Bennett's wealth levels after years of decline

After multiple years of declining wealth, the financial outlook for Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, steadied in 2004.

Bennett's finances were still saddled by the ownership of Watermark Corp., which owned two Anniversary Inns in Salt Lake, in the personal financial disclosure the senator released Monday. The disclosures are officially due in June each year for all members of Congress, but the senator filed for a 90-day extension.

According to this year's disclosure, Bennett's wealth is between a negative $23.2 million and a positive $27.7 million when his debts and assets are tallied. The forms have very broad categories for asset value and income, such as $1,000,001 to $5 million, which accounts for the large discrepancy of the numbers.

At the request of the Deseret Morning News, Mary Jane Collipriest, Bennett's press secretary, narrowed it down to between $1 million and $5 million. Bennett was on vacation and unable to discuss his fi nances Monday.

"(His) net worth is in the same range as in last year's filing," she said.

The numbers have leveled out when compared with his 2003 filing, which reflected 2002's finances. In that one, the range was as far down as a negative $39.05 million and only rose to $22.6 million.

Still, the disclosures show the burden that was placed on his ownership of Watermark. Although he is only listed as a one-third partner, he retained a 100 percent priority right to all of the company's assets and would receive any money from the sale of the company's assets until all the obligations to Bennett were met by the company. Those obligations included guarantees on loans for the two Salt Lake Anniversary Inns, amounts which were as high as $25 million, according to the forms.

The Anniversary Inns, which cater to couples, have struggled for the past few years, including a failure to pay property taxes in 2003 and 2004. Watermark sold both of the properties earlier this month for an undisclosed amount to a company that previously purchased properties in Boise owned by Watermark. The delinquent property taxes and fines, which totaled approximately $325,000, were paid by the buyer.

Collipriest did not have an estimate of Bennett's net wealth following the Anniversary Inn sales. Those will be reflected in next year's filings.

Despite the burdens of Watermark, Bennett was still active with his investing money. In July 2004, he purchased property in Salt Lake costing between $500,001 and $1 million. That property brought him between $5,001 and $15,000 in rental revenue.