For those who thought that Newt Gingrich was running to make money for his empire, that apparently didn't work as his think tank, The Center for Health Transformation, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  The Atlanta Business Chronicle's David Williams broke the news Thursday morning, and detailed the dire financial situation Gingrich's think tank--also known as The Gingrich Group, LLC--finds itself in: "The center listed estimated liabilities of $1 million to $10 million dollars and 50 to 90 creditors." (MSNBC has the filings here and here.) Even if you take the lower end of those estimates--that's still a big financial sinkhole, and especially damning since The Gingrich Group is the primary source of Gingrich's net worth. MSNBC's Domenico Montanaro details, "Gingrich is worth overall between $7.1 million and $31 million... He lists a promissory note from Gingrich Group as being worth between $5 million and $25 million. Gingrich was chairman of the group until May of last year, when he announced he was running for president."   

So where does the liquidation of the Newt Inc. leave the cash-strapped Gingrich on the campaign trail?  "This ends his campaign," speculates Emory University political science professor Merle Black in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. "He'll now be completely on the defensive about this."

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Alexander Abad-Santos