows she’s an owner of Super Deluxe LLC, listing an address for the Detroit law firm Clark Hill. Super Deluxe’s articles of organization at the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs lists Christopher Trebilcock, a labor and employment attorney at Clark Hill, as its agent.
The same document lists another Clark Hill attorney, J Thomas MacFarlane, as Super Deluxe’s organizer. MacFarlane “helps individual clients plan for the efficient transition of their wealth and business owners plan for the succession of the businesses,” according to Clark Hill’s website.
“Tom also represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in probate disputes involving estates and trusts.”
Trebilcock “litigates labor and employment disputes in federal and state courts and administrative agencies across the country on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, medium and small employers, including governmental agencies.”
Whitmer did not respond to Bridge’s inquiry about Super Deluxe.
Her financial disclosure filing did not detail any income for her husband, blind trusts, or future employment agreements or liabilities. The governor listed full ownership of her cottage in Elk Rapids with an estimated value of $418,200.
The financial disclosures also do not detail any income from a reported seven-figure book deal Whitmer recently signed with publishers Simon & Schuster for “True Gretch,” which will offer her insights into “what I’ve learned about life, leadership and everything in between” when its released on July 9.