With assets worth tens of millions of dollars, nominated associate attorney general Vanita Gupta is, until now, the richest political candidate of the Biden government, which has publicly released a financial disclosure form.
The disclosure of Gupta’s financial interests comes as she faces a potentially unstable confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
Gupta, a civil rights lawyer appointed by the Department of Justice, reported having between $ 42 million and $ 187 million in assets and properties with her husband in her disclosure report filed with the Office of Government Ethics. She reported earning between $ 902,000 and $ 3 million last year, the lawsuit shows.
Most of his assets come from his shares in companies linked to his father, Raj Gupta, a corporate president and Wall Street financier with vast corporate interests.
According to the document, Vanita Gupta holds between $ 11 million and $ 55 million in shares of Avantor, a chemical and materials company based in Pennsylvania, of which Raj Gupta is the chairman of the board.
She also reported that she owned between $ 500,000 and $ 1 million in shares in Aptiv, an American-Irish-British auto parts company based in Dublin, Ireland, of which Raj Gupta also serves as president.
According to the report, Gupta also has between $ 950,000 and $ 2 million in entities linked to the private equity firm New Mountain Capital, for which his father served as a senior adviser. Raj Gupta also served on the board of the Vanguard Group, one of the largest index fund companies, and Vanita Gupta has between $ 11 million and $ 49 million in Vanguard index funds, which normally belong to other political nominees.
It owns many of these assets through family funds it controls, except for $ 5 million to $ 25 million in Avantor, $ 500,000 to $ 1 million in Aptiv and six-figure in New Mountain Finance Co., which are under a brokerage account.
In her ethics agreement provided by Biden’s transition team, Vanita Gupta wrote that she would maintain her financial interests in these companies, but would resign as co-curator of her family’s fund.
She would also not participate “personally or substantially” in matters relating to companies in which she or her family has a financial interest.
She also wrote that she would not participate in matters relating to companies in which her father held leadership positions, including Avantor and Aptiv.
A spokesman for Biden’s transition team, when asked about Gupta’s financial interests, referred to ABC News about his ethics deal. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Gupta’s plan to abstain from issues involving the financial interests of her family and herself is normally required by conflict of interest laws, said Delaney Marsco, senior legal advisor to the good governance group Campaign Legal Center, based in Washington.
Gary Gensler, chosen by Biden to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the second richest nominee of Biden to reveal his financial interests to date. Gensler said he owned between $ 41 million and $ 119 million in various assets, mainly made up of investment funds and brokerage accounts, along with some real estate properties in Baltimore.
As Gupta’s confirmation hearing approached, she was recently the target of attacks by some far-right Republicans, accusing her of being radically progressive and anti-police.
The Judicial Crisis Network opposed Gupta’s confirmation with a $ 800,000 advertising campaign entitled, “Dangerous Nomination”, which accuses Gupta of supporting the “strip the police” movement.
Gupta, who says he never endorsed such policies, had several police advocacy groups around her. Fraternal Police Order President Patrick Yoes sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee last month expressing support for Gupta’s nomination.
“She always worked with us to find common ground, even when it seemed impossible,” said Yoes. “Although in some cases our differences remain, his open and sincere approach has created a working relationship based on mutual respect and understanding.”
And a separate group led by the GOP launched a $ 1 million “Confirm Gupta” campaign, highlighting Gupta’s bipartisan support in TV ads running in Maine, Alaska, West Virginia and other states whose senators may be the key to confirmation. .