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A new study shows about half the lawmakers in Congress are millionaires, and that their net worth has risen steadily since 2008 despite the financial crash.
The analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics found that 250 members of Congress have an estimated net worth of at least $1 million. Though some members of Congress have tried to cozy up to the Occupy Wall Street protests and their message of representing 99 percent of America, assets of more than $1 million would easily put those lawmakers in the top 1 percent.
And as it turns out, wealth knows no party.
According to the report, 37 Senate Democrats and 30 Senate Republicans are worth more than $1 million. In the House, 110 Republicans and 73 Democrats enjoy the same status.
The Senate is more flush with funds than the House. In the upper chamber, the median net worth of a senator is $2.63 million. For a House member, it's about $757,000. Those figures are up 16 and 17 percent, respectively, from 2008.
The center crunched the numbers for each member of Congress by examining his or her publicly released assets and liabilities, then calculating the average between his or her minimum and maximum estimated worth.
As several previous tallies have shown, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., came out as the wealthiest member in Congress -- with an average net worth of $448 million.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11 ... z1eGXT17lj
