Shomari Figures cast Caroleene Dobson as an out-of-touch “billionaire” who can’t relate to the economic struggles of the newly formed Second Congressional District’s residents during their debate Thursday afternoon hosted by AL.com and sponsored by AARP.

“It starts with having people who can relate to the issues,” Figures responded when asked how he would improve economic conditions in the district as a congressman.

“My opponent can’t relate to that. My opponent’s a billionaire, and that is something that just keeps people from generally understanding the struggles of everyday people.”

“My opponent just lived a different type of life,” Figures said in his closing statement.

“Born wealthy, raised wealthy, married even more wealthy. And God bless her for that, but that’s not the experience of the average, everyday person in this district. The average, everyday person in this district does not have the word billionaire remotely associated with them in any shape, form or fashion.”

But does Dobson’s net worth really have nine zeroes in it?

According to financial disclosure forms Dobson filed with the House Ethics Committee — financial information that is required by every House member and congressional candidate — her net worth falls somewhere between $700,000 and $1.8 million.

An exact number is unknown because the forms only ask for ranges in the values of assets ranging from investments to salaries to properties.

Those ranges may also be higher because Dobson listed the value of several assets as “undetermined,” including a 31.7% stake in CHOG LLC, a 49.5% interest in Hardee Lands, LTD, 17.75% individual ownership in Philip C. Hardee, LTD and another 31.55% interest in that company through the L. Caroleene Hardee Family 2012 Trust, the disclosures showed.

Philip C. Hardee, an orthodontist who “built a large cattle and timber operation in Monroe County,” according to his bio on the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame’s website, is Dobson’s father.

The net worth figures also include the assets of Dobson’s husband, real estate investor Bobby Dobson.

Among Bobby Dobson’s largest assets are King Ranch Inc., a Texas-based agribusiness which also claims to be home to the largest ranch in the country. The company is worth $100,001 and $200,000, according to the disclosures.

He has .38% ownership in King Ranch Investments, LTD, the value of which was listed as “undetermined” in the disclosure report.

Bobby Dobson also has between $51,002 and $115,000 in Apple stock held in a brokerage account.

Caroleene Dobson said she is “not even remotely close” to being a billionaire.

“I’m not a billionaire. I’m not even remotely. Both of my dad’s parents were public school teachers. Both my mom’s parents were veterans and farmers.

“My dad’s mom was a Marine injured in Guadalcanal and then, and then came home and farmed in North Alabama. My mom’s mom was one of the first 100 women in the South Pacific,” she told AL.com after the debate.

“Neither of them went to college,” she said of her parents.

“She went on to be to work at Redstone Arsenal for 30 years after that, but my mom was the first in her in her family, to go to college. My dad helped work. Worked his way through through college as an auctioneer. He got his auctioneer license when he was still in his teens so he could work cattle sales in Monroe County and pay for college.

“I’m very grateful that they have worked so incredibly hard to provide for me and my sister, but not even remotely close,” she said.

Asked why he made the claim, Figures said, “Look, I think it gets to the core. Well, the reason we say it is because, you know, her husband’s family is extremely wealthy. She’s moving to extreme wealth out of the King Ranch family out in Texas. That’s well documented and it’s been reported on.

“But I think what it gets to more importantly, is your ability to relate to everyday people in this district,” he said.

“We can talk about people struggling at the at the grocery store, but if that’s not the life you live, if you’re not about that life. Can we really trust that you can empathize with people who actually go through that struggle.

“When you’ve never had to worry about what the price of gas. When you never had to worry about what the price of a gallon of milk was or carton of eggs.

“If you can’t tell me what that price is, how do we know that you can actually relate and take those concerns and that empathy with you to Washington to actually advocate for policies and laws that will actually improve those conditions here with the people who need it most.”

During the debate, Caroleene Dobson tried to paint Figures as an out-of-touch outsider, repeatedly referencing a $1.5 million home the Democrat has in the Washington, D.C. area.

According to Figures’ disclosure report, he does list a house in Greenbelt, Maryland valued between $500,000 and $1 million, but it is listed as a rental property and not as a residence.

Figures said he received between $15,001 and $50,000 in rental income between Jan. 1, 2023 and April 15, 2024.

The disclosure form showed Figures’ net worth hovers between $1.93 million and $6.9 million.

Most of Figures’ net worth comes from his ownership of the company SAK Investments, LLC, which has a 33% stake in CMB Holdings Group, LLC. CMB Holdings owns and operates a “sports bar/restaurant venue,” according to the form, and earned between $1 million and $5 million in revenue from Jan. 1, 2023 to April 15, 2024.

The value of SAK Investments was listed as “undetermined.”