[RunItUpTheGut]

So, with all of the recent talk of American finances on here it got me to wondering just how much our "leaders" are worth.

I think most of you will find surprising that 4 out of our top 5 richest politicians in America are actually Democrats.
1. Rep. Jane Harman (D, Calif.): $215.11 million
2. Sen. Herb Kohl (D, Wis.): $215.85 million
3. Sen. John Kerry (D, Mass.): $213.8 million
4. Rep. Darrell Issa (R, Calif.): $158.58 million
5. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, W.Va.): $79.4 million
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2...f-congress

Here is a entire list of past and present richest politicians.
1 Michael Bloomberg Independent Mayor of New York City 2002-present $18.0 billion[1] 2010

2 H. Ross Perot Reform US Presidential candidate 1992, 1996 $4.2 billion[2] 2006

3 Meg Whitman Republican Candidate for Governor of California 2010 $1.3 billion [3] 2010

4 Tom Golisano Independence Candidate for Governor of New York 1994, 1998 and 2002 $1.1 billion [4] 2002

5 Ronald Lauder Republican Candidate for Mayor of New York City 1989 $800 million

6 Arnold Schwarzenegger Republican former Governor of California 2003-2011 $800 million[5]

7 Pete Coors Republican Candidate for US Senate from Colorado 2004 $750 million [6] 1997

8 John Kerry and family Democrat US Senator from Massachusetts and candidate for US President 1985-present, 2004 $525 million [7] 2004

9 Mitt Romney Republican Governor of Massachusetts and candidate for US President 2003-2007, 2008 $500 million

10 Amo Houghton Republican Representative from New York 1987-2005 $475 million

11 Linda McMahon and family Republican Candidate for US Senator from Connecticut 2010 $335 million [8] 2010

12 Jon Corzine Democrat US Senator from New Jersey and Governor of New Jersey 2001-2006, 2006-2010 $300 million

13 Herb Kohl Democrat US Senator from Wisconsin 1989-present $216 million[9] 2008

14 Jane Harman Democrat Representative from California 1993-1999, 2001-present $215 million[10] 2008

15 Mark Warner Democrat Governor of Virginia and US Senator 2002-2006, 2009-present $200 million

16 Darrell Issa Republican Candidate for US Senator, and Representative from California 2001-present $159 million[11] 2008

17 Bill Clinton and family Democrat Governor of Arkansas and US President 1979-1981, 1983-1992, 1993-2001 $109 million

18 Jay Rockefeller Democrat Governor of West Virginia and US Senator from West Virginia 1977-1985, 1985-present $79 million[12]

Im even more surprised to 7 of the 18 be democrats. 8 however are Republicans.
Interesting to not see Bush on the list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ric...oliticians

[RunItUpTheGut]

Just for fun, in case you were wondering about the richest Americans....
Of course bill Gates is still number one but id think you all will find it interesting to know that 4 members of the walton family of the Wal Mart Corporation are ranked 4-7.

[Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates]

[RunItUpTheGut]

[quote=RunItUpTheGut]Just for fun, in case you were wondering about the richest Americans....
Of course bill Gates is still number one but id think you all will find it interesting to know that 4 members of the walton family of the Wal Mart Corporation are ranked 4-7.


Forgot to post the list, here it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mem...Forbes_400

1.Bill Gates 57 Billion Microsoft
2.Warren Buffett 50 Billion Berkshire Hathaway
3.Larry Ellison 22.4 Billion Oracle Corporation
4.Jim Walton 23.4 Billion WalMart
5.Robson Walton 23.3 Billion Walmart
6.Alice Walton 23.2 Billion Walmart
7.Christy Walton & family 23.2 Billion Walmart
8.Michael Bloomberg 20 Billion Bloomberg L.P.
9.Charles Koch 19 Billion Koch Industries
10.David Koch 19 Billion Koch Industries
11.Michael Dell 17.3 Billion Dell Inc.
12.Paul Allen 16 Billion Microsoft
13.Sergey Brin 15.9 Billion Google
14.Larry Page 15.8 Billion Google
15.Sheldon Adelson 14.7 Billion Las Vegas Sands

[Hoot Gibson]

The list comes as no surprise to me. Democrats have dominated the lists of richest politicians for as long as I can remember. What has always jumped out at me is the fact that wealthy Democrats are always leading the charge for raising the tax rates on the "wealthiest 2 percent of us." That's is because they can afford the best tax lawyers and accountants to allow them to shelter their own wealth from the tax hikes that they support.

They invest in tax free municipal bonds or create large trusts that are exempt from federal income taxes. And, in John Kerry's case purchase and dock their expensive yachts in states having lower state tax rates than his home state.

[Wildcatk23]

The list comes as no surprise to me. Democrats have dominated the lists of richest politicians for as long as I can remember. What has always jumped out at me is the fact that wealthy Democrats are always leading the charge for raising the tax rates on the "wealthiest 2 percent of us." That's is because they can afford the best tax lawyers and accountants to allow them to shelter their own wealth from the tax hikes that they support.

They invest in tax free municipal bonds or create large trusts that are exempt from federal income taxes. And, in John Kerry's case purchase and dock their expensive yachts in states having lower state tax rates than his home state.

If republicans was smart they would do the same wouldn't you think? But well, as for the smart part....

[Hoot Gibson]

If republicans was smart they would do the same wouldn't you think? But well, as for the smart part....

By doing the same, you mean what? Claim that they should be paying a higher tax rate, all the while knowing that they will be able to avoid paying that higher tax rate that they are advocating? Maybe campaigning in full hypocrite mode is smart politics, but smart voters recognize it for what it is - rampant dishonesty. If, OTOH, you mean that wealthy Republicans do not legally avoid paying higher tax rates whenever they can, I assure you that the Democrats for whom you vote are no smarter than the Republicans for whom I vote.

The difference is that most Democratic politicians understand that a large number of their supporters to ignorant to understand that they have no intention of passing laws that will increase their own share of the tax burden. Far more Republican politicians (but not all) campaign honestly on tax issues because a greater number of their supporters are not looking for government handouts at somebody else's expense.

[Old School]

It is a safe bet that any politican voting/supporting tax hikes for the wealthy will not be paying it themselves.

[Hoot Gibson]

It is a safe bet that any politican voting/supporting tax hikes for the wealthy will not be paying it themselves.

:Thumbs: Tax loopholes are no accidents but most taxpayers cannot afford to pay top-tier accountants and tax lawyers to help us shelter our income from greedy Democrats.

[Stardust]

It is a safe bet that any politican voting/supporting tax hikes for the wealthy will not be paying it themselves.

:Thumbs: Tax loopholes are no accidents but most taxpayers cannot afford to pay top-tier accountants and tax lawyers to help us shelter our income from greedy Democrats.

Great posts:Thumbs:

[RunItUpTheGut]

I believe this just shows how many of us spend hundreds of dollars a month at wal mart lol