At its core, the duties of those in politics is to serve the people of the country of whom they represent. This is, however, a job like any other and one needs to make a living doing so. The net worth of some of the United States' most prominent politicians comes from more than just the salary that the government provides them, it can be derived from their significant other, investments that they may have made, and other work that they may do separately.
The net worth of these politicians, though, is far more than we ever thought possible, we are talking athlete kind of net worth and sometimes even more than that.
It is true, many go into politics after they were already massively successful doing something else, but that does not change the fact that their net worth will surely make your eyes pop.
Montana's United States Representative in the congressional and statewide district, Greg Gianforte, is much more than just a server of the people. He is an accomplished businessman, author, and engineer. Together with his wife, Gianforte founded RightNow Technologies, which is a software company that they eventually sold to McAfee and Oracle. The cost for such a transaction? $1.5 billion. It is nice to know that Gianforte and his family donate a lot of their money to charity as well, whether for a tax deduction or not, it is still a good deed.
Florida's Governor, Rick Scott, managed to amass a fortune that would make most CEOs do a double take. His $232 million net worth is made up of mainly investments. The listed net worth here is just Scott's investments, if we include the ones he made with his wife then his net worth is closer to $500 million.
Prior to being Governor, Scott was a partner at a law firm. He later founded Columbia Hospital Corporation which was his financial turning point. He was so wealthy that he managed to fund his own political campaign that cost him $75 million.
However, in addition to making a second attempt in 2020, Bernie is a smart investor. His investments today are worth $2 million and growing. While he does not have a net worth like some of the other men (and women) on this list, he does make a senator's wage of $200,000 a year, and a cool $1 million from his 2016 book deal.
The 54th Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, held his position from October 2015 to January 2019. Ryan was also Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee when he was running for office in 2012. The $6 million net worth that Ryan holds dear belongs to his wife as well, who inherited a trust and also holds interests in mineral, timber, gas, and oil leases. Ryan may have come from a modest background but he has left that behind him long ago.
Ryan was also Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee when he was running for office in 2012.
The $6 million net worth that Ryan holds dear belongs to his wife as well, who inherited a trust and also holds interests in mineral, timber, gas, and oil leases. Ryan may have come from a modest background but he has left that behind him long ago.
$194 million is a whole lot of money. John Kerry holds that net worth thanks to his many book deals over the years.
In addition to successful author, Kerry was the 68th Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017 after losing his presidential bid in 2004. Not only is Kerry wealthy on his own, it does not hurt that his wife is Teresa Heinz, of the Heinz family. She is worth a cool $750 million in her own right.
Ted Cruz ran and lost the presidential bid in 2016 as the Republican candidate. His day job pays him $147,000 a year, so people are scratching their heads as to where his $4.6 million net worth comes from.
The answer to that is said to be his investments. He has invested wisely in stock, and holds a very comfortable retirement plan. In 2011, Cruz filed for a financial disclosure during his seat in the Senate, so it is hard to really know.
Rudy Giuliani has been through many phases in his career. Most notably, Giuliani was the Mayor of New York City between 1994 and 2001. Prior to being Mayor, he was also a prominent attorney. His law skills are being put to good use today as he is one of President Trump's attorneys.
His $45 million net worth is derived from his business deals outside of the political world, such as his consulting cooperation called Giuliani Partners. His other source of income is President's Trump's speeches, which Giuliani is said to charge $300,000 each for.
Feinstein has been in the political sphere since 1978 when she held the position of Mayor of San Francisco. She held that position for ten years, and followed it up with being a member of the United States Senate.
Her great wealth comes from years of investing wisely with the income that was coming her way. It also does not hurt that her husband is the head of a private equity firm. She was also said to inherit quite a sum from her third husband's death.
Mike Pence, the current Vice President of the United States is worth $2 million and counting. His annual salary as Vice President is a mere $230,700, but considering he has no real expenses, that is one serious sum.
Pence was given a $1 million pension from his time as the Governor of Indiana, and currently lives in the home of the VPs which means the cost for it is covered by the American taxpayer.
$1 million is not very much when comparing it to others on this list, but it is still a sizable amount. Scott Pruitt, former representative from Oklahoma, was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the short stint of February 2017 to July 2017.
An investigation into his position and behavior had him resign shortly after. His political career is seemingly over, but he does have his small nest egg to fall back on.
We all know Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education within Trumps administration. What many do not know about DeVos is that she comes from one of the wealthiest families in the country.
Her husband, Dick DeVos is the son of the former CEO of Amway, a marketing company. Her own father founded Prince Corporation which makes the family's net worth an astounding $5.1 billion (with a 'B'). Her own net worth is very high as a result.
Former President Jimmy Carter did not do what many other presidents did when they left office.
He did not go around with book deals and television appearances, he took his earnings and moved back to his home town where he built a race-stylehome and lived simply with his family. His net worth of $7 million mostly comes from his days as president and simple living.
Current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has been involved in Congress since 1987. Her net worth surprising to many because it does not come from her political work but rather her husband and their mutual success together.
Nancy's husband, Paul, owns a real estate and venture capital investment firm. The money from his success has since been invested in successful stock on Disney, Apple, and Facebook. The two own a winery together and live nicely off of the $200 million.
Kamala Harris has quite the impressive resume. She is an attorney and politician who affiliates with the Democratic Party. She plans on running in the presidential race for the Democratic nomination in 2020.
Her $2 million net worth include a $250,000 savings fund, as well as investments that her attorney husband has in their name. Her salary and other earnings have not been made public yet.
Former President Barack Obama made most of his net worth post-white house. It was after his days as President of the United States that he published books and made countless public appearances.
When he went into the White House he was worth $10 million, so it just goes to show you how the deals after the fact can make a real difference. Michelle Obama is also contributing to the wealth of the family with her book deals.
Current President of the United States, Donald Trump, had the majority of his net worth well before he was President. His net worth is said to be mostly derived from his real estate business. Trump inherited his father's real estate business at the end of his life.
Once he got full control he renamed the firm The Trump Organization. He is also a former stakeholder in the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants.
Meg Whitman has been in the political sphere for quite some time, but it is her role as President and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise that has set her financially apart from the rest of the group.
She was a part of Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential bids. In addition HP, Whitman also worked with companies such as Hasbro, Disney, and Dreamworks. Whitman even held the role of CEO of eBay for a time.
Warren has been the Senator of Massachusetts since 2013. She has confirmed that she will be running as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential election.
Her $5 million net worth comes from investments that she has made in the past that have proven fruitful. Warren started out her career as a professor after receiving her own degree in bankruptcy law.
Booker's $1 million net worth is not all that much but it is all man-made. He invested wisely and earned on his return on investment very nicely.
Booker takes part of his Senator income and makes sure it is placed in a secure and smart financial location. He has proven that he is very efficient in both the technological sphere and the financial sector.
Al Gore was a smart businessman before he headed into politics. He invested heavily in companies such as Current TV which sold for $500 million, making Gore a recipient of $100 million.
It was also around that time that he started his journey around the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". His real fortune was said to be derived from the documentary.
Pritzker is the current Governor of the state of Illinois. His massive fortune makes him the second wealthiest politician in the history of the United States (behind Bloomberg). Pritzker inherited his family fortune as his family owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
Another family business venture that he is a part of is ChicagoNEXT, which is he a chairman of and is a digital startup hub. Pritzker founded Pritzker Group Private Capital as well.
You would think that Sarah Palin would have more than $12 million as her net worth considering how famous she is. Her income these days comes from speeches and appearances that happen more often than the media covers.
She gets hundreds of thousands of dollars for each event, bolstering her income greatly. Her reality television show added $1 million an episode to her bank account as well. Palin also worked as a Fox News correspondent, adding to her income.
Mitt is known best for being the man who rivaled Obama during the 2012 presidential elections. His massive fortune, however, he earned before his presidential bid. He was the Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.
He was also the CEO of Bain & Company, as well as the President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Another candidate for the 2020 presidential election, John Delany was the first to announce his bid. He is currently the United States Representative for the state of Maryland.
While politics are his main love, he is also the founder of two companies that are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The two companies are called CapitalSource, and Health Care Financial Partners.
Santorum was a part of the 2012 presidential election along with Mitt Romney who took the Republican nomination.
After his time in politics, he decided to go back to his legal roots and work as a private attorney and consultant, which is the source of his net worth today. $2 million is still a very respectable amount and more than the average American.
We all know Bill Clinton. From his scandals to his political successes, the man is known the world over. His net worth of $80 million is only his and does not include that of his wife.
Bill was able to milk his political success and trials with several book deals and appearances that earned him no less than $13.7 million that first year that he was out of the White House.
Trump's National Advisor for a little while, Michael Flynn, held the role until he admitted to committing a felony by contacting the Russian government during the presidential election in 2016.
His $1 million net worth is not much considering the amount he will have to pay in legal fees when this is all over. That is what you get when you work with the Russians.
Initially, Hillary Clinton got into politics as a President's wife. Today, she ran for president in 2016 and is probably going to run in 2020 again.
Her net worth in her own right is $45 million and come from her own book deals, speeches, and appearances. The book she wrote after losing the 2016 election was the one that earned her a majority of her net worth.
The number we have here is a mere estimate as to the real fortune that Darrell Issa has. Much of his money is as a result of a very successful career in business as he founded and ran as CEO of Directed Electronic.
The company today is one of the biggest makers in vehicle security and accessories in the country. His net worth is said to increase exponentially over the course of the years.
Beto O'Rourkee is more than just a successful politician, he is a co-founder of an internet service and software company named Stanton Street Technology.
His $9 million net worth were a result of his hard work in that company. While Beto is busy in politics, his wife is running the company. Nothing like a power couple to make the world go round.
Mitch McConnel is currently serving as as Kentucky's senior United States Senator, the Senate Majority Leader, and is the longest-serving Republican U.S. Senate leader in the history of the United State.
His net worth comes from both his political sphere as well as his company, James Madison Center for Free Speech, which he founded in 1997. It is a legal deference organization. McConnel also inherited some major family funds when his father-in-law when he gifted them $25 million.
Henry Kissinger is one of the most prolific politicians in American history. At 95 years old, his political career spanned his role as both National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State.
Kissinger is also the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace. His net worth is not a hugely vast one but a nice one anyway. He earned it from his many book deals, side projects, and founding his firm, Kissinger & Associates.
Steve King was a businessman for many years before turning to policies and serving as Iowa's US Representative. As a businessman, and only five years post-college, King founded King Construction which dealt in earthmoving.
He also founded Kiron Business Association which was a huge help in earning him his huge net worth. He is not the most liked man these days due to his speaking against races unlike his own in derogatory terms.
Chris Christie may only have $4 million but he is one talked-about politician.
He is an attorney as well as the Governor of New Jersey and has gotten himself in some hot water thanks to his non-filtered way of speaking. His net worth mainly comes from his and his wife's combined legal work. His work as politician does add to the pot but the legal work pays better.
Howard Schultz recently announced that he is going to run as an Independent in the 2020 elections. He is going to fund his own campaign thanks to his incredible net worth of $3.1 billion.
Schultz is the former CEO and Executive Chairman of Starbucks. He started from a modest place in life and grew to the inedibly powerful and wealthy position he is in today.
Vern Buchanan and his net worth are one of the wealthiest men in Congress. The world of politics has kept Vern's interest but he also knew that the money would need to come from elsewhere.
As such, Vern has several other business ventures, mainly in the automotive industry. He owns several dealerships in Florida as well as shares in over 50 other businesses in the plane and insurance sectors.
Bill Haslam Governor of Tennessee salary was not the reason for his incredible $1.8 billion net worth. He inherited his family's fortune as his father was the founder of Pilot Corp.
Bill did join the family business there for a while before entering the world of politics. His family money was without a doubt a huge help in his power in the world of politics.
Ross is the current Secretary of Commerce for the United States. He is a renowned investor, business tycoon, and billionaire.
The source of his billions are actually up for debate as he keeps his net worth source very close to his heart. He has been deemed the King of Bankruptcy due to his money buying up bankrupt companies and flipping them for a profit. That is just one way to do it.