Today's Article
Senate leaders
overall remain quite
wealthy, even during
these dark
economic times.
overall remain quite
wealthy, even during
these dark
economic times.
The American Spark
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Senate Leaders Do Well Despite Poor Economy
By Cliff Montgomery - June 23rd, 2008
The White House, all 435 House seats and a full third of the 100 seats in the Senate will be parceled out by
voters this November. This apparently has put career politicians of all stripes on the campaign trail, claiming
that the current poor economy has hurt them too.
Don't you believe it.
Take Senate leaders, who overall remain relatively wealthy even during these dark economic times--thanks in
part to an average salary of $165,200, family assets and low debt, reveals 2007 disclosure statements
released on June 13th.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), each listed their salary as the
only income they earned last year.
Senator Reid declared a $14,000 gift: a 4-acre plot of land in Searchlight, NV, which he received from a friend's
grateful widow. But that's a sliver of the large, multi-million-dollar land holdings in Nevada owned by Reid.
The Senate majority leader apparently has been partial owner of over 200 acres of Nevada mining claims for
years, which include claims around Reid's hometown of Searchlight. The estimated value of Reid's varied land
holdings sky-rocketed from $496,000-$1.39 million for 2006 to $845,016-$1.975 million last year.
Reid also owns mutual funds; numerous state, county and school district bonds; and "a pension and profit
sharing plan," according to The Associated Press (AP).
Sen. McConnell, meanwhile, acknowledged having received a $500 crystal sculpture award from the American
Ireland Fund.
McConnell at first glance appears to possess only modest holdings, which he maintains in individual retirement
account funds and a family trust. But that's because the family's larger assets are retained by his wife, Bush
Administration Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. These include a massive Vanguard 500 index mutual fund valued
at between $1 million-$5 million.
Disclosure filings from the two major presidential nominees, Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain
(R-AZ), showed that both men belong to wealthy families.
Obama made $4 million in 2007 from book sales, which surged as his presidential campaign caught fire. The
reports disclosed that his family's total worth was between $2 million to $7.4 million.
Sen. Obama and his wife, Michelle, sunk $1 million-$5 million into a money market fund; purchased $500,000
to $1 million in U.S. treasury notes; and invested in college savings plans, each worth between
$100,000-$250,000, for their daughters--Malia, 9 and Sasha, 6.
The McCains are far wealthier, but most of that wealth belongs to the senator's wife and children. Cindy
McCain is the inheritress of a massive Arizona beer distributorship, a business with an estimated worth of over
$100 million. She reported an income of $6 million in 2006, the most recent year of publicly released tax returns.
The McCain disclosure reports are especially vague when it comes to this wealth. Several assets controlled by
her and/or her children simply are declared to have an estimated value of more than $1 million.
But the Arizona senator's personal assets are far more modest--and much easier to unravel. Sen. McCain's
forms reveal a 2007 income of $405,409. He holds $16,000-$65,000 in two personal accounts, and another
$2,000-$30,000 in joint bank accounts he shares with his wife.
Why is it so tough to determine a lawmaker's worth? Disclosure reports allow him or her to reveal only the value
range of any asset. For example, Sen. John Kerry's total assets for 2006 were valued at anywhere from almost
$222 million to nearly $314 million, according to that year's disclosure filings.
How then to determine real worth? The Center For Responsive Politics (CRP) invented a novel solution. It
added together each congressperson's range of assets, subtracted his or her range of liabilities, then
calculated the midpoint of those findings.
"Using this method provides a ranking that more closely reflects reality than using either the minimum or
maximum values," states the center.
Below we offer a CRP chart exposing the average net worth of the 25 wealthiest senators, according to 2006
filings:
Rank Name Average Net Worth
1 John Kerry (D-Mass) $267,789,805
2 Herb Kohl (D-Wis) $171,423,011
3 Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) $102,822,519
4 Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) $91,713,012
5 Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $79,555,657
6 Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) $79,051,090
7 Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) $43,867,072
8 John McCain (R-Ariz) $36,431,099
9 Hillary Clinton (D-NY) $30,691,003
10 Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) $27,800,155
11 Claire McCaskill (D-Mont) $23,686,571
12 Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore) $23,352,570
13 Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala) $20,469,011
14 Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) $18,963,031
15 Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $15,601,634
16 Ben Nelson (D-Neb) $13,383,027
17 Sam Brownback (R-Kan) $13,341,046
18 Johnny Isakson (R-Ga) $13,203,037
19 Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $7,895,035
20 Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) $7,881,552
21 Evan Bayh (D-Ind) $7,726,014
22 Judd Gregg (R-NH) $6,446,039
23 Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $6,181,006
24 John W. Warner (R-Va)
25 Mitch McConnell (R-Ky)
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - June 23rd, 2008
The White House, all 435 House seats and a full third of the 100 seats in the Senate will be parceled out by
voters this November. This apparently has put career politicians of all stripes on the campaign trail, claiming
that the current poor economy has hurt them too.
Don't you believe it.
Take Senate leaders, who overall remain relatively wealthy even during these dark economic times--thanks in
part to an average salary of $165,200, family assets and low debt, reveals 2007 disclosure statements
released on June 13th.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), each listed their salary as the
only income they earned last year.
Senator Reid declared a $14,000 gift: a 4-acre plot of land in Searchlight, NV, which he received from a friend's
grateful widow. But that's a sliver of the large, multi-million-dollar land holdings in Nevada owned by Reid.
The Senate majority leader apparently has been partial owner of over 200 acres of Nevada mining claims for
years, which include claims around Reid's hometown of Searchlight. The estimated value of Reid's varied land
holdings sky-rocketed from $496,000-$1.39 million for 2006 to $845,016-$1.975 million last year.
Reid also owns mutual funds; numerous state, county and school district bonds; and "a pension and profit
sharing plan," according to The Associated Press (AP).
Sen. McConnell, meanwhile, acknowledged having received a $500 crystal sculpture award from the American
Ireland Fund.
McConnell at first glance appears to possess only modest holdings, which he maintains in individual retirement
account funds and a family trust. But that's because the family's larger assets are retained by his wife, Bush
Administration Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. These include a massive Vanguard 500 index mutual fund valued
at between $1 million-$5 million.
Disclosure filings from the two major presidential nominees, Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain
(R-AZ), showed that both men belong to wealthy families.
Obama made $4 million in 2007 from book sales, which surged as his presidential campaign caught fire. The
reports disclosed that his family's total worth was between $2 million to $7.4 million.
Sen. Obama and his wife, Michelle, sunk $1 million-$5 million into a money market fund; purchased $500,000
to $1 million in U.S. treasury notes; and invested in college savings plans, each worth between
$100,000-$250,000, for their daughters--Malia, 9 and Sasha, 6.
The McCains are far wealthier, but most of that wealth belongs to the senator's wife and children. Cindy
McCain is the inheritress of a massive Arizona beer distributorship, a business with an estimated worth of over
$100 million. She reported an income of $6 million in 2006, the most recent year of publicly released tax returns.
The McCain disclosure reports are especially vague when it comes to this wealth. Several assets controlled by
her and/or her children simply are declared to have an estimated value of more than $1 million.
But the Arizona senator's personal assets are far more modest--and much easier to unravel. Sen. McCain's
forms reveal a 2007 income of $405,409. He holds $16,000-$65,000 in two personal accounts, and another
$2,000-$30,000 in joint bank accounts he shares with his wife.
Why is it so tough to determine a lawmaker's worth? Disclosure reports allow him or her to reveal only the value
range of any asset. For example, Sen. John Kerry's total assets for 2006 were valued at anywhere from almost
$222 million to nearly $314 million, according to that year's disclosure filings.
How then to determine real worth? The Center For Responsive Politics (CRP) invented a novel solution. It
added together each congressperson's range of assets, subtracted his or her range of liabilities, then
calculated the midpoint of those findings.
"Using this method provides a ranking that more closely reflects reality than using either the minimum or
maximum values," states the center.
Below we offer a CRP chart exposing the average net worth of the 25 wealthiest senators, according to 2006
filings:
Rank Name Average Net Worth
1 John Kerry (D-Mass) $267,789,805
2 Herb Kohl (D-Wis) $171,423,011
3 Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) $102,822,519
4 Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) $91,713,012
5 Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $79,555,657
6 Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) $79,051,090
7 Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) $43,867,072
8 John McCain (R-Ariz) $36,431,099
9 Hillary Clinton (D-NY) $30,691,003
10 Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) $27,800,155
11 Claire McCaskill (D-Mont) $23,686,571
12 Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore) $23,352,570
13 Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala) $20,469,011
14 Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) $18,963,031
15 Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $15,601,634
16 Ben Nelson (D-Neb) $13,383,027
17 Sam Brownback (R-Kan) $13,341,046
18 Johnny Isakson (R-Ga) $13,203,037
19 Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $7,895,035
20 Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) $7,881,552
21 Evan Bayh (D-Ind) $7,726,014
22 Judd Gregg (R-NH) $6,446,039
23 Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $6,181,006
24 John W. Warner (R-Va)
25 Mitch McConnell (R-Ky)
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
$5,364,515
$6,112,319