After Senate, Santorum Got Rich on Consulting Gigs

A funny thing happened between the end of Rick Santorum’s Senate career and his now-ascendant presidential run: He became a millionaire. Santorum has oft touted his blue collar upbringing, and when he left the Hill in 2006 he was indeed one of its least wealthy denizens, with assets valued between $20,000 and $125,000. But in 2007 he bought a $2 million, 5,000-square-foot home, Bloomberg reports. Between January 2010 and August 2011 alone he made $1.3 million, financial disclosure forms show.

That money came primarily from consulting contracts with Consol Energy, a faith-based advocacy group called Clapham Group, and a Washington consulting firm called American Continental Group. He also made $395,414 in fees and stock options from Universal Health Services—a health care firm that Bloomberg notes was sued by the government for Medicaid fraud in 2010. Santorum became a UHS board member after leaving the Senate, and a fellow member says he “came with a lot of knowledge about the health industry." Santorum resigned in June to prepare for his presidential run. (More Rick Santorum stories.)