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The 30 richest members of Congress Who are the wealthiest on Capitol Hill. The Hill newspaper, which covers Congress, released its 2012 list, based on financial disclosure forms. Here are the top 30 of The Hills’s list, in descending order of reported wealth.
1. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) — $355.4 millionÂ
The wealthiest member of Congress is also its busiest watchdog. Issa made much of his money through the popular Viper anti-car-theft system and has much of his wealth in huge investment funds now, reports the Hill. Methodology for this list: Using the low figures on a range in the federal disclosure forms for separate assets and liabilities, if more exact financial statements are not available.
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2. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — $101.9 millionÂ
McCaul was listed as The Hill’s wealthiest lawmaker for 2010 and 2011, but he dropped to No. 2 after he chose to report his wife’s and family’s holdings differently, The Hill says. His wife, Linda, is the daughter of Lowry Mays, the founder of radio behemoth Clear Channel Communications.
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3. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) — $88.5 millionÂ
The former Virginia governor made his pile by co-founding the company that became Nextel and has invested in tech start-ups since, as well as established Internet and software companies, reports The Hill’s Kevin Bogardus. The Hill's Top 30, listed only by wealth, has 15 Republicans and 15 Democrats.
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4. Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) — $83.8 millionÂ
The great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller got his wealth the old-fashioned way — he inherited it. Most of his reported wealth is in three different bank accounts, although he owns more than $1 million in stock in PepsiCo, where his wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, daughter of former senator Charles Percy of Illinois, sits on the board.
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AP
5. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) — $76.6 millionÂ
Blumenthal married the daughter of a New York real estate magnate, elevating the worth of a man who has spent most of his career in public service. Their investments include trusts and investments in office buildings, apartments, warehouses and shopping centers, The Hill reports.
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6. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) — $68.4 millionÂ
Delaney founded two publicly traded companies: HealthCare Financial Partners and CapitalSource Inc. About $25 million of his reported fortune is in CapitalSource stock and has several finance-industry investments, including Goldman Sachs, The Hill reports.
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AP
7. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) — $60.2 millionÂ
Polis helped move his family’s greeting-card business, Blue Mountain, online and launched ProFlowers.com. He lists a blind trust worth at least $25 million and investments in software and Internet companies, The Hill reports.
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AP
8. Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) — $44.7 millionÂ
Two factors play into Peters’ wealth: his move from being an economist at the Environmental Protection Agency to a lawyer representing business interests and government agencies, and his marriage to Lynn E. Gorguze, the president and chief executive of Cameron Holdings, a private equity firm founded by her father. The couple has oil interests in Argentina, aerospace and government bonds, The Hill reports.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
9. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) — $41.6 millionÂ
The veteran senator owes much of her wealth to her husband, Richard Blum, president and chief executive of Blum Capital, a private equity firm. They own a big stake in San Francisco’s Hotel Carlton and have a million-dollar condo in Hawaii, The Hill’s Megan R. Wilson reports. Only 7 women are among the 30 wealthiest members of Congress.
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AP
10. Rep. James B. Renacci (R-Ohio) — $35.9 millionÂ
The certified public accountant founded a company that owns and operates nursing homes. Most of his assets are in funds invested in companies such as Apple, Costco, Google and Inuit, The Hill reports.
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AP
11. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) — $32.7 millionÂ
Car dealerships, stocks, bonds and real estate provide the bulk of Buchanan’s nest egg. In 2012, he mortgaged a home on the members-only Florida island of Useppa, The Hill reported.
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12. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) — $31.5 millionÂ
Much of Pingree’s wealth comes from husband S. Donald Sussman, a Wall Street millionaire and philanthropist who also owns several Maine newspapers. Their assets include real estate, solar power, a sunscreen manufacturer and an organic milk producer, The Hill reports.
Robert F Bukaty
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AP
13. Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) — $25 millionÂ
Nashville real estate and investments in Aegis, Dell, eBay, Google, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Target and Nestle make up the bulk of the wealth listed for Black and her husband, David Black, The Hill reports.
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AP
14. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — $24.4 millionÂ
Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, has invested at least $10 million in two United Football League franchises, and the couple own a home and vineyard valued at at least $5 million. Her reported worth decreased about $2 million in 2012, The Hill reports.
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15. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash) — $23.9 millionÂ
Microsoft has been very, very good to DelBene and her husband, Kurt DelBene. She worked at the software giant for 12 years and he still does, and the couple has several big Microsoft assets, The Hill reports. DelBene, through her husband, also participated in the company’s health-care plan last year.
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AP
16. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) — $22.3 million Â
Collins lists 16 different companies where he is a director or partner. His big holdings include biotech and electric repair companies around Buffalo and a drug-development company based in Auckland, New Zealand, The Hill reports.
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17. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) — $20.9 millionÂ
His million-dollar holdings include Proctor & Gamble and IBM, and his landholdings include a rental home in Stockbridge, Mass., The Hill’s Alex Resnak reports.
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18. Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho) — $19.2 millionÂ
Much of his wealth comes from three investments in large tracts of ranch and farm land in his state, The Hill’s Megan R. Wilson reports.
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19. Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-Calif.) — $17.8 millionÂ
Miller founded a company that built houses and created planned communities. His listed investments included land in Rancho Cucamonga and Rialto, Calif., reports The Hill’s Meredith Bentsen.
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20. Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) — $17.1 millionÂ
Pittenger’s pile comes from a company that invests in land in the Carolinas. The Hill says the congressman plans to donate his congressional salary to charity, as he has done with the money from a pension he receives from North Carolina for his time as a state senator.
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21. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) — $16.7 millionÂ
Grayson’s fortune stems from IDT Corp., a telecommunications firm he founded in the early 1990s. The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports his listed investments included pharmaceuticals, financial management and gold and minerals.
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AP
22. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) — $16.7 millionÂ
Corker made his money in commercial real estate in Chattanooga and still has much of his fortune in rental real estate, The Hill reports. He took a nearly $3 million hit last year, much of it from a UBS Bank account that lost most of its value.
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23. Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) — $15.2 millionÂ
Yes, a Kennedy is on this list. The affable freshman congressman has much of his money in trusts, one of which has sizeable investments in General Electric, Google and Merck. The Hill’s Kevin Bogardus also reports that Kennedy has listed three 2006 student loans for at least $80,000 among his liabilities.
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24. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) — $14.9 millionÂ
Much of McCaskill’s wealth comes from her husband, Joseph Shepard, a St. Louis businessman who has investments in New Zealand, a Georgia-based affordable housing firm, cloud computing, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, Clorox and United Technologies, The Hill reports.
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25. Rep. Richard L. Hanna (R-N.Y.) — $14.4 millionÂ
Hanna founded a construction company before politics. He has big investments in a money-market account, PepsiCo, Chevron and Verizon, The Hill reports.
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26. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) — $14.2 millionÂ
The former North Dakota governor (and ex-director of the Bank of North Dakota) invests in companies such as Heinz, McDonald’s and Ralph Lauren, The Hill reports.
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27. Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) — $12.8 millionÂ
The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee has much of her wealth in investment and retirement accounts held by she and her husband, Stephen, chairman of the Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart law firm, The Hill reports.
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28. Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) — $12.6 millionÂ
A car dealership is a big part of Rigell’s portfolio, as are commercial real estate properties in Virginia Beach, The Hill reports.
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29. Sen. Ronald H. Johnson (R-Wis.) — $12.5 millionÂ
Talk to Chuck about Johnson’s portfolio. He lists at least $5 million with Charles Schwab and another $4.3 million in rental real estate in Wisconsin, The Hill reports. He holds more than a $1 million stake in a polyester and plastics manufacturer of which he was chief executive before politics.
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30. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) — $12.1 millionÂ
Harkin and his wife, Ruth, own a vacation home in the Bahamas worth at least $500,000, The Hill reports. His wife also has at least $3 million worth of holdings in ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66 and United Technologies, the newspaper says.
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