Haley will leave UN ambassador’s office with up to $1 million in debt

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley will leave her post as United Nations ambassador with a burnished national reputation. But she also will be leaving public service with up to $1 million in debt.

The former South Carolina governor’s personal finances are detailed in her public financial disclosure as ambassador. Haley’s debts include a string of liabilities incurred over her years in the Trump administration and state government.

Last year, Nikki Haley and husband, Michael Haley, took on more than $1 million in mortgage debt for an investment-rental property, the 2017 disclosure shows. The Haleys took over a Lexington commercial property with an outstanding mortgage previously owned by the ambassador’s parents.

That property was sold by the Haleys in January 2018 for $1.2 million, more than enough to pay off the mortgage.

However, the Haleys — who also have two college-age children — have other debts as well.

In her disclosure, Haley reported she has a personal 30year mortgage of between $250,000 and $500,000, and a line of credit of up to $500,000. Haley also reported debt on two credit cards as liabilities, one with between $10,000 and $15,000 owed on it, the other with $15,000 to $50,000 owed.

Haley reported earning $9,759 as governor in 2017, before she resigned in January to join the Trump administration, as well as a bank account with between $1,000 and $15,000 in it. She also listed her state retirement account as an asset. She did not report any income from her 2012 memoir “Can’t Is Not An Option,” saying its value was “not readily ascertainable.”

Michael Haley reported a bank balance of from $15,000 to $50,000, and between $50,000 and $100,000 in rental income from the Lexington property before it was sold.

It is unclear what Haley’s next move will be when she leaves the U.N. post at the end of the year, but she could transition to a lucrative privatesector job.

“The rewards after two successful terms as governor could be great, whether that means serving on boards and commissions or something else,” said former South Carolina Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson. “I’m not sure if that’s why she did it. But I know those opportunities will be available.”