List of richest American politicians

This list of richest American politicians includes current and former office-holders and political appointees, and is not necessarily adjusted for inflation. Estimated wealth is at least $100 million in 2012 dollars, for all the people listed here. The amounts listed here do not necessarily pertain to the politicians' time in office (i.e. some of them may have gotten much richer later on, or lost their money before they ran for office).

Presidents

Name	Party	Position	Date(s)	Estimated wealth (adjusted for inflation)	Notes
Donald Trump	Republican	President-elect	2017-	$3.7 billion[1]	Real estate, stock market, inheritance.
George Washington	Independent	President	1789–1797	$525 million[2]	Inheritance, business, and marriage.
Thomas Jefferson	Democratic-Republican	President	1801–1809	$212 million (died bankrupt)[2]	Inheritance, business.
John F. Kennedy	Democrat	President	1961–1963	$124 million[3]	Inheritance.
Theodore Roosevelt	Republican	President	1901–1909	$125 million[2]	Inheritance.
Andrew Jackson	Democrat	President	1829–1837	$119 million[2]	Marriage, business, and real estate.
James Madison	Democratic-Republican	President	1809–1817	$101 million[2]	Inheritance, business.

Unsuccessful presidential candidates

Name	Party	Position	Date(s)	Estimated wealth (not adjusted for inflation)	Notes
Hillary Clinton	Democrat	First Lady, US Senator from New York, Secretary of State, Candidate for US President	1993–2001, 2001–2009, 2009–2013, 2008 and 2016	$31.3-111 million[4]	Former Walmart executive; paid speeches, book deals, and contributions to the Clinton Trust.
Mitt Romney	Republican	Candidate for US Senator from Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts, Candidate for US President	1994, 2003–2007, 2008 and 2012	$190–250 million[5]	Former CEO of Bain Capital and Bain & Company.
John Kerry	Democrat	US Senator from Massachusetts, Candidate for US President, Secretary of State	1985–2013, 2004 2013-present	$193 million[6]	Marriage. Current wife, Teresa Heinz, is the widow of H. John Heinz III, heir to H. J. Heinz Company.
Al Gore	Democrat	US Senator from Tennessee, Vice President of the United States, Candidate for US President	1985–1993, 1993–2001, 2000	$100 million[7]
Steve Forbes	Republican	Board for International Broadcasting, Candidate for US President	1985–1993, 1996 and 2000	$430 million[8]	Editor and publisher.
Ross Perot	Reform	Select Committee on Public Education, Candidate for US President	1983, 1992 and 1996	$4.1 billion[9]	Founded Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems.
Ted Kennedy	Democrat	US Senator from Massachusetts, Candidate for US President	1962–2009, 1980	$163 million[10]	Inherited much wealth - including a stake in The Chicago Merchandise Mart.
Nelson Rockefeller	Republican	Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States, Candidate for US President	1959–1973, 1974–1977, 1960s	$1 billion[11]	Inheritance. Grandson of John D. Rockefeller.
James M. Cox	Democrat	Governor of Ohio, Candidate for US President	1913–1915 and 1917–1921, 1920	$40 million (D. 1950)[12]
Samuel J. Tilden	Democrat	Governor of New York, Candidate for US President	1875–1876, 1876	$8.5 million(D. 1886)[13]
John Hancock	Federalist	Governor of Massachusetts, Candidate for US President	1780–1785 and 1787–1793, 1789	$100 million[14]

Other U.S. politicians

Name	Party	Position	Date(s)	Estimated wealth (not adjusted for inflation)	Notes
David Koch	Libertarian (currently a Republican)	Libertarian nominee for Vice President	1980	$44.2 billion[15][16]	Son of Fred Koch, founder of Koch Industries; VP of Koch Industries.
Michael Bloomberg	Independent	Mayor of New York City	2002–2013[17]	$44.1 billion[18]	Founder of Bloomberg L.P.
Bill Haslam	Republican	Mayor of Knoxville, Governor of Tennessee	2003-2011, 2011–present	$2 billion[19]	Former CEO of the e-commerce and catalog division of Saks Fifth Avenue. Son of Jim Haslam, founder of Pilot Corporation.
Mark Dayton	Democrat	State Auditor of Minnesota, US Senator from Minnesota, Governor of Minnesota	1991-1995, 2001-2007, 2011-present	$1.6 billion	Great grandson of George Dayton, the founder of Target.[20]
Jim Justice	Democrat	Governor-elect of West Virginia[21][22]	2017–	$1.59 billion[23]	Business (coal and agriculture)
Bruce Rauner	Republican	Governor of Illinois	2015–present	$500 million+	Chairman of GTCR.
Amo Houghton	Republican	Representative from New York	1987–2005	$475 million[24]	Former CEO of Corning Incorporated.
Jared Polis	Democrat	Representative from Colorado	2009–Present	$388 million[25]	Founder of ProFlowers
Jon Corzine	Democrat	US Senator from New Jersey, Governor of New Jersey	2001–2006, 2006–2010	$300 million[24]	Former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Michael McCaul	Republican	Representative from Texas	2005–present	$294 million[6]	Son-in-law of Clear Channel Communications founder, Lowry Mays.
Mark Warner	Democrat	US Senator from Virginia Governor of Virginia	2009–Present 2002-2006	$243 million[26]	Co-Founder of Nextel Communications
Darrell Issa	Republican	Candidate for US Senator from California, Representative from California	1998, 2001–present	$220 million[6]	Businessman; founder of Directed Electronics.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.	Democrat	United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom	1938–1940	$200–400 million[27]	Investor, banker, filmmaker, Prohibition-era international liquor transporter.
Carl Paladino	Republican	Buffalo Public Schools board of education member, Candidate for Governor of New York	2010	$150 million[28]	Retail real estate developer.
Rick Scott	Republican	Governor of Florida	2011–present	$147 million[29]	Founder of Columbia Hospital Corporation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger	Republican	Governor of California	2003–2011	$100–$200 million.[30]	Real estate, acting

See also

• List of current members of the United States Congress by wealth
• List of United States Presidents by net worth
• List of candidates for President of the United States who received at least one electoral vote
• Historic values of the U.S. dollar

References

1. "#156 Donald Trump".
2. "The Net Worth of the U.S. Presidents: From Washington to Obama". The Atlantic. May 20, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
3. Glen Vecchione, The Little Giant Book of American Presidents, page 135 (Sterling Publishing Company 2007).
4. Hillary Clinton net worth, moneynation.com; accessed September 16, 2016.
5. "Romney would rank among richest presidents ever". USA Today. January 28, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
6. "The 50 Richest Members of Congress (2011)". Roll Call. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
7. "Bill Clinton, Al Gore Get Rich After White House", ABC News (June 15, 2007).
8. "Mitt Romney to Report Financial Assets of at Least $190 Million". Associated Press. May 11, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
9. "Henry Ross Perot profile". Forbes.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
10. "Ted Kennedy, RIP". Slate. August 26, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
11. Geri Spieler, Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, page 135 (Macmillan 2008)
12. Dayton Daily News history: James M. Cox, Publisher", Dayton Daily News; accessed August 19, 2012.
13. Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans (Biographical Society 1904).
14. Robert Leckie. George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution, page 53 (HarperCollins 1993).
15. Alex Morrell. "David Koch". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
16. "David Koch". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
17. "De Blasio era begins in New York City". Newsday. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
18. "Michael Bloomberg". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
19. "The richest politician in America is the governor of Tennessee". Retrieved October 31, 2015.
20. "America's Richest Families". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved August 19, 2015. #157 Dayton Family 1.6 B
21. Brown, Andrew (November 8, 2016). "Jim Justice wins WV gubernatorial race". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
22. "Jim Justice elected as West Virginia's next governor". The Herald-Dispatch. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
23. "Jim Justice, II". Forbes.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
24. A Look at America's Richest Politicians, ABC News; accessed November 11, 2016.
25. "Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)". members-of-congress.insidegov.com. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
26. "Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA)". members-of-congress.insidegov.com. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
27. Smith, Richard Austin (November 1, 1957). "The Fifty-Million-Dollar Man, (sidebar: "America's Biggest Fortunes")". Fortune.
28. Peters, Jeremy W. (April 5, 2010). "Conservative Developer Joins Race for Governor". The New York Times.
29. Rick Scott's net worth grows to $147 million, miamiherald.com (July 2015).
30. Williams, Lance (August 17, 2003). "Schwarzenegger worth $100 million, experts say". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.