Our Oligarchical Congresscritters Are WAY Richer Than You

The Tweed Ring had nothing on today’s fat cats

What a disgusting way to run a country: government by millionaires, of the millionaires and for the millionaires.

It would take the combined wealth of more than 18 American households to equal the value of a single federal lawmaker’s household, the Center for Responsive Politics’ latest analysis of congressional wealth finds.

The median net worth of a member of Congress was $1,029,505 in 2013 — a 2.5 percent increase from 2012 — compared with an average American household’s median net worth of $56,355. Once again, the majority of members of Congress are millionaires — 271 of the 533 members currently in office, or 50.8 percent.

While the median net worth of an American family has declined by nearly one-third between 2007 and 2013, members of Congress have recovered quite well from the recession. The Senate’s median net worth went from $2.3 million to $2.8 million over that period, while for members of the House the numbers went from $708,500 to $843,507… overall, CRP’s annual analysis of lawmakers’ financial statements once again shows that they are not remotely similar to the typical American in terms of wealth, investments and economic security.

And who are the fattest of the fat cats? Darrell Issa, with a net worth of $448.2 million, leads the pack, followed by Sen. Mark Warner, a couple of Democrat House members you’ve never heard of, and GOP incoming freshman congressman Dave Trott, worth around $200 million. Both Nancy Pelosi and Mrs. Dick Blum, aka Sen. Dianne Feinstein, make the top twelve.