PHILADELPHIA — Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has derided big technology companies as a “cartel” and boasted about taking on the Silicon Valley giants as he campaigns in Pennsylvania.
But he’s also deeply invested in them.
Oz’s personal financial disclosure report, filed Wednesday night, shows millions of dollars in Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft stock. Those are just part of a massive array of assets, from equities to real estate, that come from both his own career as a surgeon and TV star, and his wife’s significant family fortune.
The candidate and his wife have assets worth between $104 million and $422 million, and possibly much more, the report shows, enough to make him one of the wealthiest members of the Senate if he’s elected. Their total debts range from $8 million to $36 million, though almost all of that is owed to a family trust or to Oz’s mother and father-in-law. Some $1 million to $5 million of that amount is owed to Charles Schwab.
Exact figures can’t be determined because the Senate forms require candidates to report only broad ranges of assets and debts. Some of the line-items have no upper bound on their value, making it impossible to know exactly how far his wealth extends.
The report shows Oz made about $10 million in earned income last year alone, mostly through his media company, and not counting investment returns or dividends. Another $1.6 million to $10 million came from investments and other sources.
The disclosure, as Oz seeks the Republican Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, offers the first detailed look at the wealth and investments of the surgeon and TV celebrity widely known as “Dr. Oz.” His personal wealth has powered his campaign and made him one of the top GOP candidates in one of the country’s most crucial Senate races.
The report show that Oz’s wealth dwarfs that of two other multi-millionaire GOP candidates, Jeff Bartos and Carla Sands. But another ultra-wealthy contender, Dave McCormick, isn’t required to file his disclosure until later this month. Until recently, McCormick led the world’s largest hedge fund, and his wealth is also likely to be massive.
Here are some highlights from Oz’s report:
Oz has a lot of tech stocks
Oz, casting himself as a “conservative outsider,” has repeatedly railed against “big tech,” including calling the industry a “cartel.”
“I’ve gone to battle with big tech,” he told Fox News on the day he launched his campaign.
But he and his wife own between $1.25 million and $5.5 million in stock in Alphabet, the parent company of Google. They have $6 million to $27 million invested in Amazon, between $1.7 million and $6.55 million in Microsoft, and between $1.3 million to $5.7 million in Apple.
As Oz has also talked about challenging “big pharma,” the report shows investments in the likes of Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“You can own stocks and still be critical of a company, look at Elon Musk,” Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick said.
Oz bought a Pennsylvania home after long living in New Jersey
Oz has faced sharp questions about his ties to Pennsylvania, since he has lived in New Jersey for decades and moved to his in-laws’ Montgomery County home in late 2020. His disclosure shows that he and his wife bought a home in the same county, in Huntingdon Valley, in February. Public records show they paid $3.1 million for what Realtor.com lists as an 8 bedroom, 7 1/2 bath home on 34 acres.
Oz is still living at his in-laws’ home while the new house is renovated, Yanick said.
That’s in addition to the couple’s two multi-million dollar mansions in North Jersey, and a Palm Beach, Florida, house worth tens of millions of dollars, according to Zillow.
They also own a farm in Florida valued at between $1 million and $5 million, and at least $250,000 worth of cattle.
Oz owns Wawa stock, not Sheetz
Oz and his wife own between $6 million and $30 million in nonpublic Wawa stock. Fitting with her family’s long history in Southeastern Pennsylvania, they have no holdings in Sheetz.
Neither company is publicly traded.
Oz’s ties to Turkey
Oz’s opponents have raised questions about his ties abroad, since he holds dual citizenship with Turkey. The report shows an already-known endorsement deal with Turkish Airlines, though it doesn’t say what the contract is worth. And it shows that Oz holds several investment properties in Turkey, including one he says he leases to the country’s Ministry of Education for a dormitory.
Some of his assets in Turkey are subject to an ongoing legal dispute with his sister.
Oz has said he would renounce his Turkish citizenship if he’s elected.
The family tree company
The report shows that Oz and his wife own at least $11.5 million, and possibly far more, in the Asplundh Tree company, an international outfit founded in 1928 by his wife’s family.
The company has come under fire from GOP rivals because of massive immigration violations that resulted in a record $95 million fine in 2017. Oz’s campaign has said he has no role in the company’s day-to-day operations.
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Staff writers Ryan Briggs and Aseem Shukla contributed to this article.
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