It’s official: the transition of the United States to an oligarchy is complete. As unelected billionaires, oligarchs, and technocrats assume control of our government, we begin to wonder how we could have let this happen.

Rich people have always sought political power, this isn’t new. However, the level of wealth and the distance between their riches and the average citizen today is unprecedented in all of history. But who among our oligarchs are the wealthiest, how much to they have, and where did their wealth come from?

With a combined net worth of $450 billion, Trump’s proposed cabinet is the richest in American history by a long shot (by comparison, Biden’s cabinet was worth $120 million). It includes billionaire hedge-fund managers, shady television doctors, real estate barons, billionaire automakers, billionaire private equity owners, and simply millionaire inheritors who have never worked a day in their lives.

Of course, this doesn’t include Elon Musk, the richest man in the history of the planet, with a net worth of over $433 billion, who bought his access to the presidency with $118 million in donations to Donald Trump. He now is in charge of the “Department of Government Efficiency”, which does not exist, and has significant control over the executive branch of the government, despite not being elected and needing no congressional approval.

For this list, however, we will only be listing elected officials, not cabinet members, appointed bureaucrats, military members, or others who bought their position like Musk.

#10 Mark Warner

• Party: Democrat
• Office: Senator, Virginia
• Wealth: $215 million

Warner has held his position since 2009. He made his fortune as a venture capitalist at Columbia Capital. He is the third-richest member of Congress and the richest Democrat in Congress. He has been a typical supporter of the status quo in America, holding no radical positions and generally kicking the can of any pressing issue down the line and playing a “both sides” style of politics that kept the United States in its current state of inequality and corruption.

#9 Rick Scott

• Party: Republican
• Office: Senator, Florida
• Wealth: $300 million

Rick Scott has been a senator from Florida since 2019 and previously served as the governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. As a law graduate he founded the Columbia Hospital Corporation which eventually became the largest for-profit healthcare company in the entire country. The company defrauded Medicaid, Medicare, and several other government benefit programs, and was forced to pay the largest fraud settlement in history.

Naturally, after being forced from his position at the company, Scott became a venture capitalist and a politician.

#8 Kevin Hern

• Party: Republican
• Office: Representative, Oklahoma
• Wealth: $361 million

Kevin Hern is another businessman who made his fortune buying McDonald’s franchises. He has since bought several other businesses. He was one of the primary figures in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Hern is one of the most active stock traders in Congress and has violated the STOCK Act for hiding some of his trades by not reporting them. He has called spending money on welfare “tragic”.

#7 Glenn Youngkin

• Party: Republican
• Office: Governor of Virginia
• Wealth: $400 million

Yet another businessman, Youngkin has been the Governor of Virginia since 2022. He made his fortune as the CEO of a private equity company (surprise!), The Carlyle Group.

As a right-wing extremist, Youngkin has repealed protections for transgender students, tried to implement abortion restrictions, and strongly opposed the legalization of cannabis.

#6 Jared Polis

• Party: Democrat
• Office: Governor of Colorado
• Wealth: $400 million

Polis has been the Governor of Colorado since 2019 and was a Representative from Colorado from 2009 to 2019. He was the first openly gay man elected to Congress and the first openly gay man to be elected governor. He made his fortune after founding an internet access company while in college and several online companies.

#5 Jim Justice

• Party: Republican
• Office: Governor of West Virginia
• Wealth: $450 million

Justice served as the governor of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025. He made his fortune by inheriting 94 coal mining businesses from his father.

He switched between the Democratic and Republican parties a number of times before settling as a Republican. His policies have supported his coal-mining businesses and included anti-LGBT legislation and anti-abortion initiatives.

Justice used to be a billionaire but has lost most of his inherited fortune.

#4 Darrell Issa

• Party: Republican
• Office: Representative, California’s 48th district
• Wealth: $500 million

Issa has been in Congress since 2001 and made his fortune by founding Directed Electronics, an automobile aftermarket security company, and as CEO of Greene Properties which owns commercial properties in North San Diego County.

He generally supports conservative American policies, buys into conspiracy theories, and supports repealing protections for threatened minorities.

#3 Doug Burgum

• Party: Republican
• Office: Governor of North Dakota
• Wealth: $1.1 billion

Doug Burgum was the governor of North Dakota until 2024 when he was chosen by Donald Trump to be his secretary of the interior in 2025. Yet another businessman, Burgum made his fortune buying his way into companies and selling them to large corporations like Microsoft. He later founded Arthur Ventures, a venture capital company.

He has signed several anti-LGBT laws, and banned teaching about race in North Dakota skills, but calls himself a moderate Republican.

#2 J.B. Pritzker

• Party: Democrat
• Office: Governor of Illinois
• Wealth: $3.45 billion

Yet another businessman, Pritzker is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel brand and founded a handful of his own companies.

Pritzker supports several popular social reforms including legalizing cannabis, raising the minimum wage, net neutrality, increasing and protecting immigration, and more. However, he does not support a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.

#1 Donald Trump

• Party: Republican
• Office: President
• Wealth: $6 billion

Before launching his presidential campaign for the 2024 presidential election, Trump had a net worth of $2 billion. By October of 2024, his net worth had jumped to $6 billion, setting the gold standard for grifting and political corruption for generations to come.

He made his fortune after receiving a “small loan of $1 million” from his father. He also borrowed $60 million from his father and was given $413 by his father’s company. He did not pay this money back.

He was then hired in his father’s real estate company which managed racially-segregated rental housing units in New York City. His father promoted him to president and the government forced him to desegregate his housing. He filed for bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2009. Through his business friendships, connections with the mafia, and several fraudulent companies (including Trump University and All County Building Supply & Maintenance Corp.), Trump managed to retrain most of his inherited wealth.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.