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Florida Bulldog

Rick Scott, the nation’s richest senator, gets millions of dollars richer

richest senator
Rick Scott with wife Ann and daughter Allison Guimard after winning election to the U.S. Senate in November 2018. Photo: PBS/YouTube

By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org

Florida’s Rick Scott, the nation’s wealthiest senator, just got between $15 million and $75 million richer, according to a financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. Senate last week.

Republican Scott and his wife, Ann, sold their individual stakes in Valterra Products Holdings LLC, a North American provider of services and aftermarket products and accessories for the recreational vehicle (RV) industry, to Swedish mobile living giant Dometic Group AB.

Dometic, a publicly traded company based in Stockholm with net sales in 2019 of $2.17 billion, announced its acquisition of Valterra on April 22. The sale price was not disclosed, but was “fully financed by cash on hand,” according to a Dometic press release.

Dometic did disclose that Valterra’s 2020 sales were approximately $94 million, with an operating margin and an organic sales growth of 12 percent. Valterra has 550 employees in California, Florida and British Columbia, and a manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Because federal disclosure rules are vague, requiring only that elected officials value the purchase and sale of assets within wide ranges, precisely how much the Scotts made on the Valterra deal is not known.

For example, last week’s report says a trio of Valterra securities sales – two by Ann Scott and one by Rick Scott – closed on May 25. Each sale was valued at an amount between $5 million and $25 million, and each block of shares was “held through an investment fund,” the disclosure report says.

Take-away by richest senator

To get a better idea as to the Scotts’ take-away, Florida Bulldog examined Securities and Exchange Commission filings by a Connecticut investment advisory firm that manages tens of millions of dollars in Scott family assets.

Florida Bulldog reported in 2014 that then-Gov. Scott and his wife acquired their Valterra holdings in May 2013 via G. Scott Capital Partners LLC, also known as Scott Capital Partners. The deal was accomplished using two limited liability corporations that Scott Capital’s SEC filings then valued at $11.5 million.

Two months ago, on April 30, 2021, Scott Capital reported in another SEC filing that it was holding a “single-purpose” private fund, GSCP Valterra LLC, with a gross asset value of $69.3 million at the end of 2020. Scott Capital also disclosed that GSCP Valterra LLC had nine beneficial owners, but did not name them or identify the size of their interests.

Sen. Scott’s annual report for 2019, filed in August 2020, shows that Valterra also paid handsome dividends. The senator reported receiving between $100,000 and $1 million in dividends that year. Ann Scott reported that one batch of her Valterra shares paid her more than $1 million in dividends in 2019. Her second tranche paid between $100,000 and $1 million the same year.

In April 2020, the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics examined the personal finances of senators and representatives in Washington and calculated their estimated net worth. “Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is the wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million in net assets. Scott dethroned Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) for the top spot after he won election in 2018, despite injecting nearly $64 million of his own money into his campaign,” the center wrote.

The Valterra deal will certainly spike Scott’s net worth. For example, the senator’s most recent annual financial disclosure form listed Ann Scott’s twin Valterra holdings as being worth only “over $1 million” apiece. Last week’s sale notice raised the total value of those holdings to between $10 million and $50 million.

Sen. Scott has several committee assignments, including the Armed Services Committee, Homeland Security and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee — and is the ranking member of its Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade and Export Promotion. He has yet to file his annual disclosure report for 2020. It was due May 17, but like last year, Scott obtained a 90 day extension. His 2020 report is now due no later than Aug. 15.

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Comments

21 responses to “Rick Scott, the nation’s richest senator, gets millions of dollars richer”

  1. […] Read full Story ➤ Share196Tweet123Share49 Previous Post […]

  2. A man with so much money spreading lies and disinformation to what end? He’s a crook and some Floridians thought that was who they wanted to represent them in Washington. Meanwhile he doesn’t represent the truth or the best interests of Floridians. Skeletor needs to be retired like his orange friend.

  3. His ends is the White House. All the crazies Scott, Cruz, Hawley they’re in it for one thing becoming President of the United States.

  4. Frances Mullane Avatar
    Frances Mullane

    He has been a crook for decades and Floridians keep voting for him. I don’t know if that says more about him or more about those who vote for him..

  5. A simple google search will prove he stole millions from Medicare. His office at HCA will document the day they feds raided his Largo, FL office just prior to his entrance into the political arena.

  6. […] problem just happens to be the U.S. Senate’s richest senator, Rick Scott of […]

  7. […] problem just happens to be the U.S. Senate's richest senator, Rick Scott of […]

  8. […] problem just happens to be the U.S. Senate’s richest senator, Rick Scott of […]

  9. Sorry to bust some of your bubbles, but Rick Scott is a hard working common sense smart businessman from a very poor upbringing who was elected to office.

  10. […] Scott (R-FL), the richest Senator leads the Republican campaign to win back the Senate. Scott loved Medicare and Medicaid when he was […]

  11. […] the richest man in the U.S. Senate, posited that “rich kid” Joe Biden doesn’t understand inflation because he’s out of touch […]

  12. […] — the richest man in the U.S. Senate — posited that “rich kid” Joe Biden doesn’t understand inflation because he’s out of […]

  13. […] — the richest man in the U.S. Senate — posited that “rich kid” Joe Biden doesn’t understand inflation because […]

  14. Well all the people in Florida will really find out how good Scott is for them. When he gets Social Security and Medicare on a sunset law where every five years congress has to vote to keep their benefits.
    Guys with 200 million don’t care if you get your $1500 a month. The retired people in Florida may be conservative but they are greatly misinformed on the people they elected.

  15. People seem to forget that Scott funded his bid for governor (Florida) with his own money. Correct me if wrong but he spent some 80 million dollars of his own money to become Florida’s governor, a position that doesn’t even pay 250,000. What’s that tell you. It’s all about the back door hand shakes. Just another crook in a suit. And let’s not forget the company Scott sold just before the feds brought charges of fraudulent billing

  16. Robert Pott Avatar

    Rick Scott
    A corrupt self serving lawyer, how unusual. I don’t get it, if you have money and you steal money, people still vote for you if you lie and ignore truth and reality. Sort of the opposite perspective of morals. I would just like politicians who do their job and work for constituents, not their own interest.
    Medicare fraud, strategic resignations, financing elections with stolen money, money laundering through the Cayman Islands, investments with special knowledge from committee he serves on and blind trusts run by former friends and lawyers. Rick Scott is the richest senator presently in congress. In the near past he has been a loyal sycophant to the loser, former present Trump. Rick Scott, sycophant, a liar and ring kisser.How appropriate Rick Scott wants to follow in Trumps fat footsteps and become president. Recently Rick Scott has proposed taxing the poor. Business men harvesting the alms of the poor. It is insulting that we the constituents of Florida are subjected to Rick Scott, a perceived self serving lawyer and profiteer. Being a lawyer, businessman and politician does not give you carte blanc that you are above the law.
    Appropriate that Rick Scott lives in Port Royal a haunt of crooks and pirates.
    We need to vote Marco Rubio, Florida Senator and Rick Scott Florida Senator out. Don’t worry republicans they have enough money to retire on, it is stolen and mismanaged from their constituents. That’s my opinion.

  17. […] Scott complained that “they won’t be honest with the American public,” the America’s richest senator expressed concern that “Wall Street has been doing really well” while average Americans […]

  18. Not a fan of Senator Scott, and did not vote for him. He seems to be interested in the needs of the few and not the needs of the many. Is any person republican or Democrat really worth that much money? I am inclined to think not. I am hoping and praying that he will not be reelected next time around.

  19. Scott is going for your social security checks. Take care not to reelect this crooked selfish scum.
    Once a crook always a crook!

  20. […] anything substantive and even repealed the one major step it took. Then a new governor, Rick “I’m Rich in Dollars But Not in Sense” Scott, came along and killed off all the springs cleanup work. Hey, it’s not like we need […]

  21. […] Floridian referred to as the richest man in the Senate is crying foul over excessive pay for agricultural […]

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