Who Are the Wealthiest Politicians in America?

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Donald Trump might be the wealthiest politician in America at the moment, but he’s not the only billionaire in politics.

According to InsideGov’s recent ranking of the 24 richest politicians in the country, all are easily multimillionaires and four are billionaires. Even the last person on the list, former Rhode Island governor and current Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee, is worth $50 million.

InsideGov, a state and federal government research site, based its rankings on data from the national nonprofit organization Center for Responsive Politics, also known as OpenSecrets.org, among other sources.

The list includes governors, federal-level legislators and declared presidential candidates.

Trump was the only presidential contender to make the top 10, which ranged from his self-professed net worth of $10 billion (which Forbes argues is actually about $4.5 billion) to Texas Rep. Michael McCaul’s nearly $163 million:

  • Donald Trump, Republican, presidential candidate (Approximately $10 billion)
  • Pete Ricketts, Republican, governor of Nebraska (Approximately $4.5 billion)
  • Bill Haslam, Republican, governor of Tennessee (Approximately $2 billion)
  • Mark Dayton, Democrat, governor of Minnesota (Approximately $1.6 billion)
  • Darrell Issa, Republican, U.S. representative for California ($448,425,019)
  • Mark Warner, Democrat, U.S. senator for Virginia ($254,168,650)
  • John Delaney, Democrat, U.S. representative for Maryland ($222,410,577)
  • Jared Polis, Democrat, U.S. representative for Colorado ($213,224,214)
  • Dave Trott, Republican, U.S. representative for Michigan ($200,509,228)
  • Michael McCaul, Republican, U.S. representative for Texas ($162,882,467)

Trump is not the only politician with a business background, though. Most of the wealthiest names on the list share that in common with him or have family members with business backgrounds.

For example, Ricketts’ father, Joe, founded the Nebraska-based online brokerage TD Ameritrade, InsideGov reports. Haslam’s father, Jim, founded the truck-stop chain Pilot Flying J.

To learn how Trump could have been worth twice what he claims he’s worth, check out “Trump Worth $10 Billion Less Than If He’d Simply Invested in S&P 500.”

How do you feel about the role that wealth plays in politics today? Sound off in our Forums. It’s the place where you can speak your mind, explore topics in-depth, and post questions and get answers.

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