Meet the Five Richest and Poorest Members of Congress
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US Congress(WASHINGTON) — When he’s not getting feisty on the House floor, Congressman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is sitting pretty with an estimated net worth of $357.25 million. Former CEO Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., has raked in nearly $112 million, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, has amassed more than $117 million, thanks, in part, to his wife’s considerable fortune.
But not everyone on Capitol Hill is rolling in dough. Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., all have a negative net worth, some with debt running up into the multi-millions.
Roll Call, the Capitol Hill publication, on Monday released its annual list of the 50 richest — and 10 poorest — members of Congress. The top 50 list is relatively homogenous — all white, with 41 men and just nine women.
All of the net worth figures below are courtesy of Roll Call:
RICHEST:
1. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
Net Worth: $357.25 Million
The California Republican, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has once again topped Roll Call’s list. In 1982, Issa founded Directed Electronics, one of the largest vehicle security companies in North America. After making millions on car alarms, he has since branched out into the bond market and real estate.
2. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)
Net Worth: $117.54 Million
McCaul’s wife, Linda Mays McCaul, is the daughter of Lowry Mays, the founder of Clear Channel Communications, a billion-dollar media and advertising company. The family money, according to Roll Call, is tied up in stocks and government bonds.
3. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.)
Net Worth: $111.92 Million
Delaney, the wealthiest Democrat in Congress, was chief executive of two companies, including HealthCare Financial Partners, which he sold for half a billion dollars in 1999, and commercial lender CapitalSource. His stake in CapitalSource grew to over $50 million during his first year at the Capitol.
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
Net Worth: $108.05 Million
Rockefeller, heir to oil mogul John D. Rockefeller, has money in three blind trusts, including at least $50 million at JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, and at least $5 million at United National Bank in Charleston, West Virginia. His assets could be much higher than the minimum amount he had to disclose. His wife Sharon owns more than $1 million in PepsiCo corporate securities stock, and recently sold a home in Washington, D.C. for at least $1 million.
5. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
Net Worth: $95.13 Million
The junior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee hit it big as a telecommunications venture capitalist and invested in Nextel in the 1980s before it was bought by Sprint. Warner has no liabilities and his assets are in blind trusts for members of his family.
POOREST:
1. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.)
Net Worth: -$3.7 Million
Valadao was born in Hanford, California, center of the agriculturally rich 21st Congressional District, but that hasn’t translated to his net worth. Valadao, who owns two dairy farms, has made this list before, but because congressional financial disclosure requirements are imprecise, his exact net worth is unknown.
2. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)
Net Worth: -$2.23 Million
Nearly 30 years later, Hastings is still suffering from his impeachment as a federal judge. He was charged in 1981 with conspiracy and obstruction of justice for soliciting a bribe, and though a jury acquitted him, he was impeached and removed from his post by the Senate in 1989. The debt represents his stil- unpaid legal bills. The 78-year-old’s only asset is his single bank account with more than $1,000.
3. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)
Net Worth: -$972,000
Democratic National Committee Chair Wasserman Schultz serves on an Appropriations subcommittee that determines the funding level for Congress. She and her husband have two mortgages, a home equity line of credit over $250,000 and credit card debt over $15,000.
4. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.)
Net Worth: -$943,000
This retiring Armed Services chairman, who calls himself a champion of “returning fiscal discipline to the federal government,” needs to take care of a personal loan exceeding $10,000 that’s been with him for more than a decade. He also has two hefty mortgages, both exceeding $500,000.
5. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.)
Net Worth: -$924,000
Rohrabacher’s biggest liability was a $500,000 mortgage, which was paid off in 2013 but still needed to be reported. His largest asset is an investment in a biotech firm called ISI Life Sciences Inc.
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