Heinz Kerry says she became wealthy on 'a very sad day'

Her comments came during her first visit to the state since a win in Iowa's caucuses ignited her husband's presidential campaign last January. She spoke in the crowded, sweltering basement of a Des Moines health care clinic where she pitched his health care proposals and fielded questions about her wealth.

Addressing the suggestion that her fortune, estimated at as much as $1 billion, makes her out of touch with the voters who will decide whether to elect her husband, she said: ''It's so ludicrous that it makes you laugh."

''You measure people by what they do with their lives," said Heinz Kerry, who also heads the $1.2 billion Heinz Foundation endowment, which donates money to various charitable causes.

Heinz Kerry heard from medical patients who could not afford health insurance and called for reforms to focus on preventive health care and provide incentives to companies that offer health insurance to employees.

Kerry, meanwhile, campaigning in Phoenix last night, was asked by a reporter if he would release records from his divorce with his first wife, Julia Thorne. ''I have no intention of doing that at all -- there's no reason whatsoever," Kerry said. ''It's history, ancient history. My ex-wife and I are terrific friends."

Patrick Healy of the Globe staff contributed to this report.