Gov. Rick Scott's net worth likely sits at more than $500 million, a fortune that includes assets held by his wife, Ann, and in a blind trust he created when he became governor in 2010. | Getty Scott puts another $18M of personal money into Senate bid

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has poured another $18 million of his personal wealth into his Senate campaign since early August, as he continues to fuel his challenge to Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson using largely his own money.

Overall, Scott has put nearly $40 million of his own money into the race, a fight with big implications for control of the Senate after the 2018 midterms.


During the last reporting period, Scott raised $23.5 million, boosting the total he has brought in — including personal cash — to nearly $54 million. Scott has spent most of that, and is now sitting on $2 million cash on hand.

Scott's net worth likely sits at more than $500 million, a fortune that includes assets held by his wife, Ann, and in a blind trust he created when he became governor in 2010. Because of federal reporting requirements, Scott for the first time this year had to report Ann’s assets, which significantly increased the family’s reported net worth. Because candidates are only required to report ranges of an asset’s net worth, it remains unclear how much Scott is actually worth.

Nelson — who has not yet filed his most recent report, which covers Aug. 8 to Sept. 30 — has been swamped by Scott’s wave of campaign cash. He has, however, raised more individual contributions. Outside of personal cash, Scott’s campaign has brought in nearly $16 million, compared to the $18 million raised by Nelson this election cycle.

Scott’s personal wealth has long been a part of his political identity. In his first race, Scott used $75 million of his own money to become governor, and spent $15 million at the very end of his re-election bid to eke out a win against now-Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist. In both cases, Scott won by roughly one point, underscoring the close nature of Florida statewide races.

Those dynamics are again at play in 2018. Nelson has far fewer resources, but is leading by 2.4 percentage points in the RealClear Politics average of polls. Nelson has had marginal leads in the last three polls included in the average.

