10) Suzan DelBene – Net Worth: $37.89 Million (D-Wash)
DelBene and her husband worked as executives in the technology behemoth Microsoft. She witnessed her wealth increase substantially over the past year due to the price of Microsoft stock.
9) Dianne Feinstein – Net Worth: $43.72 Million (D-Calif)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the wife of private equity magnate Richard Blum, who has significant holdings through Blum Capital Partners in many businesses.
8) Scott Peters – Net Worth: $45.04 Million (D-Calif)
Among other things, this freshman Democrat from San Diego reported $21,000 in pension payments from the city of San Diego.
7) Richard Blumenthal – Net Worth: $62.06 Million (D-Conn)
This Connecticut Democrat’s 2013 filing is speckled with private equity and hedge fund holdings. He receives an annual pension for his 20 years of service as Connecticut’s attorney general.
6) Jared Polis – Net Worth: $73.56 Million (D-Colo)
This Colorado Democrat is the youngest lawmaker among the 10 wealthiest members of Congress.
5) Mark Warner – Net Worth: $95.13 Million (D-Va)
Virginia’s senior senator Mark Warner made an enormous fortune as a venture capitalist before he turned 40. He recently became the junior democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
4) Jay Rockefeller – Net Worth: $108.06 Million (D-W.Va)
An heir to the oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s fortune is concentrated in three separate blind trusts.
3) John Delaney – Net Worth: $111.92 Million (R-Md)
This self-made financier is the only current member who has been a CEO of a publicly traded company. He founded HealthCare Financial Partners in 1993.
2) Michael McCaul – Net Worth: $117.54 Million (R-Texas)
Michael McCaul’s wealth is entirely connected to his wife, Linda McCaul, the daughter of Clear Channel Communications founder Lowry Mays.
1) Darrell Issa – Net Worth: $357.35 Million (R-Calif)
Issa is the wealthiest member of Congress (second year in a row). This Californian lists seven high-yielded bonds as being worth more than $50 million.
How is it that members of the US congress are so wealthy? Do they become wealthy once they enter congress or are they required to be so in order to be selected? What is the average salary paid to these members by the Government?
Excellent Question.
The problem with such lists is that they don’t describe how wealth is acquired.
Darryl Issa earn his in the free market.
Harry Reid Grafted his way to wealth.
Jeffries Just after each name you find HOW they got rich. I.E.
13) Gary G. Miller – Net Worth: $32.97 Million (D-Calif)
Miller is one of the biggest real estate tycoons in the Congress. The minimum value of his expansive and expanding portfolio nearly doubled during the past year. AS you can see, Gary Miller is a real estate tycoon. He buys property, gets local government to buy it from him at a GREAT profit or he puts up a series of houses and sells them to anyone that he can get to buy one. When they go to congress, they are not made to sell their business. People like Mitt Romney put their business in a “blind trust” when they go into politics. Nancy Pelosi signed her stuff over to her husband. Questionable? Yes, Illegal? No.