Congratulations, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo: You seem to be the "wealthiest statewide elected official," according to the NY Times and your tax returns. While Cuomo makes $151,000 as AG, his total reported income was $545,000, thanks to investments.
Governor David Paterson's 2007 income, combined with his wife's, was $269,815. Most notably, the Patersons only made one charitable donation: $150 in clothing to the Salvation Army. That works out to be 0.06% of their income, while Cuomo gave $14,000 (3%) to charities and State Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli gave $3,065, 2% of his $143,027 reported income.
State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno didn't pass judgment on Paterson's seemingly paltry charitable donation, "People have to make judgments as to what they do and whether or not to publicize what they do." Of course, Bruno and State Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver have, per Capitol Confidential, "have historically chosen not to make their returns public." Bruno and Silver work for, respectively a law firm and a consultancy and make additional income that way.
More fun facts: Cuomo made $1.5 million during the previous year, when he worked at a private law firm. And former governor Eliot Spitzer's 2006 reported income was almost $2 million, made up of his salary as attorney general, investments, and $1.4 million in rental income from his dad's real estate empire.
