Why is Bernie Sanders net worth so low?

[CajunBlazer]

72. I don't know - maybe he gives it all away - but it is strange.

Bernie has been making the 2016 dollar equivalent of $174K a year in the House and the Senate for 25 years. If as some have posted his wife has made over $100 grand a year for a while, being 74 as a couple they should have far more put away. My wife and I are much younger, make far less and have far more put away for retirement, and that's not counting SS. Of course we have invested in the stock market all that time and maybe Bernie has not.

On on the other hand, my saving include my pension and I assuming that Bernie's figure does not include the pension he receives as a former House and Senate member. I found this:

Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at the age of 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.

I'm assuming here that Bernie will receive the maximum of 80% of his present salary of $174K a year = $132K a year so he won't be hurting unless he is currently having trouble living on the near $300K that he and his wive earn now.

Still it would be interesting to know where all of his money went over the years.