The 50 Richest Members of Congress: CQ Roll Call Releases Annual List

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CQ Roll Call announced today the release of the 24^th annual Roll Call 50 Richest Members of Congress. The 50 Richest list is the most comprehensive accounting of wealth on Capitol Hill.

Since 1990, CQ Roll Call has reviewed the financial disclosures of every member of Congress — including delegates — to determine the minimum net worth of every member. This year, for the first time, we will be publishing the complete list that includes every representative, senator and delegate who filed a financial disclosure form. By waiting until the final Aug. 13 filing deadline for financial disclosures, Roll Call is able to compile the most thorough and complete list and analysis of each member's net worth.

The list is a six-week undertaking by the CQ Roll Call staff. "It's one of our most newsroom-wide projects," says Jay Hunter, assistant editor of CQ's member information and research team and a 50 Richest project manager. "It brings together reporters, copy editors, and editors across all levels to work together to make sure that we bring a unified comprehensive list of every member."

"What we try to do is pull all of that information into one place, distill it down, and provide an interactive project that I think is of real value," adds Editor-in-Chief Christina Bellantoni. "People can understand what types of investments their members of Congress have, whether they own a lot of property, whether they're making money or losing money on the stock market.  All of these things help inform how your government is working." 

To break into the Top 50 this year, members had to be worth a minimum of $7.4 million. The top 10 on the list are: 

1. Rep. Darrell Issa
2. Rep. Michael McCaul
3. Rep. John Delaney
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller
5. Sen. Mark Warner
6. Rep. Nancy Pelosi
7. Rep. Jared Polis
8. Sen. Richard Blumenthal
9. Rep. Scott Peters
10. Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Roll Call also breaks out the 10 "poorest" members of Congress — a relative term when compared to the net worth of the average American.

With our interactive list, users can see how the list has changed in the past year, sort based on demographics and share direct links to each member's ranking through social media. The interactive allows users to filter based on party, gender, chamber, state and type of asset, as well as whether the asset is listed held by the member, the member's spouse or their dependent children.  For the first time, Roll Call gave readers a peek inside the process to show on video how the newsroom pulls the project together, and to explain the methodology with an interactive approach. We've also done a video profile of the Top 10. 

See profiles of the Top 50 and sort the data here: http://roll.cl/50Richest2014

Methodology: Minimum net worth is derived by subtracting the total minimum liabilities from the total minimum assets reported on annual financial disclosure statements. Assets are categorized as either bank accounts, investments, trusts or real estate holdings. Liabilities include mortgages, student loans and credit card debt. More on our methodology can be found here.

About CQ Roll Call
 CQ Roll Call provides essential intelligence and grassroots advocacy resources to take action. As the premier source of timely news, objective reporting and analysis, and coverage of elections and the politics of legislation, we keep our fingers on the pulse of the legislative process and give our clients the tools they need to maximize their influence.

SOURCE CQ Roll Call