Richest People in Congress

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Recently, Roll Call analyzed the financial assets of U.S. lawmakers, contained in mandatory annual disclosures, to determine the members of the U.S. Congress that have the highest approximate net worth.

Although these Congressional disclosures are not exact—they are displayed in a range of estimated value over broad categories—Roll Call, a Capitol Hill news and information provider, analyzed the assets and liabilities of every U.S. representative and senator to come up with the 50 richest members of Congress. The 15 richest members are presented here.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) $448.1 million

Issa secured $815,000 in earmarks between 2007 and 2009 to widen a road less than a mile from a medical building in Vista, Calif., that Issa purchased for $16.6 million in 2008. Issa sold the property on Jan. 19 for $15 million. These earmarks were first reported in March by the Center for American Progress and in August by The New York Times. “Rep. Issa’s request for the widening project was made on behalf of local leaders and predated his purchase of the medical center building,” a spokesman said. –Washington Post

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $380.4 million

Since 2004, Michael McCaul’s net worth has increased by 1013 percent – from $34.2 million to $380.4 million. He has served Texas’s 10th congressional district since 2005, and is a member of the House Committee on Ethics. Some of the increase comes from his marriage to his wife, Linda, a daughter of the Clear Channel Communications CEO who inherited a fortune.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) $231.7 million

Kerry, a presidential nominee in 2004, has increased his wealth like many other politicians — he married money. As a result, his net worth spiked to $336.2 million at the height of the bubble, but lost 16 percent by 2010 to $231.7 million. Most recently, as debate coach to President Obama, he’s been blamed for derailing Obama’s performance.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) $192.7 million

Mark Warner, who in recent days has refused to rule out a 2013 gubernatorial bid, Saturday night convened a reunion in Richmond of several hundred of his former advisers and supporters. “Everyone in that room was hoping he’d run for Governor again,” said a senior Virginia Democrat. But Warner, who left Richmond in 2006 with stratospheric approval numbers and remains widely popular in the commonwealth, is now suggesting publicly that he may consider trying to reclaim his old job. His 2007 $237.8 net worth lost 19 percent by 2010, down to $192.7 million.

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) $173.5 million

Herbert H. “Herb” Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. He is the senior United States Senator from Wisconsin and a member of the Democratic Party. He is also a philanthropist and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association (NBA) team. He is not seeking reelection in 2012. His net worth dropped nearly by half since 2006, when his estate was valued at $337 million.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) $143.2 million

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, spent $6 million on his initial 2008 congressional campaign. He made his fortune by selling his online businesses, according to The Daily Camera. He was also instrumental in urging Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act.

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) $136.2 million

Buchanan owns two reinsurance companies in Turks and Caicos, and part of the Bermuda reinsurance company Greater Atlantic Insurance Co. The three companies offer extended warranty policies to car buyers. Buchanan invests some of the proceeds from his reinsurance companies in real estate developments in the Bahamas.

Buchanan has defended his record, saying, “I have always paid my taxes and it is a substantial amount, but I don’t think anyone should pay more taxes than they owe.” His campaign spokeswoman added that his use of offshore reinsurance companies is normal. She noted, “This is a widely accepted practice offered by hundreds of businesses and enjoyed by thousands of consumers.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) $101.1 million

Earmark near personal property: $50.0 million

Over the past decade, the House minority leader helped secure $50 million in earmarks toward a light-rail project that will provide direct access to San Francisco’s Union Square and Chinatown for neighborhoods south of Market Street. Pelosi’s husband owns a four-story commercial building blocks from Union Square. These earmarks were reported in the book “Throw Them All Out.” A Pelosi spokesman said the project was requested by community leaders and that the new stations on the line will be farther away from the building than those on the existing line.

Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) $99.1 million

Jay Rockefeller wasn’t about to lose his family fortune during the Great Recession. His net worth dropped a mere 3 percent from 2004, from $101.7 million in 2004 to $99.1 million in 2010. Paul Rosenzweig of the Heritage Foundation wrote in a blog last month, “In a remarkable letter to all Fortune 500 CEOs, Senator Jay Rockefeller bemoans the business community’s opposition to his cyber security legislation, the Cyber security Act of 2012. He is shocked – simply shocked, as was Captain Renaut in Casablanca – that any business institution could possibly oppose more government red tape when ‘security’ is on the line.”

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) $85.6 million

Lautenberg did OK during the recession. Since 2004, his net worth is up 63 percent – from $52.4 million to $85.6 million. One of the most vocal advocates of gun control legislation, he introduced legislation after Gabrielle Giffords was shot. The bill went nowhere.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) $73.2 million

As a real estate investor, Blumenthal didn’t do well between 2009 and 2010. His net worth fell 23 percent from $94.9 million to $73.2 million. He is fighting the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the overseer of Fannie and Freddie, and new fees they are imposing on his state. “I will fight to stop Fannie and Freddie from punishing Connecticut for protecting its citizens from unfair and abusive foreclosure practices. I am seeking immediate action to reverse this misguided, unacceptable decision.”

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) $69.0 million

She represents a state with one of the worst deficits in the U.S. and one of the least favorable business conditions. Now she’s asking for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate what she calls “malicious trading schemes” on the part of gasoline producers and oil refineries. The average price of gas in the state hit $4.668, according to AAA.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) $59.6 million

Bob Corker wants to take the Tennessee Valley Authority back from the federal government, which he says can destroy the energy source. He’s also been attacking the administration on what he calls Benghazi-gate and whether the State Department ignored requests for more security at the embassy where U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed. Not exactly a low profile for a guy with nearly $60 million.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) $54.1 million

The only odd thing we could find about the former governor of Idaho was that he’s among 60 lawmakers who don’t use Twitter. Holdouts are divided almost equally between the two parties. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) — part of the over-60 crowd — might be technically challenged. Risch’s office said the senator has not ruled it out. “He certainly sees the benefit of Twitter as a social medium, as demonstrated by the Usain Bolt tweets during the Olympics, but less useful as a policy discussion tool,” said spokesman Brad Hoaglun.

Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Tex.) $49.3 million

Marchant nearly doubled his money from 2004 to 2010 — from $26.8 million to $49.3 million. He worked closely with Bush when he was governor of Texas, and bills himself as a staunch conservative. However, he has occasionally broken ranks with the GOP, as he did to increase the minimum wage. He has said that his top priority on Capitol Hill will be cutting the federal deficit with fiscal conservative policies. The Sunlight Foundation pointed out that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, Marchant has the fifth-highest amount of investment in oil stocks.

Rep. Gary Miller (D-Calif.) $46 million

Earmark near personal property: $1.3 million

Miller secured $1.28 million in earmarks in 2005 to help repave, re-landscape and install new drains along Grand Avenue in Diamond Bar, Calif. The project, previously reported by The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of Ontario, upgraded an access road for a residential and retail development that he co-owned with a campaign donor. Miller sold the property months after securing the earmark. “At no time did Congressman Miller use his position to promote or enhance his personal business partnerships,” Miller’s spokeswoman said.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) $42.9 million

Frelinghuysen has more than a little national politics in his blood: His father, great-great grandfather and great-great-great uncle all represented New Jersey in Congress. Frelinghuysen sat on a congressional Appropriations committee, spending much of his Washington career serving as a go-to for his state when federal funding was needed. A relatively moderate Republican and a supporter of earmarking, Frelinghuysen calls the practice a “constitutional responsibility.” Frelinghuysen is also a member of two moderate Republican groups: the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection.

Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) $42.1 million

Wow. We wonder who his broker is. Renacci’s net worth climbed 28 percent between 2009 and 2010, from $28.1 million to $42.1 million. As a freshman Republican, Renacci is up for reelection this year. He owns a nursing home management firm and co-owns an Arena Football League team.

Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) $42.1 million

Wow. We wonder who his broker is. Renacci’s net worth climbed 28 percent between 2009 and 2010, from $28.1 million to $42.1 million. As a freshman Republican, Renacci is up for reelection this year. He owns a nursing home management firm and co-owns an Arena Football League team.

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) $41.2 million

Nita Lowey has a rich husband — and an investment strategy that pays off. The couple’s net worth has risen 36 percent since 2004, from $30.3 million to $41.2 million in 2010. As the chairwoman of the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations subcommittee, Lowey has wielded power far beyond New York’s 18th district. The veteran New York pol achieved her highest degree of national exposure when she declined to run for the 2000 Senate race for then-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s (D-N.Y.) seat when it became clear that then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton intended to compete. In 2001, in what was often interpreted as rewarding party loyalty for bowing of that Senate race gracefully, Lowey assumed control of House Democrats’ campaign arm. In 2008, Lowey made headlines in connection to Clinton’s Senate seat yet again when she withdrew from the running to replace Clinton when the former first lady became President Obama’s secretary of state.

Source: www.thefiscaltimes.com