The wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says that even though she is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, she doesn't consider herself to be wealthy.
In an interview on Monday, Ann Romney told Fox News host Neil Cavuto that her struggle with multiple sclerosis has changed her view of what is important in life.
"The one thing this disease has been for me has been a wonderful teacher," Ms. Romney explained. "And with that comes an ability for compassion for others that are suffering. And for me, I just want to make my family bigger. Those that are suffering from MS, from cancer or from any disease, I feel like I just want to throw my arms open and just say, 'Welcome to my family and welcome to the place where I've been.'"
She continued: "So, you know, we can be poor in spirit. I don't look -- I don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. And how I measure riches is by the friends I have and the loved ones I have and the people that I care about in my life. And that's where my values are and that where my riches are."
The couple reportedly has a net worth of $250 million, but Ann Romney recently complained about having to release her tax returns as a part of her husband's campaign for the Republican nomination.
"You all know that he's been successful in business," she told a crowd in Miami earlier this year. "Unfortunately that was made abundantly clear yesterday when our tax forms were released."
Ms. Romney has credited horse riding with helping her to deal with multiple sclerosis, a pastime that most sufferers of the disease do not have access to.
As The New York Times noted in 2007, dressage horses can run in the seven figures and the saddles can cost thousands of dollars.
But even at those prices, Ann Romney won't tell her husband how many horses she owns.
“Mitt doesn’t even know the answer to that,” she laughed. “I’m not going to tell you!”
