Posted: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00 AM - 14,774 Readers

By: Aman Batheja

Since his first race for office more than a quarter century ago, Gov. Rick Perry has emphasized his roots as a rural farmer.

Yet Perry's bank account no longer reflects those humble beginnings as his bottom line has soared in recent years, records show, thanks largely to a handful of real estate deals that critics allege were achieved through the presidential candidate's political connections.

In just about every campaign Perry has run since 1989, allegations of his using his position for financial gain have come up. It's an issue Perry long ago accepted would linger as long as he remains in the public eye.

"I've been in politics long enough to know that this is just a part of doing business," Perry told the Star-Telegram in 1998. "I know full well, as my wife knows, that our private lives, particularly on the financial side, becomes fair game."

While much of the scrutiny has focused on land deals Perry made while a statewide official, "real estate investor" doesn't properly capture all of his recent financial activity, just as "farmer" is too simple a description of Perry's earlier years.