Research: Josh Altic Vojsava Ramaj OpenSecrets notes some important limitations to the data:[5]. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in her second term as senator from Massachusetts, is seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for president. The data outlined on this page comes from OpenSecrets.org. The wealthiest 15 members together had an estimated net worth of at least $1.3 billion, accounting for half of Congress' total estimated wealth. Phillips held more than $250,000 worth of Apple stock, at least $50,000 worth of Facebook stock, and over $1 million in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF. Prior to being elected to office, she made much of her wealth in the private sector. Kennedy has served Massachusetts' 4th District since 2013. External Relations: Moira Delaney Hannah Nelson Caroline Presnell Though Scheider founded a consulting firm, much of his wealth comes from his wife, Julie Schneider, whose family started what was the largest privately owned insurance brokerage in Chicago. DelBene and her husband reported at least $1.1 million worth of shares in her former company. We estimated the net worth of members of Congress by analyzing financial-disclosure reports. Using his fortune from his family business, Manhattan Construction Group, Rooney donated enough to the GOP to earn an ambassadorship during the George W. Bush administration. 1st: George Washington Est. Norman was elected to Congress in a special election in 2017 after President Donald Trump appointed his predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget. The 2012 figure will be updated when available. His family owns companies in construction and property development. From 2011 to 2012, the average net worth change of a freshman member of the 113th Congress in one year was: The following 15 freshman senators and representatives of the 113th Congress saw their net worth increase the most out of their incoming class of new members: From 2009 to 2012, the average net worth change of a freshman member of the 112th Congress in three years[55] was: The following 15 freshman representatives of the 112th Congress (no senators made the top 15 list) saw their net worth increase the most out of their incoming class of new members: The amount of assets held by individual members increased by a total of $316.5 million between 2004 (or later, depending on when the member joined Congress) and 2012.[56]. This number was found by dividing each member's total net worth growth percentage by the number of years included in the calculation. She reported at least $165,000 in liabilities in the form of credit-card debt through various banks. Hoeven eventually became president of Westbrand Inc. Bank Holding Co. and retains at least $5 million in company stock. Her estimated net worth has increased significantly since 2008 thanks in large part to the success of her husband, Paul Pelosi, who is a venture capitalist and property investor. The 15 Richest Members of Congress | Newsmax.com The main source of Kelly's wealth comes from the eponymous Mike Kelly Chevrolet Cadillac dealership, which he bought from his father and eventually expanded to include a Kia and Hyundai dealership. It is no wonder, then, that when the average citizen has the means to take a peek at each members ability to handle his or her personal finance, intrigue abounds. Blum is an investor and the president and chairman of Blum Capital, a private equity company. Rep. Susan W. Brooks is serving her fourth term in Congress. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The data goes from 2004 through 2012. But this year Trump's net worth dropped to $2.5 billion. The public employee retirement fund amount should have been in the thousands and not millions. Feinstein herself has a $25 million plus stake in Carlton Hotel Properties. Notable stocks held by Hern and his family included more than $250,000 worth of Amazon, at least $100,000 worth of Alphabet, and more than $530,000 worth of Microsoft. He holds another $1 million in funds in a personal account at First Western. External Relations: Moira Delaney Hannah Nelson Caroline Presnell net worth in 2018: $19,145,013 > Assumed office: Jan. 3, 1987 > Current term ends: 2023 > Approval . The top range for Senate spousal assets is listed as Over $1 million." However, there were substantial increases in wealth of the members who fell into this category. This was an inflation-adjusted annual percentage change of -0.94 from 2004 to 2012. Congressmen and that of the American citizen, the value of equity in the citizen's personal residence was not taken into account in calculating the net worth of the average citizen, since the value of the personal residence of a Congressman is not included in their disclosure of their household net worth. Only lawmakers with an estimated net worth of more than $3 million are included on this list. Both the average and median for congressional and American citizen net worth growth are provided below. [9] He was founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Little Rock-based Delta Trust & Banking Corp. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama is in his sixth term as senator from Alabama and is the fifth-ranked Republican in seniority. The high net worth of American lawmakers is partially attributable to their annual salaries of $174,000, which is more than triple the average wage across all American workers of $51,960 and higher than the median earnings of even the highest paying jobs in America. Issa listed one liability: a margin account holding him liable for over $50 million. When she took office in 2019, Ocasio-Cortez reported in her first financial disclosure that she had a checking account, a brokerage account and a 401(k)plan through the National Hispanic Institute that were worth between $3,003 and $45,000. Between 2004-2012, the median American household[41] saw an inflation-adjusted decrease of assets from $18,990 in 2004[42] to $17,557 in 2012. No one is qualifying for food stamps, but some lawmakers carry significant personal and/or business debt. know the precise net worth of members of Congress, SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Secret Chinese Police Stations in Europe Are 'Tip of the Iceberg', Trump's Attorney Just Blew Carroll Rape Case, King Charles Says Royals Require 'Acting Ability', Ukraine Will Regain 'Significant Territory' From Russia, Florida GOP Paves the Way to Help Ron DeSantis Challenge Trump. . Joe Biden Net Worth 2021 - How Did Joe Biden Earn His Money? The reports cover 2020 and provide the most up-to-date estimate of members' net worth. Elected officials and senior staff are prohibited from receiving honoraria for speeches, articles or appearances. DelBene's wealth is spread out among mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and real-estate funds. Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. 5 Kelly Loeffler, who served between 2020-2021 as a Republican. McCaul did not list any liabilities or debts in his financial disclosure. Inhofe also worked as an independent businessman for three decades and was the president of Quaker Life Insurance Company. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Blumenthal's fortune is held almost entirely by his wife, Cynthia Malkin, with millions of dollars reported in various hedge funds, stocks, and real estate and property partnerships. Operations: Meghann Olshefski Mandy Morris Kelly Rindfleisch [40] The median figure can be beneficial in circumstances, like this one, where the high net worth of the wealthiest Americans can skew the average. Much of Issa's fortune comes from a car-alarm system called Steal Stopper and his time as the CEO of Directed Electronics. peak net worth: $594.2 million In office: 1789-1797 George Washington was America's first president and also its wealthiest for more than a century. Peters reported two liabilities worth at least $30,000 in total, for "revolving credit.". Buchanan earned much of his fortune through car dealerships and through his involvement in charter jet and yacht leasing. Ballotpedia staff took OpenSecrets predicted net worth averages for all reported members of congress and using statistical software calculated yearly averages and changes for various congressional subsets. In 1981, she started North Island Yarn, a business employing local knitters, and opened a retail store that sold knitting kits and pattern books nationwide. After heated budget debates, threats of government shutdowns and multiple votes to raise the debt ceiling, Congress has been dealing with fiscal issues on a regular basis. Matsui's listed holdings were spread out among exchange-traded funds, money-market funds, limited liability companies, and trusts. However, our bipartisan reform coalition was then subjected to repeated delay tactics, hand-waving gestures, and blatant instances of Lucy pulling the football," Spanberger said in a statement. Rosen worked for companies such as Citibank and Southwest Gas Company before she was elected to Congress. ? the user asked. List of current members of the United States Congress by wealth Data on the year each House member or senator started serving as a member of Congress, district served, and party affiliation came from Congress.gov. This is the first part of the Personal Gain Index. Paul also has invested in Apple, Disney, Comcast, and Facebook. The second-term congressman representing South Carolina's 5th District in the northern part of the state keeps most of his wealth in real estate holdings. Trone's wife independently owned stock in Alphabet, Apple, and Pepsi, among others. Republican Earl Carter has represented Georgia's 1st District since taking office in 2015. David B. McKinley represents the 1st District of West Virginia, which is in the northern part of the state. Because many members went from a negative net worth to a positive net worth during the years calculated, this figure is an important figure because the total asset increase can figure in all members' asset growth, including the members who did not have a meaningful percentage change due to increasing from a negative to a positive net worth. He also has investments in mineral rights and oil wells in North Dakota. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a Democrat from California: -$1,008,000, Rep. Steven Horsford, a Democrat from Nevada: -$1,047,992, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming: -$1,401,991, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois: -$1,877,936, Rep. August Pfluger, a Republican from Texas: -$2,000,002. His financial filings indicated that each of Issa's assets is jointly owned. He also invested in the digital entertainment company Real Networks, which streams media on the Internet. Obernolte did not report any liabilities or debts. Jackie Speier is in her sixth full term in Congress and now represents California's 14th District, which includes San Mateo County. CNN . Phillips, who joined Congress in 2019, reported at least $2 million in liabilities in the form of mortgages. Pelosi became speaker for the first time in 2007 and served until 2011. Pelosi reported at least $20 million in liabilities that mostly involved mortgages on properties in California and Washington, DC. The bulk of his fortune is from his wife, Linda, the daughter of the founder of the media giant iHeartRadio. Williams recently violated the STOCK Act by failing to properly file three stock transactions by his wife. The typical congressional representative including both senators and House members has an estimated net worth of over $500,000, or roughly five times the median U.S. household net worth. Matsui's husband, Roger Sant, is the founder of the AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 holding company specializing in electricity generation and distribution. He ran Sara Lee Corp.'s Asia unit and was an executive with Haggar Clothing and footwear company Reebok. "As you can see from the required disclosures, with which the Speaker fully cooperates, these transactions are marked 'SP' for Spouse. Fact check: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's net worth doesn't top $1M Members of Congress are way wealthier than average Americans. For the 49 members who went from a negative net worth to a positive net worth, the average increase was $3.4 million per member.[29]. Others, meanwhile, have married into or inherited vast fortunes. In total, the study looks at 320 Republicans, 296 Democrats and two Independents. Malkin's father, Peter L. Malkin, is the chairman emeritus of Empire State Realty Trust a commercial office and retail leasing agency for units across Manhattan including the Empire State Building and the chairman of Malkin Holdings. Romney's wife, Ann, also boasts an extensive portfolio that includes millions invested in private-equity and hedge funds. and subtracted major liabilities (loans, credit card debt, etc.).[2]. Property (such as personal residences) and non-income producing investments are not required to be reported under ethics laws. In August 2019, Isakson announced he would resign from his senate seat at the end of the year due to health problems. Rep. Denny Heck is in his fourth term serving the 10th District of Washington state, which includes the state capital of Olympia. The average change in net worth for the members in this study was 72.6 percent. Sen. John Hoeven built his wealth by working in banking in North Dakota. Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida's 16th District is worth an estimated $73.9 million. He made much of his wealth as a corporate executive, first at Chrysler in 1985 and then as CEO of Ross Education, a health industry training firm. One of these categories is "equity in own home," but Ballotpedia did not factor the average citizen's home equity into this figure because the Congressional net worth does not require members to report property (including personal residences) that is not used for investment purposes. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Democrat Suzan Delbene has represented Washington's 1st District since 2012. Now, in recent social media posts, Facebook users are raising questions about the New. Her investments in the stock market have also earned her substantial capital gains. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Insider removed him from the list when Mrvan acknowledged filing an incorrect personal financial disclosure that erroneously inflated the value of a retirement account by tens of millions of dollars. To ensure consistency among data sets, home equity was withheld in a similar fashion to primary residences not being counted as assets for congressional data. For the full set of data, please visit our Google spreadsheet here. Sen. Ron Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. Republican Paul Mitchell, elected to serve Michigan's 10th District in 2016, is worth an estimated $37.7 million. He also owns several rental properties around the University of Georgia campus. Ro Khanna has served California's 17th District, which covers much of Silicon Valley, since 2017. Every year members of congress are required by law to disclose certain financial information regarding personal assets and liabilities. Filers must disclose positions they hold with non-governmental organizations, except for their membership in religious, social, fraternal or political organizations. [37], The ten current senators and representatives listed here experienced the greatest declines in net worth (by percentage) from 2004-2012.[37]. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, serving his third term as senator, is the 15th-highest ranking Republican senator in the Senate. The 2004 figure was adjusted for inflation to 2012 dollars. He entered the White House with a $1.4 million net worth and amassed an additional $5.6 million before he died, according to a report by American University. Scott, who assumed office in 2019, cemented his No. Estimated wealth is at least $100 million in 2012 dollars, for all the people listed here. Much of his wealth is from investments he made with his earnings from years as a corporate tax attorney. Upton's fortune mainly derives from an appliance company that his grandfather founded, Whirlpool, which the congressman reported holding at least $1 million of stock in. The earliest average was then adjusted for inflation. Those in Congress who held assets above the median net worth of $1 million in 2012 also saw a hefty annual percentage increase. Before serving in Congress, Mullin dropped out of college to manage the family's plumbing company, building it into a regional business. How Obama, Biden and Other Elected Officials Have Made Millions by Through most of her 20s, Ocasio-Cortez lived paycheck to paycheck, according to Time. Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement in July this year that the speaker "does not own any stocks.". South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman worked as an executive at Warren Norman Co., a development company started by his father that builds office parks, commercial buildings, and residential housing. AOC's net worth over $1 million? That's Pants on Fire! See which incumbents had the largest gains in net worth. The average increase in net worth in the Top 100 was 114% per year. Troy Carter, Melanie Stansbury, and Jake Ellzey have not filed their official financial-disclosure reports. Sign up to get that here. Who Are the Richest U.S. Senators? - Investopedia In lieu of an honoraria, they may designate an amount to be donated to charity. The trusts contain a combination of mutual funds, stocks, and electronic funds. Bera worked as a medical doctor before choosing to run for elective office. Thank you for supporting our journalism. Members of Congress come from a wide range of backgrounds from local politics to business and entrepreneurship to professional sports and their fortunes vary greatly. The company, now called iHeartMedia, is a $6.3 billion company. Conditions for re-employment, severance payments, buyout agreements, profit-sharing plans. 5. Senators and Representatives during their time in office. This included members of Congress. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has supported raising the minimum wage, forgiving student loan debt and increasing taxes for the wealthy. A part of the family behind the eponymous Midwestern grocery chain, Meijer reported that the bulk of his wealth was held in a "generation-skipping trust" that contained, among other assets, stock in Johnson & Johnson, Home Depot, Tesla, and Visa. Fact check: How many millionaires are in Congress, compared to - WRAL First-term Sen. David Perdue of Georgia earned his wealth as a financial turnaround specialist for struggling companies. Other major assets include several Vanguard index funds he holds jointly with his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Warner's wealth is divvied up among mutual funds, private-equity funds, and hedge funds. Roger Marshall is in his second term as the congressman representing the 1st District of Kansas, which encompasses mostly the western part of the state. Ballotpedia features 408,463 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Congress members net worth: Here are the legislators with the highest Other notable holdings of Upton's include Apple, Raytheon, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, and Texas Instruments. Carter recently sold more than $1 million of his stake in his company, and he owns a more than $5 million stake in an index fund. Note: Report numbers may reflect incoming and outgoing members of congress. Rep. Debbie Dingell is serving her third term as representative of Michigan's 12th District, which is located in the southeast corner of the state. Sen. John Kennedy is in his first term as senator from Louisiana. Liz Cheney's Net Worth Ballooned from $7 million to $44 million in five Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index). The Richest Members of CongressAnd How They Made Their - Fortune Rose also owned at least $500,000 worth of stock in Citizens Bank and more than $100,000 worth of Alphabet stock, and he reported 100% ownership of Rose Farm, worth between $5 million and $25 million. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer is a six-term congressman from Missouri who operates a 160-acre farm and also has been in banking and insurance. Or from the year the incumbent was first elected, if that year was after 2004. The data for American citizens is a large sampling of the population that includes many households on either end of the distribution (high or low wealth), so median numbers were also included. Senator must file.[8]. 53. Feinstein was one of 48 members of Congress who Insider and other media organizations found in 2021 to have violated the STOCK Act. iHeartMedia is a leading contributor to McCaul's reelection campaign. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Note that the ethics law does not require filers to report property, including personal residences, that is not held for investment purposes and does not produce income. However, what the study is missing is how much he was worth in 1982 compared to 2012. The ten current senators and representatives listed below experienced the highest overall net worth gains (by percentage) from 2004-2012. "Medians are often used when data are skewed, meaning that the distribution is uneven. Presidential wealth: The net worth of every American president - USA Today That left her with about $4.3 million in her campaign coffers, according to the FEC. The bulk of Obernolte's fortune stems from his ownership of FarSight Studios, a video-game company in Big Bear Lake, California, that he launched in 1988. Buchanan may have the authority to write American tax policy in coming years, as the congressman is likely to become the leading GOP member of the Ways and Means Committee after Rep. Devin Nunes announced his resignation to become the CEO of a new social media company founded by former President Donald Trump. Congressional net worth figures are a relatively small data set,[38] so Ballotpedia used average percentage changes throughout the study (adjusted as needed for outliers)[39] to best illustrate the average growth of wealth of members of Congress. The average yearly percentage increase for those members who increased their net worth was 43.6 percent. Filers for the 2020 fiscal year were allotted an extra three months to submit their disclosures because of the pandemic. Lowey is married to a prominent Wall Street attorney, who co-founded his own firm that specializes in securities and merger litigation. Between 2004-2012, the average American household[41] saw an inflation-adjusted slight increase of assets from $204,957 in 2004[42] to $264,963 in 2012. First elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1978, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner is currently the second longest serving member of the House of Representatives. Buchanan listed several liabilities in his financial filings worth at least $14 million, including loans for a plane and a yacht connected with the LLC. Sixteen . The New York Post estimated that the Pelosis had made between $5.6 million and $30.4 million between 2007 and 2020 through capital gains and dividends from investments in five tech companies - Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft - based on public disclosures. The tables and graphs on this page show some of the highlights of the study. Before his election to Congress, Hill was a commercial banker and investment manager. This page is about changes in net worth of U.S. Meijer reported at least $1.95 million in liabilities in the forms of a mortgage, lines of credit, and promissory notes. Hartzler and her family live on a working farm in Cass County. The reports cover 2020 and provide the most up-to-date estimate of members' net worth. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Shortly after graduating from college, he founded his own commercial building construction company, R.W. Pelosi's net worth in 2021 was estimated to be as much as $171.4 million in an October report by The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet that arrived at that figure "by taking into account the ranges of all the individual assets and liabilities" in Pelosi's financial disclosure statement. Trone is a relatively new member of Congress he assumed office in 2019. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. Though he is a Tennessee native, Trey Hollingsworth has served in Indiana's 9th District since taking office in 2017. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will leave her role in the Democratic leadership when the new Congress meets on January 3and she will depart considerably wealthier than when she began. Note that in order to have an apples-to-apples comparison between the household net worth of U.S. Warren received an advance of about $300,000 for her book "This Fight Is Our Fight," published in April 2017. Because many members have been in office for longer than the eight years this study illustrates, the real change in net worth each member sees after initially taking office may be higher than the numbers in this data. In the earliest days of American independence, members of the federal government were not paid a salary as most of them were wealthy to begin with. Romney reported at least $4.5 million in liabilities from his wife; each liability was listed as a "capital commitment.". Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal The Top 100 table includes a handful of politicians who left office during or after 2012. Jacobs listed one liability in her financial disclosure: a mortgage on a Washington, DC, property worth at least $500,000. Because of this, Ballotpedia removed Pingree when calculating the averages for this study, while continuing to list her in the chart. The congressman's wife, Lynn Gorguze, is the president and CEO of a private equity firm, Cameron Holdings. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. A Pioneer of Paid Speeches Issa did not report owning any individual stocks his wealth is largely held in diversified stock funds and his ownership of properties in California and Ohio. McKinley founded the architectural and engineering company McKinley & Associates. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The data starts in 2004 for any member who started either in 2004 or prior, or at a later year for anyone who was elected after 2004.