Report: Nearly half of all Congress members are millionaires

posted at 1:43 pm on December 6, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Economics ]   

If you believe a claim made by the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog, Barack Obama has not been increasing the size of government, as enemies of the state suggest. But maybe he should.

A report from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) reveals that 47% of Congress members are millionaires, some of them many times over. When you contrast that finding with the percentage of U.S. households with net assets of at least $1 million—a mere 4%—the handwriting on the wall is clear. Extend the number of seats in Congress to roughly 115 million, one for each household recorded in the 2010 census, and we become a nation of mostly very wealthy people. How’s that for wealth redistribution?

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of CRP, writes that “the vast majority of members of Congress are quite comfortable, financially.” That’s putting it mildly. Of the current 250 members who are millionaires, nine of them have over $100 million. One of them, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), is within hailing distance of half a billion dollars, with an average net worth of over $448 million.

Issa, who is the richest, is followed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) with $380 million, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) with $232 million, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) with $193 million, and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) with $174 million.

Since there are 531 Congress members in total, that means that 281 members have an average net worth of less than a million dollars. But is anyone in Congress poor? If the records obtained by CRP are accurate and truthful, the answer is a resounding yes. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) is in debt to the tune of $4.7 million. Rep. Steve Fincher (R-TN) is also reportedly in the red $3.3 million, followed by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), who owes $2.5 million.

But back to the good news: Despite the global economic meltdown and moribund recovery, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator (senators tend to be richer than House members) is up about 11 percent, from $2.38 million in 2009, to $2.63 million in 2010 (the most recent year for which financial data were available).

A complete list of Congress members and where they fall on the wealth continuum is here. You might also enjoy tabbing over to a listing of the most popular investments among members of Congress. I’ll give you a sneak preview: The number one favorite investment vehicle is a company that paid no federal tax in 2010.

Do you think this is what the founding fathers envisioned when they established Congress?

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