November 1, 2011 | 1:41 PM | By

Richest Congressmen Get Richer

Some Americans are so frustrated with amount of wealth concentrated in the top tier of society that they’ve been protesting for weeks as part of the Occupy protest movement. The Occupy DC protests have called particular attention to the influence money has in politics. So add this to their frustrations: the nation’s richest lawmakers have gotten richer in recent years. Roll Call found that the net worth of all members of Congress was $2 billion in 2010, which is about 25 percent more than the 2008 total.


The 50 richest Members of Congress accounted for 78 percent of the net worth in the institution in 2008 ($1.29 billion of the $1.65 billion total); by 2010 the share of the 50 richest had risen to 80 percent ($1.63 billion of the $2.04 billion total). The pie of Congressional wealth got bigger, and the richest Members are getting a bigger slice.

But there is still plenty to go around. Overall, 219 Members of Congress reported having assets worth more than $1 million last year; subtracting the minimum value of their liabilities brings the total number of millionaires in Congress down to 196 — again not counting any value on their homes or other non-income-producing property. If one were to assume that every Member of Congress has $200,000 worth of equity in real estate, the total number of millionaires would rise to 220 Members, just more than 40 percent of the Congress.

Read more at: www.rollcall.com