Report: 15 freshmen among richest in Congress

At least one-third of the freshman lawmakers in Congress are millionaires, a new analysis by Roll Call says, with 15 of the 112 newcomers likely among the richest on Capitol Hill.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a longtime attorney general in Connecticut, tops the list of freshman lawmakers with a minimum net worth of $64 million. Blumenthal's wealth comes, in part, from his wife Cynthia, daughter of a New York real estate magnate.

Blumenthal's holdings, according to the newspaper, include assets of "over $1 million" each in the companies that operate the Empire State Building in New York City and hold its master lease.

Blumenthal is the only Democrat in the newspaper's list of 15 wealthiest freshmen. He defeated Republican Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO, who spent about $47 million of her own money in the Senate race.

Among the wealthy GOP newcomers: Rep. Jim Renacci of Ohio, who owned and operated nursing homes and an Arena Football League team in Columbus, worth about $34 million, and Rep. Diane Black of Tennessee, who with her husband are invested in a forensic sciences company. She is worth nearly $29 million, Roll Call says.

By comparison, the newspaper's survey last year showed Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., (more than $188 million) and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., (about $161 million) top the list of the richest in Congress.

Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, regularly analyzes the wealth of lawmakers by reviewing financial disclosure reports of all members. These reports don't give a complete picture of finances because they allow lawmakers to report assets and debts in wide ranges, such as $1 million to $5 million or $1,001 to $15,000.

For its annual surveys, Roll Call looks at the minimum value of assets minus the minimum value of debts -- so the actual net worth of lawmakers can vary.