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For “blue-collar billionaire” Donald Trump, money’s an asset

In this photo taken July 11, 2016, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump answers a question during an interview in Virginia Beach, Va. Americans have mixed feelings on which presidential candidate will do better on key issues like health care, trade, the economy and terrorism. But when they simply consider whether they personally would be better off, they prefer Hillary Clinton. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
In this photo taken July 11, 2016, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump answers a question during an interview in Virginia Beach, Va. Americans have mixed feelings on which presidential candidate will do better on key issues like health care, trade, the economy and terrorism. But when they simply consider whether they personally would be better off, they prefer Hillary Clinton. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) In this photo taken July 11, 2016, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump answers a question during an interview in Virginia Beach, Va. Americans have mixed feelings on which presidential candidate will do better on key issues like health care, trade, the economy and terrorism. But when they simply consider whether they personally would be better off, they prefer Hillary Clinton. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

By Associated Press 4 min read

CLEVELAND (AP) – A handful of vacation homes. A car elevator for his four-car garage. A wife whose hobbies included show horses.

When Mitt Romney ran for president four years ago, his estimated $250 million fortune was quickly turned into a liability by Democrats, who painted the former Bain Capital chief as out of touch with Americans still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

Four years later, Donald Trump’s much-bigger pile of money is a central character of his campaign. And far from seeing it as a liability, the candidate flaunts it.

“I’m the most successful person ever to run for president,” the billionaire businessman has bragged, noting that he’s “really rich.” On the stump, he vows to “make our country rich again.”

Trump will officially become his party’s nominee at this week’s Republican convention, powered by white, working-class voters drawn to his populist message.