There Are 237 Millionaires Serving In Congress Right Now
That’s 44%. And there are probably more, given how broad and riddled with loopholes congressional reporting requirements are (remember that it wasn’t until the Countrywide scandal broke that anyone learned Senator Kent Conrad had a $3.1 million beach house in Delaware):
Only one percent of Americans can claim to be millionaires, yet 44 percent of members of Congress are millionaires according to the Center for Responsive Politics. CRP argues that more transparency in financial disclosure requirements is needed.
The Center for Responsive Politics released a study which found that, while only one percent of all Americans are millionaires, 44 percent of congressional members can make that claim.
Here is perhaps the most interesting revelation:
According to Sphere, when the federal government bailed out several U.S. banks in 2008, “the second most commonly held stock among members of Congress was Bank of America,” the CRP study showed. Other bank stocks commonly owned by members of Congress and receiving congressionally approved funds were Citi Group, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo.
Just a coincidence, I’m sure.
