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Congress & $$$
- Subject: Congress & $$$
- From: cd@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 16:01:00
Burma Readers, for your information, it helps to know something about
who you are writing to, in congress, dawn star
Welcome Back Congress: Wealth Watch
Congressional Megabuck Members:
Top Five In Roll Call Fifty Are Worth $50 Million or More
1. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass)
* $760 million Senator's 1994 disclosure form shows assets of
$50,000 to $100,000, with liabilities of $65,000 to
$180,000, making him one of least wealthy Members; new
bride's holdings, however, estimated at $760 million by
Forbes magazine; wealth derives from inheritance from late
husband John Heinz, who topped our original Roll Call 50
listing in 1990 and was the great-grandson of ketchup and
food product magnate; according to Forbes, Mrs. Heinz sold
some 13.5 million shares of stock in 1995 to diversify
holdings. Sen. Kerry's middle name, Forbes, somewhat
prophetic.
2. Rep. Amory Houghton (R-NY)
* $350 million You'll find Houghton in the family section of
the Forbes 400, but we list him separately because he
controls family trusts. Forbes puts family fortune at around
$530 million Ñ up from last year's assessment of $470
million; Amo's namesake founded Corning Glass Works in 1851,
manufacturing glass casings for Thomas Edison's light bulbs;
House financial disclosure form sets wealth at only around
$10 million.
3. Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis)
* $250 million Made his money in family grocery business; owns
Milwaukee Bucks basketball team as well as real estate
interests, such as shopping centers and office buildings in
Milwaukee; to win election in 1988, spent nearly $7 for
every vote he received; in 1994, election cost him just over
$7 per vote (perhaps inflation is to blame); 1994 financial
disclosure report sets his net worth at more than $10
million (one of the highest in Congress); transactions
included selling off part of his Scudder International Bond
Fund and interest in a Milwaukee shopping center.
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa)
* $200 million Great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, world's
first billionaire; J.D. IV, known as "Jay," served as West
Virginia governor; spent $12 million of own money on 1984
Senate race; spent $2 million in 1990 against minor
challenger; DNC finance chairman, raised millions for party
by joking about his wealth at fundraisers; Forbes estimates
family fortune worth more than $6 billion; '94 financial
disclosure shows individual net worth of $7 million.
5. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)
* $50 million Diversified holdings with husband Richard Blum;
most are in his name, but she is beneficiary of $1
million-plus Bertram Feinstein Trust, which includes 50
percent interest in Carlton Hotel Properties of San
Francisco; other holdings include: real estate (S.F.,
Hawaii), paintings, stock (BankAmerica, Wolfgang Puck Food
Company, AGP Industrial); 1994 financial disclosure report
shows net worth to be at least $8 million, changed
significantly from earlier forms which showed at least $38
million; reason: most of Blum's holdings now listed on form,
but not assigned a specific value.
6. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
* $40 million Founder of ADP data processing firm, with 16,000
employees; spent $5 million of own money to get elected in
1982; ponied up just $750,000 of his own money in 1994;
financial disclosure for 1994 sets wealth at nearly $4
million; holdings include stock in ADP and two blind trusts
in excess of $1 million; each earned income greater than $1
million in 1994.
7. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass)
* $35 million Kennedy's father, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, was
Boston bank president by age 25; founded political and
financial dynasty, made millions in liquor business; family
inheritance no longer makes Forbes list, which starts at
$340 million; in 1990, Forbes estimate of Kennedy fortune
was $850 million; holdings, such as Chicago Merchandise Mart
and Apparel Center, other real estate, oil and gas
interests, have been losing value; divided among at least 50
surviving heirs; Sen. Ted reports holdings of just over $3
million on latest financial disclosure report, but various
blind trusts generate annual income of at least $400,000.
8. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
* $30 million Highest-ranking freshman on our list; financial
disclosure form filed during 1994 campaign shows wealth of
at least $25 million; 1994 form more difficult to measure,
with most holdings in trusts; family first arrived in New
Jersey in 1720s; four Frelinghuysens served in US Senate in
the 1800s; Rodney's father, Peter, served in US House for
two decades in this century; widely diversified stock and
bond holdings, including Procter & Gamble, Johnson &
Johnson, Eli Lilly; land in New Jersey and Massachusetts;
inheritance trusts.
8. (tie) Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah)
* $30 million Resume includes Nixon Administration, Robert R.
Mullen Company (a PR firm employing Watergate burglar Howard
Hunt), J.C. Penney, Microsonics Corp., and Summa
Corporation, the massive Howard Hughes conglomerate; Bennett
became CEO of Franklin International Institute, a
day-planner manufacturing and motivational materials firm in
mid-1980s; took it from four employees to 800, revenues
skyrocketed from almost nothing to more than $80 million a
year; company went public in 1992 and Bennett reportedly
netted $25 million after selling his stock; 1994 disclosure
form shows more than $25 million, including detailed Smith
Barney report showing diversified portfolio worth more than
$21 million.
8. (tie) Rep. Norman Sisisky (D-Va)
* $30 million Former Pepsi distributor in southeastern
Virginia region; still has large stock (even holds at least
$1 million worth of stock in rival Coca-Cola) and real
estate holdings, and limited partnerships with varied stock
holdings, valued on disclosure form at more than $11
million; net worth probably substantially higher; an active
stock trader, he got into GE, Intel, and Microsoft in 1994,
but sold Disney, Procter & Gamble, Pacific Telesis.
11. Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn)
* $20 million Transplant surgeon is second wealthiest freshman
in 104th Congress; disclosure form lists nearly $10 million
in assets, but Tennessee sources say holdings in Hospital
Corp. of America, which was founded by his brother, are
worth more; spent nearly $4 million on Senate campaign;
other holdings include stock in Shoney's Inc., IRAs, real
estate and hotel holdings in California, Massachusetts,
Tennessee, Washington, and Texas; also controls several
inheritance trusts.
11. (tie) Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va)
* $20 million Former lawyer, governor, Vietnam vet, and White
House Marine guard has millions in banking and land
holdings; married to Lynda Bird Johnson, heiress of LBJ-Lady
Bird broadcast fortune; most recent disclosure form reports
more than $11 million; reaped more than $1 million in
capital gains and interest from the LBJ Holding Company.
11. (tie) Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI)
* $20 million Newport blue blood; real estate, timber, and
other investment holdings make up widely diversified
portfolio started with inherited wealth; has more than $1
million in GE stock; financial disclosure reports set worth
at $15 million.
14. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif)
* $15 million Wife of Sidney Harman, founder of Fortune 500
electronics company, Harman International Industries, which
manufactures high-end stereo equipment; her common stock in
the company worth well over $1 million; has other holdings
in various stocks, Treasury bills, real estate partnerships,
and four separate trusts; disclosure form shows net worth of
at least $7 million.
14. (tie) Rep. Dick Chrysler (R-Mich)
* $15 million An automotive executive, but not for the company
that bears his name; got his start on a Chevrolet assembly
line, then became floor sweeper at Hurst Performance,
earning $1.50 an hour; within ten years, his bio states, he
became vice president of the company and eventually bought
it; in 1970s, he founded Cars & Concepts, an automobile
conversion company; sold it in 1987 and founded another
conversion company, RCI, which manufactures police cruisers
and electric-car batteries; disclosure form lists real
estate and bond holdings worth at least $5 million.
16. Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio)
* $13 million Former astronaut owns interest in two Holiday
Inns; other stock and real estate holdings; most of his
money in two blind trusts, hard to determine actual amount;
reports holdings of at least $2.7 million on disclosure
form.
16. (tie) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif)
* $13 million Daughter of former Rep. and Baltimore Mayor
Thomas D'Alesandro, Pelosi has real estate and business
investments; investor husband has wide real estate, bond
holdings, including San Francisco condos and Napa Valley
vineyard; in late 1994, husband sold Bethany Beach, Del.,
condo worth between $100,000 and $250,000; she reports joint
holdings of at least $9 million on disclosure form.
18. Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla)
* $9 million Former CIA agent, newspaper publisher; with
spouse, controls large portfolio of stocks, bonds, real
estate; disclosure forms show his wealth to be at least $8.3
million.
19. Sen. Lauch Faircloth (R-NC)
* $8 million Faircloth reports stock in Jefferson Pilot life
insurance, Lundy Packing Company (a meat processing company
of which he is a director), Glaxo, plus interest in real
estate partnership and 100 percent ownership of Faircloth
Construction Co., valued at more than $1 million; other
holdings include farming, automobile dealership, and timber.
19. (tie) Rep. Jimmy Quillen (R-Tenn)
* $8 million Extensive stocks and bonds (Kodak, various
utilities); oil royalties; also has real estate interests;
contributed in '94 to Holston Valley Healthcare Foundation
11,000 shares of Thomas Nelson Inc., common stock, worth
$250,000 to $500,000.
21. Rep. Sid Yates (D-Ill)
* $7 million Lawyer, has served in Congress more than 40
years; real estate holdings, Treasury notes, and Public
Housing Authority Bonds (which he trades with some
frequency) make up a good portion of wealth; also in
partnership that owns two Kentucky shopping centers; 1994
report lists at least $4 million in assets.
21. (tie) Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
* $7 million Former New York state official married to lawyer;
biggest asset comes from Lowey, Dannenberg, Bemporad &
Selinger, P.C., her husband's law firm; also has sizable
holdings in T-bills and varied stocks; disclosure form sets
wealth at $7 million.
23. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla)
* $6 million Father worked way up from poverty to become
wealthy dairy farmer and real estate investor; after
graduating Harvard Law School, young Bob joined dad in real
estate, helped develop entire town of Miami Lakes, Fla;
stepbrother was late publisher of Washington Post, Phil
Graham; sold real estate in 1994 while buying stock in
Merck, Microsoft, Home Depot; stocks, municipal bonds, and
farm add up to more than $3 million on most recent
disclosure form.
23. (tie) Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC)
* $6 million Congress's only tree farmer, Taylor owns
thousands of acres in North Carolina, plus other real estate
interests and bank stock; 1994 disclosure form shows at
least $5 million in holdings.
25. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla)
* $5.6 million Sophomore Rep., brother of former Rep. Dan,
sold more than $500,000 in holdings in cellular phone
company he helped run to another firm, Centennial Cellular,
then exercised option to buy Centennial stock; also holds
Florida, Washington, DC, and North Carolina real estate.
26. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis)
* $5.4 million A lawyer by profession, Sensenbrenner goes
above and beyond the call of duty by offering complete
listings of his net worth. Backbone of his $3.9 million
stock portfolio is more than $2 million in bathroom products
giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. (that stock was recently trading
at $80 a share, significantly higher than the $52 price
Sensenbrenner reported in March 1994); other major blue
chips include pharmaceutical leader Merck & Co. and Exxon.
27. (tie) Rep. John Spratt (D-SC)
* $5 million Lawyer, banker, real estate investor; owns
800-acre farm in Fort Mill, S.C., and other land in N.C.;
stock in Exxon, Citicorp.
27. (tie) Sen. John Warner (R-Va)
* $5 million Won $7 million divorce settlement from first
wife, a Mellon; later married and divorced actress Elizabeth
Taylor; sold main holding, Virginia hunt country farm, in
1994, for more than $1 million; also has other real estate,
including more Virginia farmland, plus trust income, stock
and bond holdings, works of art; reports a NationsBank
checking account with balance greater than $1 million;
latest disclosure form sets wealth at more than $4 million.
27. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)
* $5 million The former Navy POW, together with his wife,
holds stock in a beer distributorship and a land partnership
in Mesa, Ariz., both in the highest category; disclosure
form shows more than $4 million in joint holdings, up from
$2.3 million in 1993 Ñ moving him up three spaces on our
list.
30. Rep. Owen Pickett (D-Va)
* $4 million A lawyer and accountant, Pickett's largest
disclosed (and only million-dollar) holding is more than
1,000 acres of farmland in Caroline County, Va. Real estate
partnerships dot many other spots on his portfolio as well.
30. (tie) Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa)
* $4 million Leach shows million-dollar trusts in the names of
his deceased parents, as well as other seven-figure assets,
including Adel Wholesalers and Foxley Cattle Company; a
former gas company president, Leach's portfolio also
includes real estate, minerals, and stocks; disclosure form
shows more than $3 million in holdings; drops from $6
million in last year's list because, as Leach notes in his
disclosure, certain trust holdings that he had previously
reported were distributed to a nephew and a niece.
30. (tie) Rep. Pete Geren (D-Texas)
* $4 million His largest disclosed assets are more than a half
million dollars in Texas Municipal Bond Fund. Other assets
include varied interests in major stocks, oil and gas
partnerships, and Fort Worth real estate.
30. (tie) Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
* $4 million Lucrative law practice in Austin was built on big
product liability cases; holds diversified stock, mutual
fund, real estate, and bond holdings. Stocks include Boeing,
Enserch Corp., and Intel Corp. Main real estate holdings are
rental properties in Austin; sold two properties worth at
least $1.5 million in Austin and purchased Capitol Hill
home, so he's here for the duration.
30. (tie) Rep. E. Clay Shaw (R-Fla)
* $4 million Timberland and real estate form the base of his
portfolio; also stock in Nordstrom, Blockbuster; in 1994,
bought and sold Treasury bills with some frequency; also
holds bonds; disclosure form shows holdings worth at least
$3 million.
35. Rep. John Linder (R-Ga)
* $3.5 million Dentist and former lending company owner in '94
sold holdings in Linder Financial Corporation for at least
$1 million; also has IRA and real estate properties.
36. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
* $3 million Former House Member and lieutenant governor's
wealth derives from inheritance trusts and real estate;
holdings in two family businesses are spread among himself,
his wife, and his eight children.Also holds joint blind
trust formed in 1993 with assets exceeding $1 million.
36. (tie) Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif)
* $3 million Founded two California banks by age 31;
California real estate (including warehouse in San Francisco
worth at least $1 million), oil holdings; owns one of most
valuable houses on Capitol Hill; disclosure form puts wealth
at less than $2 million.
36. (tie) Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala)
* $3 million Newspaper publisher and real estate developer
Everett spent nearly $1 million of his own money to win
House seat in 1992; most of his holdings now in Merrill
Lynch account, Treasury bills, and a note from his campaign
committee worth $500,000 to $1 million.
36. (tie) Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska)
* $3 million This former banker publicly values his real
estate, oil, and gas holdings at a minimum of $2.9 million,
including stock in Delta Airlines, Citicorp, Chevron, and
Merck; sold some mining holdings at a loss in 1994.
36. (tie) Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass)
* $3 million RFK's son discloses less than $100,000 in
inheritance and stocks, included in four separate Kennedy
family trusts.
36. (tie) Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
* $3 million Along with spouse, Maloney has real estate
holdings in New York City, Jamaica, Connecticut, and
Tidewater Virginia; also stocks, bonds, mutual funds;
disclosure form shows net worth of approximately $2.5
million.
36. (tie) Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev)
* $3 million A lawyer who also chaired Nevada's Gaming
Commission, Reid has most of his wealth in real estate; sale
of some of his wife's land in 1994 yielded between $100,000
and $250,000; disclosure form shows approximate net worth of
more than $2.6 million.
36. (tie) Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala)
* $3 million Millionaire felt more comfortable with Republican
party; switched to GOP the day after 1994 election. Alabama
Senator's share of the Tuscaloosa Title Co. is worth more
than $1 million (he's also the chairman of the board); also
has other valuable real estate holdings in Alabama and
Washington.
36. (tie) Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
* $3 million Like cousin Joe, holdings mainly in Kennedy
family trusts, one of which paid him income of between
$100,000 and $1 million in 1994. Sold small interest in
Arctic Royalty Limited Partnership, an oil and gas concern,
as well as a rental home in Providence, R.I. Spent $135,000
of his own money on 1994 election campaign.
45. Rep. Harry Johnston (D-Fla)
* $2.9 million Lawyer from wealthy West Palm Beach family
holds stocks, bonds, and real estate.
46. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla)
* $2.7 million Stearns sold interest in motel in Silver
Springs, Fla., and other rental real estate in 1993, netting
more than $1 million; in 1994, real estate still forms base
of his disclosed wealth, listed on form at more than $1.3
million.
46. (tie) Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan)
* $2.7 million With wife, Elizabeth, owns stock in major
companies such as AT&T, Bausch and Lomb, Southwest Airlines,
Walt Disney, and Hershey. Mrs. Dole also owns between
$50,000 and $100,000 share of a Kansas golf course, 120
acres of land worth between $250,000 and $500,000, and part
ownership of an office building, valued at between $500,000
and $1,000,000.
48. Rep. Martin Hoke (R-Ohio)
* $2.5 million Diversified stock and bond holdings, including
IBM, Westinghouse, Ford Motor Co., Walt Disney, and Red
Carpet Cellular (the company he founded, then sold to
Cellular One); also various state and county bonds, etc.,
valued on form to be at least $2.2 million.
48. (tie) Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md)
* $2.5 million Engineer and former university professor has
real estate in Maryland and West Virginia, including two
parcels in Frederick County worth at least $1 million
apiece; also has bond and precious metals accounts.
50. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
* $2.4 million Diversified stock portfolio rather than large
holdings; Fleet stock and savings account at Fleet Bank are
valued at more than $1 million, with dividends and interest
between $50,000 and $100,000.
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