Report: The poorest member of Congress is worth negative $3.7 million
Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) holds the ignominious distinction of being the "poorest" member of Congress, according to Roll Call's annual ranking of the most and least affluent lawmakers. Valadao's estimated net worth: An astounding -$3.7 million.
Though Valadao reported millions of dollars in assets related to a dairy farm on his financial disclosure forms, he also reported millions of dollars in liabilities related to it, too, dragging him down into the red.
The estimate comes with a caveat, however. Congressional financial disclosure forms list range values, not hard dollar amounts. For instance, Valadao has one liability listed at between $1 million and $5 million, so his "actual net worth is a mystery," as Roll Call puts it.
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That said, Roll Call's estimate actually falls on the low side. Both Time and CNBC also named Valadao the poorest member of Congress this year, with Time estimating his net worth at -$12.2 million, and CNBC noting it could be as low as -$24.5 million.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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