The 50 Richest Members of Congress

Charts Listings put total wealth in U.S. House at $1 Billion plus By Jennifer Yachnin Roll Call Despite a recession that depleted bank accounts nationwide in 2008 House lawmakers can still claim a tidy nest egg: a combined minimum net worth of at least $1 billion.  According to a Roll Call analysis of the financial disclosures filed by House Members 441 records comprising thousands of pages filed by Representatives the chamber boasts assets totaling at least $1.13 billion while its minimum debt tallies a relatively minor $125.69 million.   And the real value of their assets is probably more than twice the reported totals. Individual wealth varies widely in the chamber including 125 lawmakers with assets of $1 million or more but 34 Members who report assets valued at or less than zero. The chambers average wealth is least $2.28 million but that figure includes the 10 richest Members whose collective fortunes at least $557.06 million account for more than half of the Houses combined worth. Without the richest lawmakers Issa followed by Reps. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) Jared Polis (D-Colo.) Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) Harry Teague (D-N.M.) Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) the average wealth drops by half but remains at least $1.04 million per Member. Chart:  Assets and Liabilities of All House Members Chart:  Minimum Net Worth for Each State Delegation The 50 Richest Members of Congress To see a searchable interactive chart listing the assets & liabilities of all Members of the House click here. Roll Calls analysis of House lawmakers wealth is based solely on the information Members provided in their annual 2009 financial disclosure reports which covered calendar year 2008. The figures do not take into account a lawmakers annual salary which was $169300 in 2008. Roll Call determines each lawmakers minimum net worth by adding the lowest number in the range reported for each asset for example an asset reported as being worth $1 million to $5 million is counted as $1 million and subtracting the lowest total of the reported liabilities. Although lawmakers are compelled to reveal information about assets including investment accounts or rental properties the disclosure process protects Members from divulging other economic indicators such as the value of theirs homes both in Washington D.C. and their districts as well as antiques vehicles and other valuables that do not produce income. According to Roll Calls analysis the median net worth in the House is about $366000. By comparison a Census Bureau report issued in 2008 but based on data from 2002 the most recent available found the median net worth for 110 million U.S. households at $59000 including home equity. Excluding home equity as Members do on their disclosures the average American was worth about $11000. Households headed by 55- to 64-year-olds represented the highest median net worth when home equity was not counted at $34000 or $133000 when those homes are included. The Census Bureau report tallied assets including interest-earning bank accounts; certificates of deposit; bonds stocks and mutual funds; rental properties; primary and vacation homes; retirement accounts; and vehicles and subtracted liabilities including mortgages vehicle loans credit card debt medical bills and education loans. The report did not include assets such as equity in pension plans cash value of life insurance policies home furnishings or jewelry. Nonetheless financially secure Members even whose fortunes exceed the $1 million mark shouldnt necessarily be viewed as anomalies noted Norman Ornstein an American Enterprise Institute scholar and co-author of Vital Statistics on Congress. Keep in mind that youve got ... many Members who had professional lives for a significant period of time before they came to Congress so for a lot of these people for most of them the buildup of their net worth and capital came earlier" said Ornstein a Roll Call contributing writer. You probably find not many middle-age professionals out there now lawyers doctors small-business people brokers in their late 40s to mid-60s who dont have a net worth of somewhere around a million dollars or more." While both Democrats and Republicans have a penchant for wealthy candidates who can self-fund their campaigns and alleviate fundraising pressures on the parties campaign committees it is less clear whether the electorate values a candidates bottom line. Its a great question because all politicians say they understand working Americans and yet youve got liberal Democrats from Nevada who are millionaires and conservative Republicans who are millionaires" said Eric Herzik chairman of the University of Nevadas Department of Political Science. A candidate has to have a certain amount of education a certain amount of success. The public expects that" Herzik added. Then you do ask the question of But can they relate to people like me? Thats the art of politics."