Congress - The Wealthiest Top Ten

The 99% movement is picking up steam across the United States and around the world; I, for one, hope it continues. However, lets examine wealth in the in the U.S. Congress.

You probably will not be surprised to learn that among the top ten wealthiest members of Congress, three Republicans have a combined net worth of 551 million dollars. However, that leaves seven places in the top ten and those places are held by Democrats whose combined net worth exceeds 616 million dollars. These numbers were published by newsmax.com from data supplied by the U.S. Congress itself.

Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts was the wealthiest until this September 2011 report showed he dropped to third with a net worth of 193 million dollars. Of the seven wealthiest Democrats, Kerry holds over 31% of the top Democrats net worth.

Fair is fair however. The top two spots are Republican and they own 87% of the three Republicans in the top ten. The number ten position is also Republican with a mere 44 million dollars.

Yet reading this list, notably missing are representatives and senators from New York. Still, five of the seven wealthiest Democrats are from east coast districts in Virginia, West Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Rounding out the seven is a representative from Colorado and a senator from California.

The top place holder is Republican from Texas, number two is Republican from California, and number ten place holder Republican from Florida.

Stated differently, Republican net worth holders are from widely different and diverse states and districts while Democrat net worth distribution is concentrated primarily in east coast states and districts known for rich corporate headquarters.

There are 538 elected federal law makers representing districts, states, and Washington DC. In a follow up piece, you will read how congress has increased its overall net worth in 2008 and 2009 despite the down turn in the national economy.