BY Sean Alfano
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Who wants to be a millionaire? The U.S. Senate knows how.
At least 54 senators are worth a $1 million or more, according to a new analysis by Roll Call.
And four others are less than $100,000 from achieving millionaire status.
If you're one of the nearly 15 million Americans out of work watching the economy grow at a snail's pace, don't despair, the net worth of the Senate jumped by $680 million last year.
The numbers range from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as the richest Senator with more than $188.37 million to Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow who is literally worthless at $0.
However, the figures, compiled from 2009 financial disclosure reports, only represent Senators' assets and liabilities.
Lawmakers are not required to release the value of their personal residences or any possessions, such as artwork, that are not held for the purpose of making money.
Salaries for most members of Congress are $174,000 per year, with party leaders earning nearly $20,000 more.
According to the data, three Senators (Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are the newest members of the millionaires' club.
After Kerry, who has held the title as richest member of Congress 13 times since marrying ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz in 1995, the rest of the top 10 richest Senators are:
Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), $81.5 million
Mark Warner (D-Va.), $70.19 million
Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), $49.7 million
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), $46.07 million
James Risch (R-Idaho), $19.69 million
Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), $18.28 million
Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), $15.73 million
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), $12.54 million
Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), $12.12 million
Reader Comments Read all comments (1)
Nicolai of MD 10:12AM March 04, 2011