Florida Governor Rick Scott's Net Worth Dropped Again in 2011

He reported that he had a net worth of nearly $83 million by the end of the year

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a multimillionaire who bankrolled most of his successful campaign in 2010, says he's worth less money now than he was just before he entered office.

But his financial disclosure report filed late Friday also shows that that the former hospital chain CEO earned nearly $26 million from his investments during his first 12 months as governor, more than double what he earned in 2010.

A spokesman for Scott on Friday could not explain the apparent contradiction. Nor could he explain why the disclosure form did not list the 60 acres and home that the governor purchased last year in Montana.

Scott, who is required by law to submit an annual report on his finances, reported that he had a net worth of nearly $83 million at the end of 2011. That's down from the $103 million net worth he reported at the end of 2010.

When Scott first filed to run for governor, he declared he had a net worth of $218 million. But then he spent tens of millions on his own money during a contentious Republican primary and the subsequent general election campaign.

In the summer of 2010, Scott submitted a tax return with his first financial disclosure report. But Scott did not attach a tax return in 2011 and this year, opting instead to file a two-page form and a three-page list of his assets and income sources. The inclusion of a tax return with the disclosure form is optional; the filing deadline is July 1.

On his latest form, Scott listed assets that include a beachfront home in Naples worth just under $9 million and $71.5 million held in a blind trust managed on behalf of the governor.

Scott, who has refused to accept a salary for his work as governor, also reported that most of the money he earned last year was investment income from the trust. He also earned $1.7 million from Photo Etch, a contractor that manufactures control panels and other equipment for military and commercial planes.

Some of Scott's investment holdings have drawn scrutiny. In January 2011, he transferred stock in Solantic, a chain of urgent care clinics he helped start, to a trust fund for his wife Ann. But amid continued questions of potential conflicts, those shares in the company were bought in June 2011 by the New York investment firm of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

There is nothing in the governor's latest report — which does not include information on the trust fund controlled by his wife — about how much money was earned by the sale.

Another controversial investment appears to also been dropped by Scott. He no longer lists any holdings in Quepasa Corp., a social network company that recently changed its name to MeetMe Inc.

The Christian Family Coalition in 2010 criticized Scott for investing in the company.

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