BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte reported more than $23 million in income over the four years ending in 2022, as the former technology executive seeking re-election for a second term continues to rake in money from investments, according to tax records released by his campaign.
Democrat Ryan Busse, a former gun industry executive, is challenging Gianforte in November.
Gianforte spent more than $6 million of his own money on an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2016. After being elected to Congress in a special election in 2017, he ran for governor again four years ago, spending more than $7.5 million to defeat Democrat Mike Cooney by a wide margin, according to campaign finance reports.
Reports indicate that he has contributed approximately $47,000 to his campaign so far during this election campaign.
Most of Gianforte’s income since 2019 has come from investment gains, his tax returns show. He is paid about $120,000 a year for his job as governor.
Spokeswoman Anna Marian Block said Gianforte is honoring a “commitment to transparency” with Montanans by making his filings public.
Since 2005, Gianforte has reported income of more than $265 million, according to previous disclosures. Most of that money came after Oracle Corp. bought Gianforte’s Bozeman-based company, RightNow Technologies, for $1.8 billion.
Democrats and Gianforte’s Republican opponents in the 2020 primary tried unsuccessfully to turn Gianforte’s vast fortune into a liability, saying he was trying to buy the election.
Busse’s campaign refused to release his tax returns.
