Poor no more: Herman Cain’s net worth in the millions

Herman Cain has said he was “po’” before he was poor. But he’s not anymore.

According to recently certified financial disclosure forms, the former pizza chain executive has an estimated net worth of somewhere between $2.9 million and $6.8 million.

The disclosure forms, which are required of all presidential candidates, show that Cain has benefited from his business acumen with investments in corporations such as Whirlpool and Coca-Cola. And he’s been paid six-figure salaries for sitting on the boards of Whirlpool, Hallmark Cards and agricultural concern Agco.

In addition to his assets and income from his service as a corporate director, Cain over the last 20 months received $165,000 for his work as the host of a radio program in Atlanta.

His wealth is such that he was able to loan his presidential campaign $675,000.

The former chief executive of the Godfather’s Pizza chain valued his remaining assets in the chain at between $100,000 and $250,000 and his shares in Coke in a similar range. He valued two blocks of Whirlpool holdings at somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000.

Cain’s net worth is, of course, dwarfed by that of Mitt Romney, whose worth is estimated at $190 million to $250 million, but it compares favorably with those of Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, both of whom are at the bottom of the range among the Republican presidential field, with assets near $1 million.

Jon Huntsman, another candidate with a deep background in business and, like Romney, a scion of a wealthy family, is estimated to have a net worth of between $16 million and $71 million.

This year, President Obama and Michele Obama reported assets valued at $2.8 million to $11.8 million.

Cain, 65, has often spoken of his hardscrabble upbringing in Georgia. His father was a barber, janitor and chauffeur, his mother a cleaning woman. He said that as a child he was “poor but happy.” He went on to work at Coke, Pillsbury and Burger King before joining the Godfather’s chain, while also serving for a time as chairman of the board for the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.