7 Of The Top Ten Wealthiest Members Of Congress Are Democrats

Some of our congress are multi-millionaires. Actually, there are quite a few who have big bucks, and interesting to note, of the 2012 top ten (according to Roll Call's annual top 50) seven of them are Democrats. Okay, so Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul tops the list with a whopping $300 plus million net worth, but Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry comes in second with $198 plus million. Then we have Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) with a little over $140 million. Issa had the number two spot in 2011.

The others:
4.   Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va)  $85.81
5.   Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va)  $83.08
6.   Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)  $79.11
7.   Rep. Jared Polis (D- Colo.)  $72.09
8.   Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) $56.80
9.   Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) $41.78
10. Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) $36.67

Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson is the poor one of the lot in the number 50 spot with a mere $6.14 million.

Granted, some of these have accrued wealth thanks to their spouses, like McCaul whose wife is the daughter of Clear Channel Communications magnate Lowry Mays who gifted her some major assets, and Kerry whose wife Teresa is the widow of Sen. H. John Heinz III.

Roll Call for more details.

From Newsmax's latest newsletter:

Second on the 2012 list of richest members of Congress is Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., up from No. 3 last year with a net worth of $199 million. His wife Teresa Heinz Kerry is the widow of the late Sen. H. John Heinz III of the Heinz ketchup fortune.

At No. 3, down one place this year, is Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., at $141 million. Issa is the founder of Directed Electronics Inc., which makes car alarms.

Next on the list is Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., at $86 million. He made his fortune as co-founder of Nextel Communications Inc.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., is No. 5, with $83 million. He is the great-grandson of Standard Oil Co. founder John D. Rockefeller.

He is followed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at $79 million. His wife Cynthia Blumenthal is the daughter of New York real estate mogul Peter Malkin.

Another Democrat, Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, is No. 7 with a net worth of $72 million. Much of his wealth comes from Blue Mountain Arts, his family’s greeting card and publishing business.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, yet another Democrat, is No. 8 at $57 million. He is co-founder of Automatic Data Processing, a payroll processing company.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., No. 9 on the list, owes her fortune to her husband Richard Blum, president and CEO of the private equity firm Blum Capital Partners LP. Her net worth is estimated at $42 million.

Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, is No. 10 with a net worth of $37 million. He has significant investments in fast-food chains, electronics companies, pharmaceutical companies, and oil giants, according to Roll Call.

The bulk of the top 50 are Republicans, but I was thinking, since the Democrats are so keen on taxing the rich, why don't the extremely wealthy members of Congress just donate their yearly salaries and perks to the U.S. government, they certainly can afford it.