Wealth of congress jumps $150million in 2014

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The combined minimum net worth of Congress jumped — up more than $150 million to $2.1 billion — according to a CQ Roll Call analysis of the financial disclosure forms for every member of Congress and delegate who filed one for 2013. Wealth of Congress Jumps $150 Million

That’s an increase of about $300,000 to $3.9 million per lawmaker — although, as with the general public, most of the wealth is concentrated at the top.

The top five lawmakers on the list had more than 37 percent of the combined minimum net worth reported of all 538 members and delegates, according to the CQ Roll Call analysis. The minimum net worth of the 50 Richest was $1.7 billion, or more than 80 percent of the total for the entire Congress.

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The richest person on our annual 50 Richest list, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, has a net worth of at least $357 million, calculated by subtracting the minimum reported liabilities from the minimum reported assets. That means Issa alone accounts for more than one-sixth of the entire Congress’ reported minimum net worth.

And two of the top five — No. 3 Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and No. 4 Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, both Democrats — accounted for $67.85 million of the increased net worth of all of Congress.

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The actual reported wealth of Congress would be significantly higher if Congress required members to disclose all of their assets and to disclose them with precision.

But assets and liabilities are disclosed in broad ranges — such as $1 million to $5 million — or more than $50 million, obscuring Congress’ true wealth. Lawmakers have the ability to get more specific in their filings, but few do.

Disclosure rules also require lawmakers to list mortgages, which count against net worth, but not home values, which would be one of the biggest assets of many members.

Non-interest-bearing bank accounts also do not have to be disclosed, no matter the value, nor do personal assets such as cars or home furnishings.

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