[drjimmy]

This article may be fun, but don't rely on it for factual information. While the premise is that the figures cited come from the financial disclosure forms, that isn't true. The financial disclosure forms only list ranges. Pete Fitzgerald reported assets of up to $50 million in Bank of Montreal stock, while Bill Frist reported that he has blind trusts worth up to $31 million, among other assets.

Since near the end of the article it correctly notes that spouse income is not included in the financial disclosure, how did it add in his wife's worth to come up with $163 million for John Kerry? A closer reading reveals that there is no actual source for any of the figures listed in the article--other than the ever-popular (and irrefutable) "estimates" and "reported to be." It may be true that the five richest members of the Senate are Democrats, but that is not "revealed" by the financial disclosure forms as claimed by the article.

[JohnnyZ]

Dr Jimmy,

The numbers above are the base estimates; each is "at least" as rich as stated above, because as you point out -- and the article points out -- the disclosures are listed in ranges. If you don't believe the article, try CNN:

John Kerry, D-Massachusetts: $163,626,399
Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin: $111,015,016
John Rockefeller, D -West Virginia: $81,648,018
Jon Corzine, D-New Jersey: $71,035,025
Dianne Feinstein, D-California: $26,377,109
Peter Fitzgerald, R-Illinois: $26,132,013
Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey $17,789,018
Bill Frist, R-Tennessee: $15,108,042
John Edwards, D-North Carolina: $12,844,029
Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts: $9,905,009
Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico: $7,981,015
Bob Graham, D-Florida: $7,691,052
Richard Shelby, R-Alabama: $7,085,012
Gordon Smith, R-Oregon: $6,429,011
Lincoln Chafee, R-Rhode Island: $6,296,010
Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska: $6,267,028
Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee: $4,823,018
Mike DeWine, R-Ohio: $4,308,093
Mark Dayton, D-Minnesota: $3,974,037
Ben Campbell, R-Colorado: $3,165,007
Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska: $2,963,013
Olympia Snowe, R-Maine: $2,955,037
James Talent, R-Missouri: $2,843,031
Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania: $2,045,016
Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire: $1,916,026
John McCain, R-Arizona: $1,838,010
James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma: $1,570,043
John Warner, R-Virginia: $1,545,039
Kay Bailey Hutchison, R - Texas: $1,513,046
Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky: $1,511,017
Harry Reid, D-Nevada: $1,500,040
Sam Brownback, R-Kansas: $1,491,018
Thomas Carper, D-Delaware: $1,482,017
Ted Stevens, R-Alaska: $1,417,013
Maria Cantwell, D-Washington: $1,264,999
Barbara Boxer, D-California: $1,172,003
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah: $1,086,023
Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana: $1,080,014
Bill Nelson, D-Florida: $1,073,014
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa: $1,016,024
*These figures are base estimates provided by senators on their financial disclosure forms.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/06/13/senators.finances/