Yes America, there is a wealth gap. Seven of the top ten wealthiest members in Congress are Democrats.
The results are based on a new study released today by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. The Center did an analysis of the financial statements filed by members of Congress for 2010 income and net worth.
This revelation of extreme wealth by Democratic politicians is completely contrary to the public image of the Democratic Party. President Obama has castigated “millionaires and billionaires,” suggesting they are evil people, largely Republican or conservative. The issue of the Democratic Party as the millionaire party has not yet made it into the mainstream media. But the facts are indisputable. Democratic members of Congress tend to be wealthier than their Republican counterparts.
According to the Center, 36 Senate Democrats and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million in 2010. The median estimated net worth among members of the Senate Democrats was $2.58 million. Senate Republican median net worth was $2.43 million.
And, the wealthy Democrats tend to inherit their money. Republicans tend to earn it.
Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) all came by their fortunes through marriage or inheritance. Senator Kerry, who was born into wealth, has listed his net worth as high as $281 million, while his wife Teresa is estimated to be worth $1 billion. Ms. Heinz did not earn her wealth either. She inherited the money from her husband Senator John Heinz, who died in an airplane crash.
Senator Rockefeller, representing dirt poor West Virginia, inherited his fortune from his family. He is reported to be worth $136 million.
While the economy continued to tank in 2010, Rep. Pelosi reported her own wealth to grow by 62%. Pelosi’s husband, Paul, is a financier. They own a multi-million dollar vineyard and a number of million dollar homes. They have a net worth of $196 million.
Former Democrat Rep. Jane Harmon (D-CA), who in 2010 was listed as the third wealthiest member of Congress, was married to the late stereo magnate Sidney Harman of Harman-Karmen fame. Together they were worth $493 million.
Only Republican Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) married into major money. His net worth went from $12 million to $502 million in two years. The explanation? He married an heiress to the Clear Channel radio empire.
Among those who actually got their money by earning it, Republicans were in the slight majority. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a self-made millionaire earned his wealth by creating the Viper car security system. He is estimated to be worth more than $700 million. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) started as a rancher and attorney. His wealth is cited as $88 million.
Rep. Vernon Buchanan (R-FL), one of only three Republicans to make the top ten earned his money through real estate and car dealerships. He is estimated to be worth over $323 million.
Much has been made about Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) being the wealthiest Republican in the U.S. Senate. But he is ranked only number 14 because there are so many wealthier Democrats ahead of him. He doesn’t make the Top Ten. He worked as a construction superintendent. Then started his own company. Today he is worth $107 million.
Among Democrats who earned their income, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) first made his money as a mobile phone franchiser, later as a high tech venture capitalist in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington.
Warner is reported to have learned about the telecommunications industry while working for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). Sen. Dodd decided not to run for re-election as he was under a cloud for taking a below-market mortgage from the CEO of now bankrupt Countrywide Financial.
For those who are keeping score, Dodd recently landed a sweet job as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America after he declined to run for re-election in 2008. The Hollywood Reporter says his annual salary will be pegged at $1.5 million.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), earned his fortune in the flower and greeting card business. He was the founder of Pro-Flower and an e-commerce greeting card company which he sold to Excite.com for more than $700 million.
New Jersey’s long time Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) rounds out the top ten. He originally was with a high tech company and is worth $116 million. New Jersey, considered one of the most corrupt states in the country, has had many home-grown Democratic gazillionaires for a long time.
Former Democratic Senator and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine last week resigned as CEO of MF Global, a well established company he ran into the ground. As of last week federal investigators were trying to determine why the company is missing $900 million. It closed its doors last week and laid off more than 1,000 employees.
The issue of politics and money has been a complicated one. President Barack Obama brought in far more money from Wall Street in his 2008 campaign than his Republican opponent Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Obama raked in $1 million from Goldman Sachs employees that year. While his numbers are lower this year, the President has attracted $15.2 million from the financial services industry that he attacks so frequently.
Many Democrats run institutions on Wall Street. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan has been a long-time Democratic supporter. So too has Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein.
When will the mainstream media figure out that Democrats are part of a millionaire’s club too? Maybe someone should tell the Occupy Wall Street protesters, if they are still in their park.
Note: This post erroneously stated that Rep. McCaul represents Florida, and that Rep. Jared Polis is a senator. Both have been corrected, and we regret the errors. -bp
There is a huge difference in education, too. There are 12(?) MD’s in the Senate, all Republican. There are also economists and MBA’s. I think only one is a Democrat. The Dems are either lawyers, or they have OWS-degrees (TM) in sociology or the like. Patty Murray (D- my effing State, WA) has a degree in Phys Ed, and was a kindergarten teacher before she entered politics.
Yeah, the Republicans are the evil-rich, stupid guys.
(And the 12 Jews in Congress are all Dems/”independents”, too, supporting the Party which does not support Israel. Someone should write an article about the demographics of the U.S. Senate.)
Clearly you late an education in history!
It’s not the wealthiest members of congress that should be an issue. Instead, we should be concerned about those members of congress who’s personal wealth has increased the most during their time in office. If one of these scumbags came into office without a penny to their name, and 4 or 5 election cycles later they are worth a few million dollars, that should be a problem.
Instead of term limits for the presidency or congress, we should have a constitutional rule that prohibits any consecutive terms in office. This would eliminate the incumbent’s election advantage, and the incumbent would not be focused on an agenda oriented towards re-election.
“we should be concerned about those members of congress who’s personal wealth has increased the most during their time in office”
second that.
How exactly did Stretch’s net worth increase 62% while the country’s decreased about 20%?
A couple of errors you ought to correct.
The stereo company is Harman Kardon not Harman Karmen
Jared Polis is a Representative from Colorado (CO-2 IIRC), not a Senator.
Jared Polis is not a self made man. His parents founded Blue Mountain Arts and are worth far more than he is. It was their millions that invested in Jared’s company. It is easy to get a company going with unlimited funds. He spent his way to success with family money.
“Rep. Pelosi reported her own wealth to grow by 62%. Pelosi’s husband, Paul is a financier. They own a multi-million dollar vineyard”
OPV! Occupy Pelosi Vineyard! Can you imagine how many of the “#occupy” could comfortably fit in a posh California vineyard? A ripe paradise yet unrealized!
this is what dems love about an income tax…
it does nothing to their existing wealth.
getting it back with a death tax?
check out the ‘foundations’ of buffet and gates. for two guys who believe in higher taxes, they seem to find a method of keeping their wealth, and away from the govt, after they are gone.
money used to be made via capital investments and production.
now, we have hedge funds. now, more money is being bet not on industry, but on the changes that occur within industry. economic activity up, they make money. economic activity down, they make money…
hedge funds aren’t successful for what they produce, but for gaming a system’s volatility. more volatility, more money, regardless whether the average american is actually winning or losing.
for the record, we are losing, quite badly.
i did see that chelsea clinton married a hedge fund manager. take a guess on who bill and hillary are betting on.
since Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, 1999, ‘adjusting for inflation’, the dow has made nothing. believing the trend will adjust back to previous times is simply delusional.
for well over 50 years, the dow was running at 10% return annually, and suddenly it stops? the same year we jack open the derivatives market?
only a coincidence. just ask a hedge fund manager.
big money found a casino outside of equities, with better odds, and better taxes. (how did soros make his money?)
volcker knows the truth of where we are heading, but he will be dead soon. why make waves?
The insistence on “income” as the revenue source instead of “wealth” always drives me crazy. Warren Buffet is saying that people with high income should pay more taxes. If he cut his income to zero dollars, converted all his investments to pure cash, and spent a hundred million dollars every year, he would last until the year 2450 without paying one thin dime in income taxes.
So they aren’t socialist? They are the job creators I keep hearing about?
The answer is really simple. Impose the same rules for the scumbags in gov’t as we the sheeple have. If you are caught, firing squad, period. These people supposedly work for the sheeple, but in reality it is we the politicans, for the politicans, by the politicans. Shoot every one of them and start all over again. I don’t advocate killing anybody, but these politicans are raping us in plain sight and there is nothing we can do but thank them when they are done screwing us. Smile americ, here comes your 6 inch raise.
SO we can be sure they’re the ones who’ve cashed in the most on the just revealed ‘legal’ inside trader loophole these lowlives carved out for themselves to raid the treasury and milk the privilege and power they’re all drunk and stoned with on the other side of the Potomac.
Our founders would no less than hang 98% of those selling info and favors on Crapitol Hill as I call it now. Should we do any less under such thievery and debauchery?
Devils advocate if they are rich wouldn’t that suggest they don’t need the big donor money unless they are greedy SOBS? Conversely maybe that’s why Conservatives like corporate donations. We are screwed either way though the already rich vote to protect themselves, and the poor members vote for what the rest of the rich want.
A couple of nits. The stereo company is Harman Karden.
Jared Polis is a Congressman not a Senator.
You cannot satisfy Republicans. Dems are either lazy idlers who make no cash, or they are fat-cat millionaires. Which is it? Either they are lazy and poor or rich and idle, which is it? Do you really believe that the “other” party is filled with poor and rich idlers? Are you that brainwashed? You stare at rich, white males, telling you to reject hispanics and gays, and you really believe they care about you???? You think that by pointing out the few rich democrats, that will validate your own racism, obstructionism and anti-democratic leanings???
Owl. I’ve never called myself a Republican, but I can say that I WAS a Democrat.
Democrat policies don’t work. Doesn’t matter how many trust fund babies you guys have in the LIBTARD party. Your policies have NEVER worked.
Yup never worked. Oh, except every democratic economic policy from the New Deal to the Clinton budget surplus. You may disagree on Democratic social or federal policies, but their economic policies have a solid track record; particularly useful in cleaning up recessions following Republican-controlled policies. Hyperbole is not your friend, mate.
What are you smoking???? The new deal EXTENDED THE DEPRESSION; WW2 is what brought us out of that nightmare. And as far a Clinton’s legacy we are experiencing the direct result of that; making home loans available to people WHO CANNOT PAY THEM is a big part of the problem we are currently facing.
BOTH parties are culpable…..its the sheer hypocrisy of the Demorat party that gets me (still a registered D although I’ve not voted for one since 92)
Yeah…..”we’re for the working man” RIGHT…….. (unless you consider being a parasite “work”.
You left out the part about Clinton’s surplus being caused by the Republicans forcing it upon him.
Excellent point. Also Clinton had to compromise to get the welfare program reformed since he was on the hot seat after the Monica Lewinsky debacle (also with Hillary) and had to get public opinion back on his side.
Just goes to show, most conservatives work hard to earn their money, and democraps are leaches who wouldnt survive the first winter if not for the money they married into, or stole from hard working conservative taxpayers! VOTE FOR HERMAN CAIN!
Many years ago, as a young PoliSci student, I asked a professor, “Why would a senatorial candidate spend $1 million to get a $39,000 per year job?”
The answer he didn’t give, but which is accurate, is that we have allowed a ‘Political Class’ to spawn, and those seeking to enter that Political Class sees elected office as an opportunity to amass wealth, through special arrangements, insider information, graft/corruption, and the ever-present funnel referred to as “Campaign Financing.”
The solutions to ending the continued rise of the Political Class (which is more and more resembling the structure of Soviet Central Committee and its Politburo…):
* Term Limits,
* reduction of salary and perks available to federal elected officials, and control of that financial remuneration by State Legislatures vs Congress itself;
* reform of Campaign Finance laws to include total disclosure by candidates, and the return of unused funds to the State Treasury outside of the candidate’s control. The current FEC is a eunuch as an enforcement agency.
Find Davy Crockett’s speech to Congress on the responsibility Congressional members have when allocating their neighbors money. Methinks Pelosi, et al don’t view the rest of us as their ‘neighbors’ but rather pigeons whose revenue can be skimmed with impunity.
We must find ways to bring governing primarily back to the most local level, eliminating the over-arching reach of a far-away class of Politicians and Bureaucrats. Elsewise, fear the rise of Soviet-style plundering and tyranny.
That photo of kerry and his homely wife about says it all. I wouldn’t vote for that socialist democrat phoney fraud for dog catcher.
Chicago Nick, re: “Our founders would no less than hang 98% of those selling info and favors on Crapitol Hill as I call it now. Should we do any less under such thievery and debauchery?”
In 1917, exhausted by three years of war, horrific casualties, and criminally-foolish generalship, the French Army mutinied. In response, the French high command convened over 3,000 courts martial, and 23,000 or more sentences of mutinous activity were handed out. Five hundred deaths sentences were handed down, and 49 men were executed. It was said, perhaps apocryphally, that French officers ordered at least one men per regiment to be executed, whether guilty or not, “pour encourager les autres,” as an example to others.
One wonders whether it is not time for such dacronian measures against our criminal political class, considering that nothing else has brought them into line. I think I know what the Founding Fathers would say…
If bernie Madoff were a senator would he be a free man because of senator imunity from insider trading and who knows what else senators are imune from
Also, can we for a moment focus on the fact that Congress is not subject to insider trading rules like the rest of us. That gives them ample time to get out and buy before a bill is passed that affects a commodity or stock holding.