There is a rumor going around on social media platforms that 163 members of Congress may undergo a forensic audit by DOGE to determine how their net worth so rapidly outpaced their $174,000 annual salaries. The rumor goes 157 of those members are Democrats.
Back in or around 2012 became the tipping point when the 535 members of the House and Senate of Congress had more than 50% of them noted as millionaires. Since then, that number has gone even higher. The seven richest members of Congress today are:
- Rick Scott (R-FL) Senator $546M
- Darrell Issa (R-CA) Representative $500M
- Kevin Hern (R-OK) Representative $361M
- Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Representative $253M
- Vern Buchanan (R-FL) Representative $250M
- Mark R. Warner (D-VA) Senator $246M
- Daniel S. Goldman – (D-NY) Representative ($185M)
Now there is nothing wrong with people having money and even becoming rich. Nobody in a Capitalist country like America should have a problem with that as it represents the “American Dream” coming true.
The problem with some members of Congress is how they came by this money. They were not rich when they arrived in D.C. to take office but their net worth skyrocketed without explanation soon after assuming office.
“How Congress Turns $174K Salaries into Millions” – Quiver Quantitative
People like Paul and Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Joe and Jill Biden, and Barack and Michelle Obama, had their net worth multiply many times over what their annual salary and any speaking engagements or book deals could explain their net worth increases. Paul and Nancy Pelosi are well known for inside stock trading which is a crime for civilians but not a crime (yet) for members of Congress.
President Donald Trump offers a more typical scenario of a rich person in politics in Washington, D.C. He made the bulk of his money in the real estate and hospitality industries before he entered politics and arrived in D.C. His net worth has actually gone down since his first term in office as president. That is very unusual for any politician of D.C. But, then again, he is the first president to refuse a salary having his salary donated to various patriotic charities instead.
CONCLUSION:
It has been reported that the net worth of the 50 richest members of Congress is a whopping $4.8B!
There was a very interesting story going around on social media at the end of last year. It involved a graphic of notable D.C. politicians and the amount of kickback money they got from Ukraine. Supposed “reputable news sources” and “internet fact checkers” were quick to dispel the posts as misinformation.
This is the content that was in that post:
“Here all is the list that Ukraine 🇺🇦 gave kickback money to. This is why Mitt Romney stepped down. Dan Crenshaw is hiding.
- Joe Biden $92M
- Mitch McConnell $89M
- Nancy Pelosi $86M
- Chuck Schumer $66M
- Lindsey Graham $82M
- Mitt Romney $71M
- John Cornyn $41M
- Adam Schiff $62M
- Dan Crenshaw $20M
- Elizabeth Cheney $77M
- Kevin McCarthy $42M
- Jamie Raskin $38M
- Mike Pence $61M
- Greg Pence $17M
- Rick Scott $63M
- Hakeem Jeffries $74M
- IIhan Omar $33M
- Elizabeth Warren $42M”
Now what made this post suspicious and odd are the amounts of money and names on this list seem kind of random. Also, some of these people were not even in office when Russia and Ukraine went to war.
But then the most interesting thing happened earlier this month:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed $100 billion out of the $177 billion the U.S. gave them is somehow missing. If true, that’s not corruption, that’s a scandal of historic proportion!
Then, just this week:
When Elon Musk was asked by a member of the press, “Why is there so much money in the Senate budget proposal?”, Musk responded with one word, “Kickbacks.”
It’s all about the money pic.twitter.com/36ixk3rGcG
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) February 21, 2025
If Congress has been engaging in the kind of alleged financial shenanigans Elon Musk thinks they have been, it is doubtful that money can be traced back as it is no doubt sitting in offshore untraceable accounts. DOGE will never see it unless DOGE somehow offers “kickbacks” to the banks abroad to turn over their American account holder’s information.
All of these “players” or “bad actors” are old enough to know the history of the famous Chicago gangster Al Capone. President Trump certainly does as he referenced him during his 2024 campaign, “I got indicted more than Alphonse Capone, you know, Scarface?”
People who are ignorant of Chicago gangland history may not know that Capone was never charged with murder, bootlegging, money laundering, or any of the other crimes he is famous for… and back then there as no RICO statute…
He was charged with income tax evasion and the FBI who took him down in cooperation with the IRS summed up his case saying, “We can always trace the money as the money has to come from somewhere and go somewhere.”
You can bet any members of Congress skimming kickback money from defense contractors or Ukraine already know this story and history and are making sure not to repeat Capone’s mistakes.
© 2025 by Mark S. Schwendau
