Ben Bernanke’s portfolio bounced back along with the stock market last year.
Bernanke (right), the Federal Reserve chairman, and his family owned financial assets valued at between $1.2 million and $2.5 million at the end of 2009, according to financial disclosures released by the Fed Friday. That’s up from a range of $850,000 to $1.9 million at Dec. 31, 2008.
The rise brings Bernanke’s holdings back in line with their 2007 levels, tracking the fall and rise of the stock market. The S&P 500 index rose 23% last year after plunging nearly 40% the year before.
Bernanke’s biggest gains were in two retirement accounts he holds thanks to the years he spent as a professor at Princeton, a Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association guaranteed annuity and a College Retirement Equity Fund variable annuity that’s invested in large-cap stocks.
The value of both accounts rose last year to a range of $500,000 to $1 million from half those sums the year before.
Bernanke also has accounts at SunTrust Bank and a retirement account with Vanguard. He also got as much as $1 million in royalties each from Pearson and McGraw-Hill on textbooks he helped write. His annual salary is $199,700.
Top executive branch officials, including those employed by the Federal Reserve Board, must report their financial position annually under the Ethics in Government Act.