The Richest Members Of Congress By State
Vox is out with an interesting map of the richest Member of Congress in each state based on data collected by the people at Roll Call: (click to enlarge)
As you’d expect, the list is dominated by Senators, but there are also quite a few members of the House on the list as well. Draw your own conclusions.
Darrell Issa is the one here in California. He made his fortune in the Car Alarm Security business. My guess is that it was in the Used Car business.
A few years ago Issa personally bankrolled, to the tune of $1.7 million, the “grassroots” effort to recall then-governor Gray Davis. He’s an inspiration to all of who love Benghazi and hate government.
@al-Ameda:
Darrel Issa is the one, period. He’s more than three times as wealthy as the next guy.
Mark Warner is the richest from my state (Virginia), which didn’t surprise me at all. He made his through investments in telecommunications. Apparently he’s the wealthiest Senator, although still nowhere near Rep. Issa.
I’d be more interested to see the poorest members of congress by state. Or maybe I should say the least rich.
I’m kind of surprised how low these numbers are. Dan Coats was a lobbyist. Al Franken was a big name in show business. Joseph Kennedy is a Kennedy.
I’m actually surprised Hagan’s richer than Burr. Burr’s been in the Senate since ’05 and was a U.S. Rep before that.
@CB:
538 Calif. Rep. David Valadao R $-3.7M
537 Fla. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings D $-2.23M
533 Mo. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver D $-0.85M
532 Ill. Rep. Mike Quigley D $-0.78M
531 N.M. Sen. Martin Heinrich D $-0.72M
530 Pa. Rep. Chaka Fattah D $-0.7M
529 La. Rep. Steve Scalise R $-0.67M
526 Neb. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry R $-0.65M
525 N.Y. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney D $-0.61M
524 Mich. Sen. Debbie Stabenow D $-0.59M
522 Texas Rep. Ruben Hinojosa D $-0.57M
519 Ark. Rep. Tim Griffin R $-0.52M
517 Ariz. Rep. Matt Salmon R $-0.5M
515 S.C. Sen. Tim Scott R $-0.5M
514 R.I. Sen. Jack Reed D $-0.48M
513 N.C. Rep. Renee Ellmers R $-0.48M
512 Utah Rep. Chris Stewart R $-0.46M
508 Minn. Rep. John Kline R $-0.41M
506 Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz D $-0.4M
505 Wis. Rep. Mark Pocan D $-0.38M
501 Ind. Rep. Luke Messer R $-0.36M
500 Md. Rep. Donna Edwards D $-0.36M
498 Vt. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy D $-0.35M
493 Idaho Rep. Raul R. Labrador R $-0.31M
490 Ohio Rep. Michael R. Turner R $-0.3M
483 N.J. Rep. Albio Sires D $-0.27M
478 Ga. Rep. Hank Johnson D $-0.25M
476 Nev. Rep. Steven Horsford D $-0.24M
475 S.D. Rep. Kristi Noem R $-0.23M
473 Wash. Rep. Dave Reichert R $-0.22M
471 Conn. Rep. John B. Larson D $-0.21M
468 Okla. Rep. Jim Bridenstine R $-0.2M
467 Miss. Sen. Roger Wicker R $-0.2M
453 Ky. Rep. Andy Barr R $-0.13M
450 Va. Rep. Robert C. Scott D $-0.13M
449 Mont. Sen. John Walsh D $-0.13M
448 Kan. Rep. Mike Pompeo R $-0.13M
439 N.H. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter D $-0.1M
436 Colo. Rep. Ed Perlmutter D $-0.1M
430 Ala. Rep. Terri A. Sewell D $-0.08M
422 Iowa Rep. Steve King R $-0.04M
399 Tenn. Rep. Marsha Blackburn R $0.01M
370 Mass. Rep. Richard E. Neal D $0.07M
313 Maine Rep. Michael H. Michaud D $0.25M
312 N.D. Rep. Kevin Cramer R $0.25M
290 Del. Rep. John Carney D $0.36M
282 Wyo. Sen. Michael B. Enzi R $0.39M
280 Ore. Rep. Peter A. DeFazio D $0.4M
276 Alaska Rep. Don Young R $0.42M
273 W.Va. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito R $0.45M
@PJ: Good job. Well done.
@Tillman:
Hagan comes from a wealthy family and is a former banking executive. Burr comes from a lower middle-class family and spent most of his professional life as a lawn equipment salesman. It shouldn’t be that surprising.
Issa is particularly nefarious, as the Republicans just finished a season of nonstop ads against his North San Diego County colleague, Scott Peters – calling Peters “one of the richest politicians in Washington” – at $60 million. The twisted logic….
I already knew Shaheen was the richest from my state.
Not really sure the wealth or lack of wealth matters that much. There isnt a truly poor congress member in the bunch. Not a single congress member who is worrying about paying their bills or getting their kids into the best school available.
The reality is that the number one qualification for being a member of congress is you have to have wealth. In my state there are plenty of state representatives who are making less than 100K a year but to get elected to Federal office you have to have much more than that.
Democrat or republican to get elected you have to have money.
The only conclusion I could draw was here’s a list of people who could self-finance a run for higher office
@edmondo: And yet, they don’t. Hmmm……
The one that is most impressive to me is John McCain. Here is a guy with a net worth in the tens of millions who wasn’t born into wealth (His father and grandfather were Naval officers) never worked in industry, from what he declared on his finance form when he ran for President keeps his net worth separate from his wife’s, and has parlayed a couple of hundred thousand a year job into a fairly substantial fortune.
The personification of what hard work and diligent saving will do for you. An inspiration to us all!