Posted on 10/20/2006 5:24:50 AM PDT by PghBaldy
South Bay Rep. Jane Harman is the richest member of the House of Representatives, according to a new, searchable online database ranking the wealth of congressional members.
The El Segundo Democrat, married to multimillionaire audio-equipment manufacturer Sidney Harman, has a net worth in excess of $168 million, and likely much more than that.
Two of the other three members of the South Bay's congressional delegation also are multimillionaires, with a net worth of at least $2.2 million, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Even the least well-off of the South Bay's congressional representatives, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, whose district includes the affluent Palos Verdes Peninsula, boasts a net worth of $290,000 to $626,000.
Even those figures are conservative.
Members of Congress were not required to include their $165,200 annual salary or their primary residence on the annual financial disclosure forms from which the data was culled.
Moreover, because members are required to list only broad ranges for their assets -- and some categories have a maximum level of simply "more than $1 million" -- it's likely that members of Congress such as Harman are much wealthier than the figures suggest.
"It's a reminder to people that their elected representatives in Washington are, for the most part, not like them in a number of ways," said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the nonprofit group.
"Most significantly, the people they've elected and sent to Washington tend to have far more money than the average American," he added. "And because the personal finances of members of Congress don't look like your typical American's, a lawmaker may not see issues affecting their constituents in the same way as their constituents."
Indeed, the median household net worth -- meaning half of all households were worth more and half less -- in the U.S. in 2000 was $55,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median household net worth for people 65 and older in 2000 was $108,885.
But even those figures pale in comparison to the net worth most local members of Congress reported five years earlier, in 1995, as compiled by the Daily Breeze using the same methodology the center applied to the 2005 data.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, whose district includes some of the poorest parts of Los Angeles, had a net worth of between $538,000 and $1.3 million a decade ago.
In 2005, the net worth of Waters, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, was somewhere between $2.2 million and $7.8 million, making her the 122nd wealthiest member of the 435-member House.
It also makes her one of the richest members of the 38-member Congressional Black Caucus, second only to South Bay colleague Juanita Millender-McDonald.
In comparison, the median net worth of black households in 2000 was $7,500.
About 35 percent of the members of Congress are millionaires, Ritsch said.
All four South Bay congressional members were offered the opportunity to talk about the data, but only Harman offered a substantive comment.
Harman, 61, pointed out that her husband's wealth was included in her total assets.
In 1998, Harman largely self-financed her unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, spending about $15 million of her own money.
"I have always been meticulous about fully disclosing financial information, which is key to making government more transparent," she said in a statement released by her office. "It is no secret that Harman International -- a public firm -- has grown considerably in the last 10 years. That growth has been good for shareholders and its thousands of employees around the world."
Nevertheless, even seasoned political observers were shocked by how much the wealth of some public servants had grown during their tenure in Congress.
Millender-McDonald, D-Carson, saw her personal wealth zoom from between $676,000 and $1.7 million in 1995 to $2.5 million to $5.3 million 10 years later. That makes her the 66th richest member of the House as well as the richest member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
"I'm astonished, to tell you the truth," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development. "I did not think she had that kind of wealth. Why? Because she's a former schoolteacher.
"It takes a lot of savvy investment, I guess. I'm not saying she has done anything illegal or unethical, but it is an interesting dynamic, and it leads to interesting questions."
Millender-McDonald, 69, served briefly in the state Assembly and on the City Council in Carson, where numerous elected officials have been convicted of corruption over the years.
Her son, R. Keith McDonald, a former member of a local water district board, was convicted in 2004 on charges that included bribery and conspiracy to extort.
He was sentenced to a 41-month federal prison term.
Millender-McDonald's press secretary declined to comment.
"In 2005, the net worth of (PghBaldy: Maxine "Burn Baby Burn," who incited rioters in LA Riot of 92) Waters, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, was somewhere between $2.2 million and $7.8 million, making her the 122nd wealthiest member of the 435-member House...
In comparison, the median net worth of black households in 2000 was $7,500"
However, I do understand that the issue here is the hypocrisy of the Dems.
Oh yea, ok .. sure it's just a lot of savvy investments
Kinda gives new meaning to the term "evil rich" doesn't it?
The really interesting comparison would be to their fortunes BEFORE they took office.
Any idea where this searchable database is? I'd love to peak at John Murtha's feather bed.
If they are so concerned about the poor and oppressed why don't they give away large chunks of their many millions to the community? Oh that's right. Only government should do that.
Yeah, like SHE is gonna axe those "interesting questions".
Since most Democrats (and some Republicans) have about as much understanding of basic economics as an ant does, I am not convinced.
These are the bleeding heart hypocrits who are always yelping about "the poor." This Leftist and her multi-billionaire husband could help thousands of poor families by divesting their fortune in charitable giving, reserving a mere half billion dollars for their personal needs, of course. But no, like libs everywhere, they moan and groan about how the taxpayers, who get $50,000 a year in wages, don't deserve a tax cut and should be giving even more to the government, so that the slovenly bureaucracy can cut little checks and buy lots of votes for the Dems. Really, this is getting ridiculous and tiresome. There should be a hard and fast rule that no one whose family has more than one million dollars can run for office in the US. It would decimate the ranks of the Democrat Party.
An example: L B Johnson ran an elevator in Bakersfield California in 1931. By the end of the decade he was a politician and a millionaire.
I,too,am untroubled by an individual (or couple) who have worked hard,played by the rules and retire with a million...or even a bit more...in the bank.
But take the Kerrys for example.A search of the City of Boston's website shows that just *one* of their properties is assessed at almost $6.8 million which,around here means that it would sell for 10 million.
Now with all the tears that the Kerrys have shed over the millions,and millions,and *millions* of victims in this country,how in *God's* name can they sleep at night knowing that one of their secondary *cottages* is worth $10 million?
For so many breathtakingly rich RATS today (Kerry,Kennedy,Lamont,Soros,etc,etc,etc) it's all about the slimiest type of hypocrisy!!
P.S.,the mention of "Linda Smith" on the property card as the owner simply indicates that she's the manager of the trust (a blind trust,perhaps) that the Ketchup King and Queen set up to hide their transactions.
Regards, Ivan
http://www.cityofboston.gov/assessing/search/default.asp?mode=reval&pid=0501651110
She may be a leftie, blame-America-first, tax-raising, intelligence-divulging democrat, but her family does make good speakers.
Who said the right can't be even handed?
The party of the little guy.
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