personal capital

plural personal capitals

1. uncountableusuallybusinessFinancial resources or other wealth belonging to a particular person, especially when used for investment purposes.

   Having two unsold houses on the market for a long time "has eaten a lot of our personal capital," Alexander said.

   1982 September 13, Christopher Helman, “Facing Bankruptcy, He Throws A Party”, in Observer-Reporter, Pennsylvania, USA, retrieved 07 Oct 2013

   1 more example

   He could spend shareholders’ capital acquiring massive stretches of land, then only put up his own personal capital to invest in the wells drilled into the best parts of those plays.

   2013 February 21, “A Turnaround At Chesapeake Energy? Not Yet.”, in Forbes, retrieved 07 Oct 2013

2. idiomaticuncountableusuallyGood reputation, credibility, or influence.

   No U.S. president should invest his personal capital by inaugurating direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders when those talks are set to abort weeks later.

   2010 October 21, Roger Cohen, “Going, Going, Gone”, in New York Times, retrieved 07 Oct 2013

   2 more examples

   [T]hey believe that other radical propositions which the President is urging proceed from a very narrow demand, in fact, one not much larger than the desire of men like La Follette and Cummins to make personal capital out of their own radicalism.

   1909 December 27, “Taft Ruffles the Conservatives”, in Boston Evening Transcript, retrieved 07 Oct 2013, page 9

   I have always thought . . . that the real reason he retired from public life, though he was obviously the heir of Wilson and for long the first Democrat in the land, was that he could not bear the thought of making personal capital out of his career in the war.

   1937 December 28, Walter Lippmann, “Newton Baker, ‘Almost Selfless,’ Wouldn't Capitalize His War Fame”, in Youngstown Vindicator, retrieved 07 Oct 2013, page 6