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The governor's mother, Blanca Noel Taft, marrying Robert Taft, Jr., in 1939, was like a daughter to family friend Grace Hunt, who set up a trust for the Tafts. Mrs. Taft died in 1968.
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Trust contributed to $1.9M fortune

Trust contributed to $1.9M fortune

Worth roughly $1.9 million, Governor Bob Taft could easily afford a few rounds of golf.

Much of that fortune comes from an inheritance Mr. Taft received from a dear family friend.

Going back to financial disclosures in 1981, the Grace Hunt Testamentary Trust appears to have been the bedrock of Mr. Taft's income. Its holdings include stocks in Fortune 500 companies, corporate bonds, and U.S. government securities.

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When asked about the trust fund, Mark Rickel, the governor's press secretary, said, "It was established by a good friend of the governor's maternal grandmother for the governor and his siblings a long time ago."

The governor's sister, Sarah Taft Jones, said Grace Hunt was a friend of her grandmother, Natalie Duncan Noel, who joined them on holidays.

"She was a perfectly lovely lady with no children," Mrs. Taft Jones said. "My mother was like a daughter to her. Her intention was to leave her estate to my mother, but she predeceased her."

The governor's mother, Blanca Noel Taft, died of cancer in 1968.

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The exact amount of money contained in the trust is unknown because the Ohio Ethics Commission requires candidates and state employees to only disclose holdings of securities worth at least $1,000, but not the holdings' actual value.

The trust fund income has been supplemented by the $215,216 he inherited after his father, Robert Taft, Jr., died in 1993 and Mr. Taft's own investments.

Paid $130,933 in salary, Mr. Taft lives at the state's expense in the governor's residence, a three-story stone mansion with wood-paneled rooms in the Columbus suburb of Bexley.

Mr. Taft also receives gifts from visiting dignitaries and state officials. During his tenure, as governor, these gifts have regularly included Ohio State football tickets and a Christmas-gift weekend trip paid for by his staff.

However, Mr. Taft's political and personal fortunes have always been tied to his family. Taft family members have participated in Ohio and national politics for the past 150 years.

His great-grandfather, William Howard Taft, was president and, later, chief justice of the Supreme Court. His grandfather Robert A. Taft was nicknamed "Mr. Republican" for his work as majority leader in the U.S. Senate. His father was also a congressman and U.S. senator.

"The Tafts haven't always been great politicians, but they've always been good administrators," said Ray Henderson, curator at the William Howard Taft Historic Site. "And that's what pulled them through."

With each move up the political food chain, Mr. Taft has sold his home. After being elected Ohio secretary of state, he sold his three-bedroom Cincinnati home for $275,000 in 1991. When he became governor, Mr. Taft sold his 3,274-square-foot house in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard for $377,000.

Mr. Taft will inherit part of his family's estate in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill when his father's third wife, Joan, dies. Built in 1890, the house has seven bedrooms and sits on 32 acres.

At the time of Mr. Taft's father's death in 1993, appraisers valued the house and property at $3 million, according to court records. The estate will be divided by Mr. Taft, his brother, and his two sisters.

The estimate of Mr. Taft's wealth at $1.9 million is based on the last-known disclosure of his income taxes. Based on the dividends Mr. Taft earned in 1996 from his investments, it was possible to approximate the value of his assets today.

Contact Joshua Boak at: jboak@theblade.com or 419-724-6168.

First Published June 26, 2005, 11:33 a.m.

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The governor's mother, Blanca Noel Taft, marrying Robert Taft, Jr., in 1939, was like a daughter to family friend Grace Hunt, who set up a trust for the Tafts. Mrs. Taft died in 1968.
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