More Millionaires in Congress Than Ever Before

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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At a time when federal lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps and the minimum wage, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code, there are now more millionaires in Congress than ever before. This was the finding of a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.

According to disclosures filed last year by all members of Congress and congressional candidates, at least 268 of the 534 current members had an average net worth of $1 million or more. The $1,008,767 median net worth for the 530 current federal lawmakers was an increase $966,000 in the previous year, when about 48 percent of Congress members had a median net worth of at least $1 million.

The wealthiest member of Congress was Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He had an average net worth of $464 million in 2012. At the other end of the spectrum was Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), who reported an average net worth of negative $12.1 million in 2012. His debt was due to loans for his family dairy farm.

The Center for Responsive Politics also found that investing in the stock market, out of favor with members of Congress for several years, swelled again in 2012. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was once again the most popular stock, with 74 lawmakers invested, up from 71 in 2011. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was the second most popular, with 58 members invested. That was up from 40 in the previous year. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) were also popular investments.

Real estate was the most popular investment for members of Congress, though. Investments in that category were estimated at between $442.2 million and $1.4 billion in value.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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