Mega Millionaire Moreno Reports Purchasing “Substantial” Investment In Family Enrichment Scheme

Mega Millionaire Moreno Reports Purchasing "Substantial" Investment In Family Enrichment Scheme

August 20, 2024

Ohio Capital Journal: Despite Criticizing Economy, Ohio GOP U.S. Sen. Nominee Moreno Bought Five Homes Last Year

Columbus, OH - New reporting from the Ohio Capital Journal is shedding light on car dealer Bernie Moreno's massive fortune, including that he's purchased five new homes in the last year, owns assets worth up to $172.7 million, and would be the fifth wealthiest Senator if elected. The report also found that Moreno's investment in a private equity fund tied to a family enrichment scheme using taxpayer dollars has "grown substantially" and is now up to $5 million.

Ohio Capital Journal: Despite criticizing economy, Ohio GOP U.S. Sen. nominee Moreno bought five homes last year
Nick Evans
August 20, 2024

• Despite economic headwinds like higher interest rates, Moreno-connected entities have purchased five homes in the past year. He was also involved in the purchase of a nearly 25-acre parcel of undeveloped land next door to a popular outlet mall in Sunbury, Ohio.

• …if elected, [Moreno] will likely be among the wealthiest men serving in Congress because of his business holdings. The company Quiver Quantitative tracks politicians' estimated net worth thanks to disclosure requirements in the STOCK Act. Following that data, four U.S. Senators crack the $100 million mark. According to their estimates, Moreno would be the fifth.

• Tallying together his holdings, Moreno reports assets worth at least $38 million or as much as $172.7 million.

• Parsing the report is complicated further by the parade of businesses entities stacked like nesting dolls within the family trust. Hyperbole Investments holds stakes in tech companies based in Ohio and Israel. M6 Realty owns a building worth $1-5 million in Middleburg, Ohio that earned between $100,000 and $1 million in rent. M7 Realty's empty land in Hudson, Ohio earned $15,000 to $50,000 in rent, and M20 Realty shelled out $9.5 million for the Delaware County parcel near the Tangier Outlet Mall.

• In Moreno's 2023 report, Aguila Calva Properties (that's bald eagle in Spanish) owned a condo in Washington, D.C. and Kylo Properties owned a home in Avon, Ohio. This year, similarly named entities purchased two new homes. Aguila Calva Properties Ohio bought a $675,000 home in Westlake July 1 this year. Kylo Properties Columbus bought a $1.2 million home north of New Albany in June with a golf simulator in the basement.

• Previously, Butterfly Properties reported owning a condo in New York City, but this year, the company reported a different property in Eastchester, New York. The $2.2 million home has an elevator and a walk-in wine cellar with room for more than 1,500 bottles. Similarly, in 2023 Pangolin Properties reported a condo in Columbus, but as of this June, it owns a $612,000 home in Dixon, California.

• The most valuable new piece of real estate is a Coconut Grove, Florida condo owned by Live More, LLC valued at $5 to $25 million. That's in addition to the previously reported and similarly valued home across Biscayne Bay on Key Largo. According to the filing, Moreno owns 43% of that company, and the property generated between $50,000 and $100,000 in rent.

• Meanwhile, in 2023 Moreno reported owning an unimproved parcel of land in Zapotal, Costa Rica through a company called Yellowstone. The AP has reported Yellowstone is a private equity firm tied to a construction firm owned by Moreno's brother…his Yellowstone holdings have grown substantially. Last year, he reported a stake worth $500,000 to $1 million that generated more than $71,000. In the current report, he claims holdings worth $1 million to $5 million which generated more than $180,000.

• Even the complex chains of ownership don't necessarily tell the whole story. According to Moreno's disclosure, for many of these entities he and his wife own just 1% of the business entity. Still, Moreno lists himself as "manager" for the entities in a separate portion of his disclosure.

• Despite listing himself as holding just a 1% stake in Live More, LLC, which purchased the $5 million plus condo in Coconut Grove, according to Florida business records, Live More has been incorporated in Florida since 2017. Bernie Moreno is listed as its manager and registered agent. The principal address for the company is the family's home in Key Largo.

• Moreno did not respond to a series of questions about why he has structured his holdings in this way and who holds the other 98% of the companies.

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