November 17, 2010 4:45 PM

Number of Millionaires in Congress: 261

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Congress

California Rep. Darrell Issa is the wealthiest member of Congress, according to an analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics

(Credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

For Congress, debating the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans is personal.

While the base pay for members of Congress is $174,000, nearly half -- 261, to be exact -- are millionaires, according to an analysis of 2009 data from the Center for Responsive Politics (there are 535 total members of the House and Senate). Just 1 percent of Americans overall can say the same.

While the economy has generally faltered over the past two years, congressional members actually saw their collective personal wealth increase by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to the study, which analyzed financial disclosure data released earlier this year.

As many as 55 members had an average calculated wealth of $10 million or more in 2009, according to the Center.

According to the Center's estimates, the wealthiest member of Congress is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose holdings exceed $303.5 million. Rep Jane Harman (D-Calif.) is close behind with $293.4 million, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) rounds out the top three at $238.8 million.

Members of Congress are only required to report their wealth and liabilities in broad ranges, so the Center calculated each member's average estimated wealth by determining the minimum and maximum value of their assets. Additionally, federal financial disclosures don't require members of Congress to report certain assets such as personal residences.

The list of Congress' wealthiest members is bipartisan. In the House, five Democrats and five Republicans make up the 10 wealthiest members, while in the Senate, six Democrats and four Republicans make up the top 10.

The median wealth of a House member in 2009 stood at $765,010, while the median wealth for a senator in 2009 was nearly $2.38 million.

Members of the House and Senate made investments last year in a number of companies that have a strong presence on Capitol Hill, spending large sums on lobbying efforts and political donations. The most popular company among members of Congress, CRP found, was General Electric, in which 82 current members invested. The second most popular company was Bank of America, which 63 members invested in.

The CRP's report comes as Congress considers what to do about the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year. President Obama has long advocated for extending the tax cuts for everyone except individuals making over $200,000 or families making over $250,000 -- the top 2 percent of income earners. Republicans and some moderate Democrats, however, want to extend all of the tax cuts, and the White House has signaled it is willing to compromise to a degree on the matter.


Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

Add a Comment See all 13 Comments
by zafarim November 19, 2010 9:43 AM EST
This is not really new 'news'. For the most part it is the obscenely wealthy who win elections. And there is nothing wrong with wealth as long as it is not ill gotten. The real issue is what do these people do for the country or for the common tax payer who they owe so much to....
Zafar Khan. silentconscience.org
Reply to this comment
by a_pink_poodle November 18, 2010 6:32 PM EST
No wonder the Republican's want to give tax cuts to the rich!
Reply to this comment
by Dave_Thomas November 18, 2010 9:59 PM EST
Yep, they just want to help out their Democrat buddies.
by candyapplechris November 18, 2010 12:47 PM EST
Newsflash to all of the whiny b*tches...the common man would have absoultely no understanding of how to run the country. Our founding fathers were not "commen men". They were the leaders.

Secondly, $1MM is not a lot of money. Average age of congress is 57 years old. I am wondering what the other 50% of the successful people in Congress did with their money that at their age don't have sufficient funds to retire.
Reply to this comment
by a_pink_poodle November 18, 2010 6:38 PM EST
You kidding me? A million dollars isn't a lot of money? Try telling that to the rest of us peasants who don't even make 1/10th of that in a year and I guarantee you'd be laughed at, spat at, punched at, or all three.

If I had a million dollars, I'd take the remaining $970,000 that don't go into yearly expenses and put it in the bank! Heck I could move into a nicer apartment closer to the city and I'd still have $950,000 left over!

What caviar swimming, Rolls Royce driving, Monaco gambling, global vacationing planet are you living on where a million dollars isn't a lot of money?
by tsigili November 18, 2010 10:10 AM EST
Precisely why the common citizens of this country are ignored, by Congress.

The members of Congress have no ability to identify with the common man at all, and in fact, have zero interest in what is important to the common man.
Reply to this comment
by Dave_Thomas November 18, 2010 9:13 AM EST
And these people now what the middle class needs and how we feel? The just make themselves more wealthy off of our backs.
Reply to this comment
by LIBERALS-lie November 17, 2010 10:45 PM EST
and how many are LIBERALS ?
Reply to this comment
by oldbasicgal November 17, 2010 8:01 PM EST
I'll bet if our ethics laws were policed better, there would be fewer millionaires in Congress. Or, at least if they weren't millionaires before they got there, it would be harder to become millionaires AFTER they get there. Term limits, an independent (of them) ethics committee, and more rigid policing will stop some of this "Rangeling" and Congress will start helping Americans rather than helping themselves to Americans' money.
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by Doctor_Bones November 17, 2010 7:42 PM EST
I already knew this and have been telling everyone I know about it for years. We need term limits for Congress. It won't stop the filthy rich for getting elected to represent their country club constituents, but it will go a long way to stop corruption in Congress.


The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
.......Plato
Reply to this comment
by lucifersshadow November 17, 2010 6:30 PM EST
This is why American citizens are being ripped off when they pay their taxes . . . they are getting taxation, but no representation.
Reply to this comment
by forsanity1 November 17, 2010 6:22 PM EST
No wonder they can't get to a vote on tax rates for the wealthy.

Wall Street gets billions, Main Street gets the shaft. Your representatives at work - work for their own jobs, not yours.
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