In a recent development, Representative Ilhan Omar has publicly refuted a report by The Washington Free Beacon, which highlighted a significant increase in her personal wealth.
The Minnesota Democrat and her husband's fortune have reportedly surged to an estimated $30 million, according to her latest financial disclosure. However, Omar has dismissed these claims as "fake news."
"Another day, another lying headline about millions of dollars that apparently I have," Omar stated in a video shared on her Instagram account on Wednesday. The congresswoman took issue with the Free Beacon's assertion that her wealth has soared to $30 million.
She clarified, "If you look at the asset for $1 million to $5 million, the income is $5 to $15,000. And if you look at the asset for $5 million to $25 million, it says none right there." Omar emphasized the difference between the income generated from an asset in a given year and the value of the underlying asset, which is used to calculate personal wealth.
However, according to Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of Americans for Public Trust, Omar's video reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of wealth. "Net worth is more than cash in a bank account," Sutherland told the Free Beacon. "Rep. Omar should know it's the value of assets that makes someone a millionaire."
Omar's denial of her multimillionaire status comes amid scrutiny over a Free Beacon report that found her fortune had ballooned to as much as $30 million in 2024, marking an increase of at least 3,500 percent over her reported net worth in 2023. In her Instagram post, Omar challenged right-wing media to "try reading" and explained that the $6 million to $30 million valuation she reported for her husband Tim Mynett's businessesa California winery and a venture capital firmrepresent the "full cost assessment" of the firms rather than Mynett's individual share in them.
However, this explanation is not in line with the House Ethics Committee instructions, which require Omar to report only the value of her husband's ownership stake in the businesses, not the full value of the firms. This discrepancy has led Paul Kamenar, an attorney for the ethics watchdog National Legal and Policy Center, to question the validity of Omar's 2024 disclosure statement.
"She must amend her report to comply with the House instructions to show only the value of her husband's ownership share, otherwise allegations of her wealth are correct," Kamenar told the Free Beacon.
Omar's financial status has been a topic of debate before. She told Business Insider in February that it was "ridiculous" and "categorically false" to say she's worth more than a few thousand dollars. However, her own financial disclosure indicates that she and her husband were multimillionaires when she made that statement.
By the end of 2024, Omar and Mynett had accumulated a net worth ranging from at least $6 million to $30 million, derived almost entirely from the value of her husband's ownership stake in his winery and venture capital firm.
Mynett's venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital, previously advertised its expertise at structuring "legislation" on behalf of its clients and partners. However, all references to "legislation" were removed from its website following the Free Beacon report.
Mynett, who married Omar in 2020 while working as a consultant for her campaign, has since branched into the digital marketing, winery, and venture capital industries after his political consulting firm, E Street Group, drew intense scrutiny.
One of Mynett's firms, EStreetCo, was reported by the Free Beacon to have failed to pay its fair share of taxes in 2021. The IRS filed a tax lien against the company in January 2023 seeking nearly $206,000 in unpaid income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes accumulated in 2021.
A spokesman for EStreetCo confirmed that the bill had been paid in full, although no records showing the IRS has released the lien have been found.
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