Who’s Alabama’s wealthiest member of Congress?

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Congres Money Capitol

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby is Alabama’s wealthiest member of Congress, with a net worth of $4.18 million, according to Roll Call‘s annual “Wealth of Congress” report, ranking Shelby 72nd in all of Congress.

Not too far behind is U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions coming in 85th.

Every year since 1990 reporters from the beltway rag Roll Call scour each member’s financial disclosure forms to create their “Wealth of Congress Index,” which ranks members by wealth. This year’s rankings were derived from forms covering the 2014 calendar year.

According to Roll Call, “The disclosure forms are imperfect at best — members are required to report values in broad ranges of minimums, starting at $1 to $1,000 and ending with any asset or liability worth $50 million or more. Our equation for calculating the minimum net worth of each member remains unchanged: Total minimum reported value of assets minus total minimum reported value of liabilities equals total minimum net worth.”

The Yellowhammer State’s delegation has a total net worth of at least $10.26 million, averaging $1.14 million per member, with a median of $570,000.

In contrast, the median household net worth in the United States stood at $68,828 in 2011, with 69 percent of households holding some form of debt, according to the most recent U.S. Census statistics.

Here’s a look at how the Alabama delegation ranks and their net worth:

#72 U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby

  • Net worth: $4.18 M
  • How he got there: Collects interest from his Tuscaloosa Title Co., which he founded and has remained chairman of since 1974. He also outright owns the commercial property that houses the company as well as his Tuscaloosa home and Washington townhouse.

Congress wealth index_Richard Shelby#85 U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions

  • Net worth: $3.21 million
  • How he got there: Owns 16 pieces of land, dozens of mutual funds, several municipal bonds and money in bank accounts.

Congress wealth index_Jeff Sessions#85 U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt

Congress wealth index_Robert Aderholt#222 U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne

Congress wealth index_Bradley Byrne#250 U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers

  • Net worth: $0.57 million
  • How he got there: A 20 percent stake in Capitol Development LLC, through which he owns 200 acres of land in Anniston.

Congress wealth index_Mike Rogers#265 U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer

  • Net worth: $0.48 million
  • How he got there: An IRA and has a 20 percent stake in Canaan LLC, through which he owns 105 acres of land in Vernon

Congress wealth index_Gary Palmer#350 U.S. Rep. Martha Roby

  • Net worth: $0.13 million
  • How she got there: A 25 percent stake in Hancey Mill Road Farm, LLC.

Congress wealth index_Martha Roby#395 U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks

  • Net worth: $0.03 million
  • How he got there: Bonds as well as a mix of stocks, including Duke Energy, Charles Schwab and Digirad in a tax-deferred account.

Congress wealth index_Mo Brooks#442 U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell 

  • Net worth: $ – 0.08 million
  • How she got there: Personal loans and credit card debt.

Congress wealth index_Terri Sewell

Click here for the full list of Roll Call’s Wealth of Congress Index.

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