Michels’ riches give him major advantage
Wealth allows him to keep ads on air in race
MADISON – Tim Michels jumped into the race for governor late and he’s trying to make up for lost time by filling the airwaves with ads.
The Republican from Chenequa can afford to keep a heavy presence on the airwaves as long as he likes.
Michels’ tax records offer a glimpse of just how wealthy the construction company co-owner is. In 2020, he owed $3.7 million in state income taxes — an amount that suggests he reported income of tens of millions of dollars that year.
Since 2010, he’s owed more than $1 million in state income taxes five other times, records show.
Recent years have been particularly good for Michels’ bottom line. He owed $1.7 million in 2018 and $1.9 million in 2019, according to records from the state Department of Revenue.
Getting a precise handle on Michels’ income is impossible because state law allows the release of only income tax liabilities — and not of tax returns, which show income, capital gains and other information.
The data that has been released is enough to show Michels is extremely rich.
“He’s in the top few percent in the country making that kind of money,” said Chuck Konkol, a semi-retired certified public accountant who for years taught at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. “He’s clearly a superwealthy successful man. Just from a business standpoint, he must be making a ton of money.”
Chris Walker, an adviser to Michels’ campaign, said Michels’ tax bills have fluctuated over the years based on what was happening with Brownsville-based Michels Corp., the pipeline and road construction
business he co-owns with his brothers.
“Owning and running a business means there are ebbs and flows that impact tax liabilities year to year,” Walker said in a statement. “Like the vast majority of his fellow Wisconsinites, Tim Michels has always paid what he owed.”
Last month, Michels said he would divest himself from the family business to avoid conflicts of interest if he wins the race for governor. The company has received $660 million in state contracts over the past five years.
Michels’ personal wealth gives him an advantage in the race for governor because he can run nonstop ads.
He latched onto that approach from the moment he got in the race late last month. He spent about $2.8 million on ads during his first month in the race, according to those tracking ad spending.
He’s used his ads in part to present a regular-guy persona. One spot shows an unshaven Michels driving a vehicle with his sleeves rolled up saying, “I think the lobbyists are not going to like me at all.”
Michels has said he won’t accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees. He is declining to take donations of more than $500 even though state law allows donations of up to $20,000.
Running in the Aug. 9 primary are Michels, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, management consultant Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun, of Campbellsport. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November.
Michels’ Republican opponents are far less wealthy than he is. For 2020 state income taxes, Kleefisch owed $8,500, Nicholson owed $62,600 and Ramthun owed $3,800, records show.
Evers’ income tax records were not immediately available. As governor, he makes about $153,000 a year.
Nicholson’s taxes suggest he reported income of more than $800,000 in 2020.
Income at that level would put Nicholson far above the median household income in Wisconsin of about $63,000. But that’s nowhere close to what Michels is making.
“Kevin is not a politician or a lobbyist and has had a successful career in the private sector. He pays his taxes on time without penalties, fees or interest to the state of Wisconsin — where he actually lives,” Nicholson spokeswoman Courtney Mullen said in a written statement.
Mullen’s comment about where Nicholson lives was a dig at Michels, who began spending part of his time on the East Coast after Michels Corp. got a contract in 2013 to build a subway tunnel in Manhattan.
Michels has said he spent more than half the year in Wisconsin in nearly every year since he and his family bought property on the East Coast.
Records from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue covering 2010 to 2020 show Michels owed state income taxes every year except 2015 and 2016. Michels has said the subway project was at its peak during that time.
In the other years, his state income taxes ranged from $195,000 in 2011 to $3.7 million in 2020. The amount he has owed is based largely on the profits, losses and tax credits for his business.
Voters got a peek at Michels’ wealth this month when details about his homes came to light. He and his wife bought a $17 million estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 2020. They also own property in Wisconsin and New York.
At the state Republican Party’s convention on Saturday, Michels said his tax records showed he’s long lived in Wisconsin.
“Now you may have heard some people who try to make some noise about where I live because I once again went where duty called and because I own some real estate,” Michels told delegates. “It’s garbage. It’s political smear. But I can take it. I’m a tough guy. I’ve had many protesters out on our pipeline jobs. Here’s the facts: Wisconsin is, always, and always will be home to me. I’ve always lived here, paid my taxes here, and I’ve always voted here.”