Kemp Releases Tax Records; He’s Worth at Least $5 Million

On the campaign trail, GOP vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp says he wants an America so full of opportunity that anyone can achieve great wealth. His income tax forms, released Thursday, show that Kemp himself has already made that financial leap.

Through speaking fees of up to $25,000 a shot, positions on dozens of corporate boards and a hefty stock portfolio, Kemp has boosted his income significantly since leaving government at the end of the Bush Administration and is now worth between $5 million and $6 million, his records show.

Kemp’s health records, also released Thursday, show that he was in “excellent overall health” at his last physical exam, with only a minor problem with gastritis caused in part by an over-the-counter medication, Dr. W. Tabb Moore of Georgetown University Medical Center said in a statement.

Kemp will put his assets in a blind trust in the coming days, aides said. He has already resigned from all the corporate boards and retains positions on only 13 nonprofit boards, such as Howard University and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

In the three years from 1993 to 1995, Kemp earned almost $7 million, primarily on the speakers’ circuit, delivering addresses to such groups as the American Assn. of Retired Persons, Colorado Ski Country USA, Deloitte & Touche, Taco Bell and the United Jewish Appeal. In 1995 alone, he spoke to more than 130 groups. By contrast, the vice president earns $163,000.

Asked about his medical and tax forms during a campaign appearance in Johnstown, Pa., Kemp told reporters: “I feel great. I’m ready to go back to the NFL. . . . I tell you what I need--that 15% tax cut.”