Chief Justice, One of 6 or 7 Millionaires on Court, Sold Stock to Rule in Two Cases
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sold stock in two companies last year in a move that allowed him to participate in two cases before the Supreme Court, financial disclosure forms confirm.
Roberts sold stock in Cisco Systems and Citigroup before taking part in oral arguments in cases involving those companies, the Washington Post reports.
Roberts’ sale of Cisco Systems stock allowed him to vote with the majority in the 5-3 ruling in Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). It held that third parties are not liable for participating in corporate wrongdoing if they did not directly mislead investors. His sale of Citigroup stock allowed him to participate in the court’s 7-1 ruling in Credit Suisse Securities v. Billing, which held that the antitrust laws do not apply to initial public offerings, since they are extensively regulated by federal securities laws.
Roberts also sold all his shares in Becton Dickinson and Merck. In all, the stock he sold in four companies was worth between $117,000 to $265,000. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. also sold all of his stock in Intel Corp., valued at between $15,000 and $50,000, and reduced his holdings in three other companies.
The newspapers cited disclosures in the latest financial statements filed by the nine justices. Six of them, and possibly seven, are millionaires, depending on the value of the assets held by Alito, the Post story says. Justices Clarence Thomas and Anthony M. Kennedy have investments below that level.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter are the wealthiest members of the court, the New York Times reports. Ginsburg’s holdings are worth between $11 million and $50 million, and Souter’s are worth between some $6 million and $30 million.
The Times also reports that in 2007 Justice Clarence Thomas earned $500,000 in an advance for his book, My Grandfather’s Son. That brings to more than $1 million the total of advances he has reported for the autobiography.
