Blumenthal among the richest in Congress, Murphy near bottom

Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Net worth: $70M Source: Wealth of Congress Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Net worth: $70M Source: Wealth of Congress Photo: Alex Von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Alex Von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Blumenthal among the richest in Congress, Murphy near bottom 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

Sen. Richard Blumenthal is one of the richest members of Congress while Sen. Chris Murphy is far from it, according to the Wealth of Congress Study by Roll Call, which ranks members of the 115th Congress by estimated net worth.

Blumenthal is the 9th richest member of Congress, worth $70 million, while Murphy comes in at No. 525 with a net worth of negative $0.7 million, the study, which was released Tuesday, reports. The study’s authors say that some elected officials show a negative net worth because financial disclosure reports don’t require elected officials to report certain assets.

Connecticut’s all Democratic congressional representatives fall somewhere in between — from Rosa DeLauro at No. 73 with a net worth of $4.6 million to John Larson at No. 429 with a net worth of negative $0.1 million.

Elizabeth Esty, worth $3.3 million, comes in at No. 91; Jim Himes, worth $2.9 million, comes in at No. 102; and Rep. Joe Courtney, worth $0.2 million, is ranked at No. 429.

Roll Call has examined the finances of members of Congress since 1990 by combing through annual financial disclosure reports, and calculating the net worth of every congressional member based on the total minimum reported value of their assets minus the total minimum reported value of their liabilities.

Roll Call editors note that while the reports open a window into the financial position of every member, they are far from comprehensive or exact. Members only report their financial positions in 11 broad ranges of value, starting with less than $1,000 and maxing out at $50 million or more, and while they are required to report how much they owe on their mortgage, they are not required to report the values of their principal residence or its contents, the biggest assets for most Americans. Liabilities open during any part of 2016 are also counted.