Nixon ’s fortune diminished

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33610, 12 August 1974, Page 13

Nixon ’s fortune diminished

(By

B. DRUMMOND AYRES,

Jun., of the "New York Times," through N.Z.P.A.)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11. President Nixon acquired considerable wealth while in the White House, but he left Washington with his fortune greatly diminished and his economic future in some doubt. When he departed on Friday morning he said that he was not a wealthy man, then added, “at the present time, I’ve got to find a way to pay my taxes.” Taxes —specifically, tax deductions — helped Mr Nixon amass a fortune of more than slm in office. And taxes — specifically, disallowed deductions — helped deplete the

fortune by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As for the future, the former President has a number of bright economic prospects. But some problems loom. In yielding his office, Mr Nixon gave up a $200,000-a--year salary, plus $50,000 for office expenses. But by leaving voluntarily, he was assured of receiving an annual Presidential pension of $60,000 plus up to $96,000 yearly for office and secretarial expenses incurred in retirement. Furthermore, Mrs Nixon would be eligible to receive a $20,000-a-year widow’s pension. Had Mr Nixon been removed from office by the Congress, all pension and expense payments would have been forfeited. If the former President chooses to write his memoirs — most retired Chief Executives have done so — he can go a long way toward assuring himself financial security for the rest of his days. In the book industry, it is widely assumed that the bidding for such a work would begin at more than slm. However, no publisher is known to be dealing with Mr Nixon at this point. Then there is the matter of the former President’s

personal papers and mementos.

They are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But Presidents traditionally have placed them in libraries rather than sell them. And in Mr Nixon’s case, there is dispute whether he should be permitted to re-

tain possession. Some members of Congress, intent on a full Watergate disclosure, are talking about passing a law that would make the Nixon papers the property of the people of the United States. It was not clear as Mr Nixon departed from Washington just how much he was worth or how much he owed. But he obviously had problems. Last winter, he set his net worth as slightly more than slm, about half in real estate and the rest in cash. Since then, he has had to use his funds to pay almost $300,000 in back taxes, interest, and penalties. That payment came after a finding by the Internal Revenue Service that Mr Nixon had failed to report some income and had taken unwarranted deductions on a gift of personal papers to the National Archives. The I.R.S. also found that Mr Nixon had underpaid his 1969 taxes by $148,000. However, tax officials said that the payment need not be made because the statute of limitations on non-fraudulent underpayments had expired.

Mr Nixon promised to pay up, nevertheless, but had not done so by Friday morning.

The President has been unable to make payments on the Florida and California waterfront homes he acquired for more than $1.5 million soon after he was elected to his first term in 1968. j Last month, almost. -$250,000 was due on the San' Clemente estate. It has a| number of controversial im-j provements made at tax-; payers’ expense but Mr Nixon' has indicated that he will leave it to the Federal Government upon his death. He came up with slightly more than $50,000 for the payment and was given a six-month extension.

From what else is known of Mr Nixon’s finances, it appears that he still owes more than $200,000 in real estate payments. What is not known is the extent of his reserves. He will almost certainly need large reserves of cash should he face further legal difficulties because of Watergate. The cost of his impeachment defence was borne by I

the Federal Government, but he probably will have to pay any future legal fees. Mr Nixon is a lawyer and presumably can now resume making a living at that profession — if he encounters no further legal problems that might lead to disbarment. Before he became President, he practised in New York, for a salary reported to be in excess of $lOO,OOO a year.