English

Noun

personal capital ‎(usually uncountable, plural personal capitals)

1. (finance) Financial resources or other wealth belonging to a particular person, especially when used for investment purposes.
   • 1982 Sep. 13, Christopher Helman, "Facing Bankruptcy, He Throws A Party," Observer-Reporter (Pennsylvania, USA) (retrieved 7 Oct 2013):

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

   • 2013 Feb. 21, "A Turnaround At Chesapeake Energy? Not Yet.," Forbes (retrieved 7 Oct 2013):

     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.

2. (idiomatic) Good reputation, credibility, or influence.
   • 1909 Dec. 27, "Taft Ruffles the Conservatives," Boston Evening Transcript, p. 9 (retrieved 7 Oct 2013):

     [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.

   • 1937 Dec. 28, Walter Lippmann, "Newton Baker, ‘Almost Selfless,’ Wouldn't Capitalize His War Fame," Youngstown Vindicator, p. 6 (retrieved 7 Oct 2013):

     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.

   • 2010 Oct. 21, Roger Cohen, "Going, Going, Gone," New York Times (retrieved 7 Oct 2013):

     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.