Gov. Bruce Rauner and wife Diana Rauner made about $103 million less in 2016 than they did in 2015, but it was far from a lean year for the state’s first family as they reported a joint taxable income of $73.3 million, according to federal tax returns released by the governor’s office on Tuesday.
The Rauners paid $22.9 million in taxes last year — $19.5 million to the federal government, and $3.3 million to the state — at a rate of about 26 percent, the documents show.
It was a sharp drop from the $176 million in taxable income they reported for 2015, when they paid about $50 million in taxes. But business largely has been booming for the couple this decade.
The couple reported $90,707,917 in adjusted gross income for 2016 — before deductions and other reductions.
Rauner hit windfalls as a private equity manager and venture capitalist before launching his political career. He reported a total income of about $27.1 million in 2010, $28.1 million in 2011, $53.4 million in 2012 and $60.8 million in 2013.
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In 2014, when he made his successful run for governor, the Rauners made $58 million in total income.
Rauner has never made public their full returns, though, which would include schedules he filed to claim exemptions and donations other than those to his foundation. According to the governor’s office, they gave more than $6.6 million in charitable contributions in 2016.
The governor has funneled a huge chunk of his fortune into his political campaign, giving $50 million over the last year even without a Republican primary challenger.
