TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist's personal bottom line barely budged in 2008, a year in which he remarried and maintained his status as the least affluent statewide officeholder in Florida.
The self-styled "people's governor" does not own a home or have any credit card debt.
Crist listed a net worth of $466,000 in a statement and tax return prepared by his accountant and filed with the Commission on Ethics by a July 1 deadline. Crist owed the IRS $1,438 after paying less income tax than required.
Crist's net worth showed a slight increase over his bottom line of $457,000 filed a year ago, a reflection of modest growth in savings accounts held in a revocable trust.
The trust is managed by two men: Crist's father, Dr. Charles Crist, and Robert Martinez, a Coral Gables lawyer, former U.S. attorney in Miami and member of the state Board of Education who oversaw Crist's transition into office on Jan. 2, 2007.
Crist's biggest assets are in savings: an individual retirement account worth $135,000 and an investment account worth $104,000. The two funds grew by a total of about $7,000 over the previous year.
As a state employee with about a decade of full-time employment, Crist also has $72,000 in deferred compensation.
The famously frugal Crist reports no credit card debt or car payments. He left blank the section of his financial statement that requires disclosure of any debt over $1,000.
Crist rents an apartment in St. Petersburg and lists the value of his household goods and personal effects at $125,000.
As governor, Crist lives for free in the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee and has round-the-clock access to a state-owned vehicle and airplane. His only income is his salary as governor, which was $133,000 in 2008.
Crist's tax return lists his occupation as "Florida elected government official" and lists his parents' St. Petersburg address as his home address. It also notes that he is married and filing separately from his wife, Carole Lynn Crist.
The tax return, prepared by the Clearwater accounting firm of Kirkland, Russ, Murphy & Tapp, included a deduction of $1,104 for payment of state and local sales taxes.
Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
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