For The First Time Ever, Half Of The Members Of Congress Are Millionaires - AFP/RawStory

[WillyT]

For the first time ever, half of the members of Congress are millionaires
By Agence France-Presse/RawStory
Friday, January 10, 2014 12:22 EST



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For the first time ever, half of US Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, are millionaires, according to figures from a group that examines the influence of money on politics.

At least 268 of 534 lawmakers currently elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate had a net worth of $1.0 million or more in 2012, according to disclosures filed by all members of Congress.

For a few, that figure went into the hundreds of millions — and the median net worth was just over a million, at $1,008,767, according to analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics at OpenSecrets.org.


Median figures for Republicans and Democrats in the “millionaires club” are nearly equal, with Democrats edging just a bit ahead with $1.04 million compared to $1.0 million for Republicans.

But in both parties, the average has risen from a year earlier, from $990,000 for Democrats and $907,000 for Republicans. That year, some 48 percent of lawmakers were in the millionaires club.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ analysis, the wealthiest Congressman was Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, who made a fortune with a car alarm system he created. They calculated his net worth as averaging $464 million during 2012.

His least wealthy colleague was David Valadao, also a Republican from California, whose net worth was in the red — a negative $12.1 million — thanks to debts related to his family dairy farm.

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More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/10/for-the-first-time-ever-half-of-the-members-of-congress-are-millionaires/

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. K&R for this one, too. The number is way too low, they're using the politician's

own financial disclosures which are built to conceal and understate wealth.
& R

[woo me with science]

2. K&R And those who are not, will soon be

as long as they serve their corporate Masters well.

[Captain Stern]

3. Only half? I weep for the bottom 50%. Perhaps a DU fundraiser is in order. (nt)