Many of the new anti-Washington lawmakers have had success in the private sector. | AP Photos House rookies a millionaires club

They campaigned on bringing Main Street principles to Congress, but a large chunk of the rookie class of House Republicans will be bringing something else to Washington: personal wealth.

Nearly a quarter of the incoming class of 84 House Republicans have assets of at least $1 million, according to a POLITICO analysis of financial disclosure forms, a sign that this anti-Washington, anti-establishment crowd of congressional freshmen has been quite successful in the private sector. (See: House GOP touts its new team)


For example, former Rep. Steve Pearce, who was reelected to a New Mexico House seat after a two-year absence, and his spouse have assets of $8 million to $37 million, including up to $25 million in Trinity Industries, an equipment rental entity in Hobbs, N.M.

Diane Black, a Republican replacing retiring Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), has combined assets with her husband worth upward of $33 million. According to a financial disclosure report filed with the House, Black’s husband has $25 million to $50 million in Aegis Sciences Corp., a “forensic sciences company.”

Richard Berg, who unseated North Dakota Democrat Earl Pomeroy, appears to be the wealthiest newly elected Republican, with assets above $20 million.

The Republican freshmen will have plenty of company in the millionaires club in Congress.

Nearly half the current Congress — 261 lawmakers — already have assets exceeding $1 million, according to a recent report from the Center for Responsive Politics, and that number appears to be growing. Last year, 237 lawmakers made the mint club. (See: Lame duck shrinks Congress's break)

“As the economy improves, it serves to reason that members would become more wealthy than they are even now,” said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. “There’s a possibility they could be out of touch with reality because they don’t have to live it themselves.”

Analyzing congressional wealth based on financial disclosure records is inexact, thanks to broad disclosure rules. Ranges of wealth are reported in increments as large as $20 million. Further, some lawmakers, especially congressional neophytes, list as assets primary residences, which they are not required to do. That might increase the total net worth of a lawmaker. Lawmakers are also required to list spousal assets, including whether they’re held separately or jointly.

The POLITICO analysis of freshman Republicans is based on the most recent financial disclosure forms, filed during the campaign season. Lawmakers will have to file updated disclosure forms during their first year in Congress. (See: GOP rookies flex their muscles)

Pearce rejects the idea that the freshmen’s assets make them unable to relate to the grass-roots movement that thrust House Republicans into power.

“I’ve never had trouble remembering the humble beginnings that I came from or the hand-to-mouth existence that many families face. That’s never been a problem for me,” Pearce said. “As a small-business owner myself, I am very much aware of these burdens, and I am in Congress to fight for these families and their jobs.”

“[ Rep. Bob Dold] and his family run a small business employing just under 100 people,” said John McGovern, a spokesman for Dold, a Republican freshman from Illinois who has assets above $1 million. “Each one of those paychecks represents a family. He’s probably more aware of the economic situation ... because those are challenges he faces every day.”

Congress has long been filled with the rich and famous, and that spreads beyond the old money of the Rockefellers and the Kennedys. Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry has a personal fortune, thanks to the assets of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, in H.J. Heinz Co. California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa has assets worth more than $100 million from creating a car alarm business.

Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is worth $24.6 million to $89 million, and incoming Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is worth at least $1.7 million.

But during and after the midterm elections, Republicans made a point of saying that this freshman class is closer to Main Street than to Wall Street.

Boehner has made it a practice to remind lawmakers that this is “truly a government of the people, by the people, for the people,” and also touting the class’s small-business experience.

“People don’t really know what the net worth of their congressman is, nor do they care,” said Americans for Tax Reform tax policy director Ryan Ellis, who said that a number of the Republicans earned their money. “That’s the American dream, people going out and starting their own business and being successful.”

But the wealth pendulum also swings the opposite way. A number of incoming House Republicans have or have had significant debt. At least 13 reported $10,000 or more in credit card debt during the reporting period. Ten others had significant school loans: Some owed as much as $100,000 to Sallie Mae.

Reps.-elect Tom Marino of Pennsylvania and Kristi Noem of South Dakota at one point each owed $30,000 in credit card debt. Law school graduate Kevin Yoder of Kansas owed as much as $15,000 in credit card debt, in addition to as much as $200,000 in student loans.

Scott DesJarlais, a freshman from Tennessee, owed from $30,000 to $100,000 to Visa and MasterCard, potentially more than half his $180,315 salary in 2009.

But for the most part, the freshman class — one of the most conservative in a generation — comes to Congress having experienced significant financial success. Republicans in Washington say they represent the successful small businesses that are the pillars of the American economy.

Rep.-elect Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is a member of the Republicans’ elected leadership, lists rental properties in South Carolina worth $1 million to $5 million. Freshman class president Austin Scott of Georgia has assets worth at least $900,000. New Hampshire Rep.-elect Charlie Bass, who served in Congress from 1995 to 2007, is worth from $2.7 million to $8.8 million.

Richard Hanna isn’t far behind. The Republican who ousted New York Democratic Rep. Michael Arcuri is worth at least $10 million. His assets are spread across vehicles as various as a tax-free market fund ($1 million to $5 million) and up to $500,000 in stock.

Some have more interesting assets than others. New Jersey Rep.-elect Jon Runyan, a former NFL Pro Bowl lineman, reveals that in 2009 he pulled in $582,497 from the San Diego Chargers, $87,539 from the Philadelphia Eagles and $15,250 in “athlete endorsements.”