Already a millionaire? Likely next Fed chair already is

Lawrence Summers may be a poster-child for the lucrative revolving door between Wall Street and Washington. But Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen, his chief opponent in the tight race to replace Ben Bernanke at the helm of the US central bank, is not exactly struggling financially.

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Yellen, a former university professor who until recently was seen as a favourite to take the top spot at the Fed when Bernanke's second term ends early next year, holds assets worth between USD 3.8 million and USD 11.1 million, according to 2012 disclosure forms released on Tuesday. Including the holdings of her husband, a nobel-prize-winning economist, she owns between USD 4.8 million and USD 13.2 million worth of assets.

That is well short of the USD 7.2 million to USD 24.5 million range reported by Summers, a former Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and ex-adviser to President Barack Obama, in his most recent government disclosure form covering 2010.

Yet given that both are multi-millionaires, the gap is hardly large enough to become a sticking point in what has become an unusually contentious and public campaign for the central bank's leadership. Both Yellen and Summers are considerably wealthier than Bernanke, who held between USD 1.1 million and USD 2.3 million in assets last year.

Critics of Summers say his work at Citigroup and hedge fund DE Shaw over the years make him too close to the financial industry the Fed is supposed to oversee. Supporters, however, argue that his understanding of Wall Street could prove invaluable in a crisis.

Summers opponents also criticize him for his role in the financial deregulation of the 1990s that many now blame for creating the financial crisis of 2007-2009.

Both Summers and Yellen are considered top-notch economists. At the Fed, Yellen has been very active in developing and honing the central bank's unconventional policy tools and communications policy.

Yellen, who reported owning a stamp collection worth between USD 15,000 to USD 50,000, would become the first woman to ever lead one of the world's major central banks if nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate.

Much of Yellen's wealth was invested in stocks, including Conoco Phillips and Raytheon, as well as a number of different retirement funds. Yellen's detractors see her as too "dovish" on monetary policy, worrying she may be too soft about fighting inflation because of a strong desire to bring down unemployment.