Half the members of Congress are millionaires
These days, being a millionaire typically qualifies you as part of the one percent. But in Congress, it only makes you average.
About 47 percent of Congress, or 249 current members of Congress, are millionaires, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of lawmakers' personal financial disclosure forms covering calendar year 2010. The Center's analysis is based on the median values of lawmakers' disclosed assets and liabilities. That lofty financial status is enjoyed by only about one percent of Americans. On the whole, elected officials in the country's upper chamber enjoy cushier bank accounts and portfolios than their counterparts in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2010, the year of the most recently released financial data, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.56 million, according to the Center's research. Despite the global economic meltdown in 2008 and sluggish recovery, that's up about 7.6 percent from an estimated median net worth of about $2.38 million in 2009, according to the Center's analysis. And it's up about 13 percent from a median estimated net worth of $2.27 million in 2008.
Half the members of Congress are millionaires