Lawmakers Reveal Their Financial Worth
Roll Call Staff
Four out of the top eight members of the House leadership are millionaires, according to a review of their net worth in 2006 financial disclosure forms released on Thursday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is by far the richest member of the House leadership, largely because of her husband’s assets.
The net worth of lawmakers was calculated by adding their assets and subtracting any liabilities. Wealth could only be determined generally as assets are only required to be listed within ranges, such as from $50,000 to $100,000.
Pelosi’s net worth, according to her 22-page disclosure form, is listed as ranging from $16.2 million to $56.4 million. The poorest member of the House leadership is Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), who lists a comparatively paltry $174,000 to $660,000 in assets.
Pelosi’s wealth is largely drawn from the stock and real estate holdings of her husband, Paul. Paul Pelosi, for instance, is listed as owning the Auberge de Soleil resort hotel in Rutherford, Calif., worth between $1 million and $5 million.
Paul Pelosi also is listed as owning scores of valuable stocks, including between $500,000 and $1 million in online auction site eBay, between $250,000 and $500,000 in clothing store J. Crew and between $250,000 and $500,000 in specialty coffee chain Starbucks.
But the Pelosis most valuable single asset is a vineyard on Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, Calif., valued at between $5 million and $25 million.
Trailing Pelosi as the second wealthiest member of the House leadership is Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), whose net worth is listed between $9 million to $33.2 million.
Emanuel’s largest single asset is a “qualified blind trust” valued at between $5 million and $25 million, which generated between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in income for the Illinois Democrat last year.
Emanuel has several other blind trusts in the name of a “dependent child.” Several investment funds are worth between a half-million and $1 million. Emanuel also lists a $250,000 to $500,000 loan from Friends of Rahm Emanuel for Congress.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) trails Emanuel, listing between $2.2 million and $7.9 million in assets. Much of Boehner’s assets are tied up in high-value mutual funds and a retirement plan in Nucite Sales Limited valued at between $1 million and $5 million.
Thirty-three-year-old House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.) is close on Boehner’s heels, listing between $1.98 million and $12.7 million in assets.
Putnam’s wealth is largely the result of his stake in his family’s citrus and cattle business. His largest single asset is between $1 million and $5 million of Putnam Groves, Inc. The Republican also lists owning between $1 million and $5 million in Citrus and Chemical bank accounts.
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is next, listing between $669,000 and $1.6 million in assets.
Bringing up the rear are the less-wealthy members of the leadership: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Hoyer has between $348,000 to $795,000 in assets, according to the disclosure forms, while Clyburn’s net worth for 2006 was $198,000 to $548,000.
McCotter ranks at the bottom in terms of net worth of House leaders. His assets are largely represented in a variety of investment funds.
Potts: Congress Must Not Allow Lobbying Efforts to Block Pro-Consumer Financial Planning Bill
March 18, 12:35 p.m.
Quietly hidden amid debates over which agency should house a consumer financial protection agency is a simple consumer financial protection proposal. It would safeguard Main Street residents from malpractice by people claiming to be financial planners. Read Full Article
Roll Call Video Channels
