The congressional millionaires' club: By the numbers

Although this year's House freshmen are sharply divided by ideology, they are united by one striking measure: Many of them are filthy rich. The Center for Responsive Politics found that 60 percent of Senate freshmen and 40 percent of House freshmen were worth $1 million or more. The statistics prove that Congress is populated "overwhelmingly with millionaires and near-millionaires who often own multiple homes," says Dan Eggen at The Washington Post. Here, a look at the numbers behind the congressional millionaires' club:

96

Number of new House members in the 112th Congress

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40 percent

Approximate share of House freshmen who are millionaires

16

Number of new senators in the 112th Congress

60 percent

Share of Senate freshmen who are millionaires

1 percent

Approximate share of ordinary Americans who are millionaires

$3.96 million

Median estimated wealth of a Senate freshman

$570,418

Median estimated wealth of a House freshman

$25,149

Median estimated wealth of an American over the age of 18 (2005)

$533.1 million

The estimated combined worth of the full freshman class of the 112th Congress

$95 million

Estimated personal wealth of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the richest freshman. His wealth comes mainly from his wife's family, whose real estate holdings reportedly include the Empire State Building.

-$317,498

Estimated net worth of the poorest freshman lawmaker, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.). Walsh, who lost his condo to foreclosure in 2009, is the only freshman in the red. He calls this a "badge of honor."

17

Number of freshmen who own stock in General Electric. Eleven invest in Bank of America, while 9 freshmen each invested in AT&T, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble.

Between $1 million and $5 million

Amount of money collectively invested in Citibank by freshman lawmakers

261

Number of millionaires in the last Congress, out of a total of 535 members

$911,510

Median wealth of all members in the last Congress

$303.5 million

Estimated wealth of the richest member of Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), in 2009

Sources: OpenSecrets.org (2), Washington Post, CNBC, Politico, U.S. Census