The Loss Of Wealth In America

Legal Insurrection posted an article today about what has happened to the wealth of Americans over the past three years. It is interesting to note that average net worth of Congress has increased since 2004, and held about even from 2007 to 2010, the average American family net worth dropped 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 to an average of $77,300.

In the Senate, the article shows that the Democrats have more wealth:

Top 10 Senators in 2010
             Senator                                          Average Net Worth
John Kerry (D-Mass)                                         $231,722,794
Mark Warner (D-Va)                                          $192,730,605
Herb Kohl (D-Wis)                                             $173,538,010
Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa)                                     $99,057,011
Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)                               $85,572,116
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn)                            $73,151,590
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)                                  $69,046,622
Bob Corker (R-Tenn)                                          $59,550,022
James E. Risch (R-Idaho)                                 $54,088,026
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky)                                     $27,213,024

In the House Of Representatives, the Republicans have more wealth:

Representative                               Average Net Worth
Darrell Issa (R-Calif)                                    $448,125,017
Michael McCaul (R-Texas)                           $380,411,527
Jane Harman (D-Calif)                                 $326,844,751
Jared Polis (D-Colo)                                     $143,218,562
Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla)                            $136,152,641
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif)                                  $101,123,032
Alan Grayson (D-Fla)                                      $93,896,519
Kenny Marchant (R-Texas)                             $49,340,275
Gary Miller (R-Calif)                                         $46,008,028
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)                        $42,900,594

Although I am reporting these numbers, I am not as concerned about what the current wealth of Congress is as I am curious about what the wealth of our elected officials was when they entered Congress. Is Congress a ticket to major wealth, or were they wealthy when they got elected? That would be a very interesting study.