Obama’s assets valued at between $2.6 million and $8.3 million

WASHINGTON -- His book sales may be slowing, but President Obama appears to be on solid financial footing.

The president reported assets that could exceed $8 million, according to financial disclosure forms released by the White House on Tuesday.

Obama’s precise net worth is impossible to discern from the forms, which require public officials to report assets and liabilities only within broad ranges. The forms showed assets of between $2.6 million and $8.3 million.

Obama listed a JPMorgan Chase checking account valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, notable as the bank faces federal regulator scrutiny for a $2-billion trading loss. He reported two Vanguard retirement accounts and considerable investment in Treasury notes — between $1 million and $5 million.

The president, who has recently tried to woo young voters by talking up college affordability and low interest rates for school loans, appears to be bracing for high tuition costs himself. Obama reported two college saving accounts, presumably one for each of his two daughters, each valued at between $100,000 and $200,000.

Obama, who has made much of his wealth through book sales, saw those sales slouch in 2011. Royalties from his memoir, “Dream From My Father,” came in at between $100,001 and $1 million last year, down from between $1 million and $5 million in 2010. Royalties from Obama’s book “Audacity of Hope” also fell from between $100,001 to $1 million to as low as $50,000.

The Obamas’ only liability is the mortgage on their Chicago home, according to the report. Obama listed the loan as valued at between $500,001 and $1 million. He pays a 5.625% interest rate.

kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com

Original source: Obama’s assets valued between $2.6 million and $8.3 million