Roll Call - Each year since 1990, CQ Roll Call has reviewed the financial disclosures of all 541 senators, representatives and delegates to determine the 50 richest members of Congress. This year's report, derived from forms covering the calendar year 2012, shows it took a net worth of $6.67 million to crack the exclusive club. The wealthiest lawmakers with breakdowns of their assets and liabilities is found below.
1. Rep. Darrell Issa R-Calif.
| Rank | Net worth | Minimum assets | Minimum liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This year | #1 | $355.38M | $430.38M | $75.00M | |
| Previous year | #3 | $140.55M | $315.55M | $175.00M | |
| Change | +2 | 152.8% | 36.4% | -57.1% |
Issa had a very, very good year. The longtime denizen of the 50 Richest list finally reached the No. 1 spot after making about $135 million in 2012, mostly from investments that swelled in a bull market.
Before his election to Congress, the Californian made his fortune founding Directed Electronics — based in Vista, Calif. — which manufactures car alarms. Now Issa appears to make his money in the stock market. He ended 2012 with at least $390 million in bonds and stocks. His true worth, however, could be far greater. Members of Congress aren’t obligated to disclose exact figures, only ranges, and Issa has seven accounts with a minimum of $50 million, which is the highest category available on standard disclosure forms.
Issa also has about $75 million in outstanding loans, owing at least $50 million to Merrill Lynch and $25 million to Union Bank. Whether he truly is the richest member of Congress actually depends on precisely how much money he owes to Merrill Lynch.
It is impossible to really know, even though Issa’s own financial disclosure forms list him as president of the OpenGov Foundation, which aims to bring transparency and technology to government. Regardless, Issa made a significant amount in the stock market in 2012 — more than $100 million — and he made at least $10 million more in real estate sales.
Assets by type
| Investments | $392.85M |
| Real estate | $36.52M |
| Trusts | $0.00M |
| Bank accounts | $1.02M |
Roll Call Member profile »
2. Rep. Michael McCaul R-Texas
| Rank | Net worth | Minimum assets | Minimum liabilities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This year | #2 | $114.10M | $114.60M | $0.50M |
| Previous year | #1 | $305.46M | $305.96M | $0.50M |
| Change | -1 | -62.6% | -62.5% | 0% |
McCaul was knocked off the perch he occupied atop the 50 Richest list for the past two years after his reported minimum net worth plummeted $191 million, to $114 million. But it’s not as if the Texas Republican and former federal prosecutor fell victim to market gyrations, rising debts or risky trades in 2012.
Instead, McCaul valued several holdings in his wife’s name in the broad category of $1 million and above that’s reserved for spousal assets. Previously, he listed each of the same assets as being worth at least $50 million — a category normally reserved for member holdings. The shift means the true size of the couple’s fortune is now harder to ascertain and illustrates the limitations of the congressional financial disclosure system.
As in the past, the majority of McCaul’s assets — at least $114.6 million in all for 2012 —are connected to his wife, Linda McCaul, who has extensive family trusts. She is the daughter of Lowry Mays, the founder of Clear Channel Communications Inc. That company owns and operates more than 1,000 radio stations and has extensive billboards and outdoor advertising. In 2010, when McCaul first reported that his wife had received “certain assets” as gifts from her parents, his net worth jumped from at least $73.75 million in 2009 to a minimum of $294 million in 2010.
McCaul also listed assets connected to his five children, three of whom are triplets.
As was the case last year, the McCauls had a Bank of America mortgage worth at least $500,000 on a personal residence.
Assets by type
| Investments | $107.06M |
| Real estate | $0.38M |
| Trusts | $7.15M |
| Bank accounts | $0.00M |
Roll Call Member profile »
3. Sen. Mark Warner D-Va.
| Rank | Net worth | Minimum assets | Minimum liabilities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This year | #3 | $96.31M | $96.31M | $0.00M |
| Previous year | #4 | $85.81M | $85.82M | $0.02M |
| Change | +1 | 12.2% | 12.2% | -100% |
Warner, consistently one of the wealthiest members of Congress, saw his net worth increase by almost $10.5 million in 2012, after his wealth grew by $10 million the year before.
More than $63 million, or 66 percent, of his assets are held in trusts. According to Warner’s annual report, one of the trusts — the MRW Blind Trust — made 14 securities sales valued at $1 million to $5 million and one sale of a stake in a Tennessee-based pooled investment fund, Pointer (QP) L.P., valued at $5 million to $25 million. Holders of blind trusts do not directly control the purchases, sales or exchanges of assets within the trust. Warner also reported $7.1 million to $35.3 million in holdings in the Columbia Capital Equity Partners technology and telecommunications investment company — his most valuable non-trust asset.
Warner, a former governor, made his fortune from starting ventures in energy and real estate and co-founded the cellular company that would become Nextel.
He reported no earned income or liabilities in 2012. His only position listed on his disclosure form is a seat on the board of directors of the Alexandria-based Collis Warner Foundation Inc., led by his wife, Lisa Collis. The group supports health and child abuse initiatives.
Assets by type
| Investments | $32.23M |
| Real estate | $0.00M |
| Trusts | $63.44M |
| Bank accounts | $0.63M |
Roll Call Member profile »
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