Ben Carson, the 2016 GOP presidential candidate, earned between $8.9 million and $27 million over a recent 16-month period, mainly from book royalties, speaking engagements, and his role on the board of directors for two major companies.
The Wall Street Journal reported the figures based on its analysis of a personal financial disclosure it obtained.
From the beginning of 2014 through May 3, 2015, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon delivered 141 paid speeches, earning just over $4 million. On May 4 he announced his
presidential bid, and since the announcement he has continued to deliver paid speeches that had been booked before his campaign launch.
He is expected to deliver four more speeches this year, a spokesman told the newspaper. The highest amount he earned for a single speech was $44,500 from the Fort Worth Christian School in Texas.
Carson also earned between $2 million and $10 million during that period serving on the boards of Kellogg Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp. He resigned the positions after launching his candidacy.
His earnings from book royalties were somewhere between $1.1 million and $6 million, the Journal said. He also brought in between $200,000 and $2 million from his positions as a contributor at the Washington Times and Fox News, the disclosure indicated.
The Journal said that if Carson earned in the upper range of the estimates, his earnings could come close to the $30 million that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and her husband earned over a similar time period.
Presidential candidates are obligated to file personal financial disclosure statements for the year leading up to their campaigns which show their income, assets and liabilities.
Of the candidates who have released financial disclosure forms so far, Carson is among the wealthiest, though
former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina reported her net worth at $59 million.