
By Howard Nema
Now that another mid term election is behind us and the Republicans have seized both the House and Senate, lets take a look at the wealth of our representatives, history and the widening gap between the have and have nots and determine if our elected officials are really doing the work of We the People, or if they are simply padding their own pockets at the detriment of America.
History proves that for the last 50 years both political parties have contributed to the socio-economic conditions America faces today.
The “Great Society” social welfare programs, the government take over of education, NAFTA, GATT, trade imbalances, outsourcing of jobs overseas, corporate welfare have all been courtesy of Congress and every president since Lyndon Johnson.
To put all of this into perspective, the combined net worth of the United States Congress is a whopping $1.54 billion.
And you wonder what is wrong with Our country.
(Courtesy of Roll Call)
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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)$294.21Million
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Assets
$294.21 Million
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Liabilities
$0.00 Million
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Change
298.9%
When McCaul first appeared on Roll Call’s annual survey of the 50 Richest Members of Congress in 2005, he was a wealthy guy, reporting a minimum net worth of about $12 million.
His financial disclosure report now depicts a fortune worth almost 25 times that amount, making him the wealthiest Member of Congress, at least on paper.
McCaul ranked fifth among last year’s class of richest lawmakers, with a minimum net worth of at least $73.75 million, but has since risen to more than $294 million.
The lion’s share of McCaul’s wealth is held by his wife, Linda McCaul, the daughter of Clear Channel Communications CEO and founder Lowry Mays, and the Congressman’s dramatic rise in net worth in 2010 appears to be the product of generational wealth transfer.
A footnote to McCaul’s newest report noted that “certain assets” owned by his spouse were “acquired via a gift from spouse’s parents.” The accounts were not identified.
On his financial disclosure, McCaul listed a new asset — the Linda McCaul Descendant Trusts — owned by his wife that was valued at more than $50 million. According to his report, that trust was invested in several other family partnerships.
McCaul, likewise, added two trusts under the ownership of his dependent children, including one trust valued at $25 million to $50 million and another at $1 million to $5 million.
Another of Linda McCaul’s investment accounts also appears to have doubled in value, moving from a minimum worth of $25 million to a minimum of $50 million.
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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)$220.40Million
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Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)$193.07Million
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Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)$81.63Million
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Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)$76.30Million
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Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.)$65.91Million
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)$52.93*Million
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)$45.39Million
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Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)$44.21Million
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Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio)$35.87*Million
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Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)$35.20Million
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Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.)$21.60*Million
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Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)$21.18Million
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Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)$20.35Million
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Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho)$19.78Million
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Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.)$17.45Million
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Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)$17.00Million
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Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas)$16.45Million
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Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)$15.46Million
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Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.)$13.73**Million
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Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)$11.90*Million
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Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.)$11.60Million
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Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.)$10.69*Million
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Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.)$10.63*Million
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Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.)$10.60Million
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Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)$10.38Million
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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)$10.35Million
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Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)$10.28Million
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Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)$10.14Million
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Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)$10.14***Million
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Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)$9.88Million
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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)$9.84Million
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Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)$9.43Million
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Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.)$9.35*Million
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Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)$9.29Million
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Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)$9.23Million
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Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)$8.53Million
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Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas)$8.51*Million
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Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.)$8.44Million
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)$8.18*Million
* Indicates a freshman Member of Congress. Roll Call did not calculate percent change from forms filed as candidates.
** Member has not yet filed a disclosure form this year. The number here is based on the last available data, a disclosure form filed last year when he was a candidate for Congress. This information will be updated.
*** Roll Call added Sensenbrenner to this list after initial publication based on more detailed information about his wealth provided by his office. Sensenbrenner used to file a personal wealth statement — detailing not only his stock investments and bank accounts, but his travelers checks and stamp collection — along with the standard disclosure form. He did not attach a similar accounting with his 2010 financial report filed this spring, which showed a net worth of at least $5.19 million. But during Roll Call’s review of the details of Sensenbrenner’s nearly 700-page report, his office pointed to a separate financial statement he submitted to the Congressional Record in May, which indicates the Wisconsin lawmaker has a net worth of $10.14 million dollars, including several items that he does not have to report on the disclosure form. With Sensenbrenner’s addition, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) drops from our list. (COURTESY OF ROLL CALL)