The Hill has released its “50 Wealthiest List,” which ranks the top fifty wealthiest members of Congress. I took some time to review the data, and you know what I realized? Twenty-three of the top fifty are Republicans (that’s 46%) and twenty-seven are Democrats (that’s 54%.) But here’s the interesting thing: Congress is structured with 100 Senators and 435 Representatives. That’s 535 Congressmen and Congresswomen. Of those 535 people, we’re have three “openings,” so there’s a total of 532 sitting Congressmen and Congresswomen.
On a percentage basis, 59% are Democrats, 41% are Republicans, yet on a percentage basis of the “50 Wealthiest List,” as I said, 54% are Democrats and 46% are Republicans — a five point spread.
A few other interesting facts:
- 7 of the top 50 are from California.
- 3 are from each of Texas, New York, and Wisconsin.
- 11 are women (although both John Kerry and John McCain can credit their wives for much of their fortunes.)
Read The Hill’s “Wealthy lawmakers increased their riches as economy sputtered in ’09” to learn more about the nation’s wealthiest lawmakers. Here’s the top 50 list,including their estimated net worth, thanks to The Hill.
Huffington Post has a scaled-down quick read: “The Top 10 Richest Politicians In Congress.”
So, how many of your Congressmen are on the list?
1. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) $188.6M
2. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) $160.1M
3. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) $152.3M
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) $83.7M
5. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) $73.8M
6. Rep. Mark Warner (D-VA) $70.2M
7. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) $56.5M
8. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) $53.5M
9. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) $49.7M
10. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) $46.1M
11. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) $31.1M
12. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) $21.7M
13. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) $20.1M
14. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) $19.9M
15. Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) $19.4M
16. Rep. Bob Corker (R-TN) $18.3M
17. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) $15.7M
18. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) $15.6M
19. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) $15.0M
20. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) $14.7M
21. Rep. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) $12.6M
22. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) $12.1M
23. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) $11.1M
24. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) $10.9M
25. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) $10.4M
26. Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) $9.9M
27. Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) $9.7M
28. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) $9.1M
29. Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) $8.7M
30. Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) $8.7M
31. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE) $8.5M
32. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) $8.5M
33. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) $8.0M
34. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) $7.9M
35. Rep. John Linder (R-GA) $7.9M
36. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) $7.7M
37. Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) $7.3M
38. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) $7.1M
39. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) $6.9M
40. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI) $6.8M
41. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) $6.7M
42. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $6.7M
43. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) $6.7M
44. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) $6.4M
45. Rep, Shelley Berkley (D-NV) $6.3M
46. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) $6.2M
47. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) $6.1M
48. Rep. Rose Lauro (D-CT) $5.7M
49. Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) $5.4M
50. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) $5.1M