US VP Vance reports millions from memoir

Washington: US Vice President JD Vance’s latest annual financial disclosure shows his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy remained his biggest private source of income, generating between $1 million and $5 million in royalties during the reporting period, alongside continuing earnings from foreign publishing rights, venture capital investments and a diversified investment portfolio.

The annual disclosure, filed with the US Office of Government Ethics, provides the first detailed picture of Vance’s personal finances since he assumed office as Vice President in January 2025. Unlike President Donald Trump’s disclosure, which was dominated by cryptocurrency and real estate businesses, Vance’s filing is centred on publishing income, venture capital interests and traditional investment holdings.

The filing shows that Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, published by HarperCollins, generated between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 in royalties. Vance also continued to receive advances and royalties from numerous overseas publishers through William Morris Endeavor.

Among the largest foreign publishing payments were a $59,500 advance from Beijing Mediatime Co., $55,000 from Germany’s Yes Publishing Pascale Breitenstein and Oliver Kuhn GbR, and $10,000 advances from Japan’s Kobun-sha Co. and Next Wave Publishing. The filing also reports additional advances and royalty payments from publishers in Lithuania, France, Brazil, Vietnam, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and other countries.

Beyond publishing, Vance continues to hold significant interests through JD Vance Enterprises LLC and venture capital firm Narya Capital. The disclosure lists investments in Narya Capital Fund I and Fund II, the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, carried-interest arrangements, management fee rights and related receivables, although several of those holdings reported little or no current income during the reporting period.

One interesting financial asset is a promissory note from Narya Capital Management LLC, valued between $500,001 and $1 million. This generated interest income ranging from $100,001 to $1 million during the reporting period.

The filing also details a sizeable investment portfolio. Vance reported holdings valued between $1 million and $5 million each in the Invesco QQQ Trust, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. He also disclosed investments in a Treasury bond fund and a gold exchange-traded fund, along with retirement accounts and college savings plans for his children.

Vance’s filing shows only limited exposure to cryptocurrency. He reported holding Bitcoin valued between $250,001 and $500,000 in a Coinbase account. It generated no reportable income during the reporting period.

Vance also disclosed a rental property in Washington valued between $500,001 and $1 million, which generated rental income of $15,001 to $50,000, along with residential property in Ohio and commercial real estate in Kentucky. The filing lists two liabilities: a mortgage with Navy Federal Credit Union and a Charles Schwab line of credit valued between $1 million and $5 million.

The disclosure reports no outside sources of compensation exceeding $5,000, no reportable gifts or travel reimbursements, and notes that Vance was granted a 45-day extension to file his annual financial disclosure.

IANS