The year is 2024. We don’t have flying cars yet (only Teslas with frozen door handles that won’t budge), and neither do we have world peace or any of the wonderful things that we envisioned for our futures as children.
Living in the age of rising inequality, we’re used to hearing about the struggles of the majority and the hoarding of wealth by a handful of people that we commonly refer to as the “top 1%”. And there’s another trend affecting that very 1%: they’re increasingly becoming more involved in politics all around the world.
Since you came here for it, let’s not waste any more time: here are the top 10 richest politicians in the US, according to Visual Capitalist’s rich list!
10. Mark Warner
Mark Warner via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $215 million
Born on December 15, 1954, Mark Warner is a businessman and politician that’s served as the senior senator from Virginia since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party whose efforts currently center on creating more jobs, making healthcare and education more affordable, and shifting to renewable sources of energy.
Warner got his political science degree from George Washington University in 1977 before enrolling in Harvard Law School, from where he graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1980. Before entering politics, Warner’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to organize investor groups and help them in applying for cellular licenses. Taking a stake in each resulting venture, he quickly built his wealth.
9. Rick Scott
Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $300 million
Richard Scott is an attorney, businessman and politician, who has served as the junior senator from Florida since 2019. Before that, the multimillionaire Republican was the 45th Governor of the Sunshine State between 2011 and 2019.
While his family struggled financially when he was young, Scott worked his way through college and law school and eventually cofounded Columbia Hospital Corporation in 1988. CHC quickly became the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US — before coming under criminal investigation for fraudulent charges.
Though he was forced to give up his position as CEO by CHC’s board of directors, he left with a generous retirement package: $10 million in cash and $300 million in stock.
8. Mitt Romney
Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $300 million
Mitt Romney has served as the junior senator for Utah since 2019. In 2012, he was the Republican Party’s nominee in the presidential election, which, in the end, was won by Barack Obama.
As a young adult, Romney attended Brigham Young University and later got his JD-MBA degree from Harvard University. In 1984, he cofounded private equity investment firm Bain Capital, which went on to become highly profitable.
In 2020, Romney notably voted for Donald Trump’s conviction in his impeachment trial, becoming the first ever senator to have voted for the removal of a president from the same party.
7. Glenn Youngkin
World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $400 million
Born on December 6, 1966, Glen Youngkin is a businessman, politician and member of the Republican Party. In recent years, he resigned from his co-CEO position at private-equity firm The Carlyle Group to run for Governor of Virginia — a role he has now held since 2022.
Before getting his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994, Youngkin attended Rice University on a basketball scholarship. In the years following his graduation, he worked at investment bank First Boston, management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, and finally The Carlyle Group, which is an alternative asset management and financial services corporation.
6. Jared Polis
Jesse Paul via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $400 million
Jared Polis is a politician, businessman and philanthropist that’s currently serving as the 43rd Governor of Colorado. In 2018, the libertarian Democrat became the first openly gay man to be elected governor of a US state. He was also the first Jewish person to become Governor of Colorado.
Over the years, Polis cofounded internet access provider American Information Systems, free electronic greeting card site bluemountain.com, and pre-seed investment firm TechStars. He also founded online florist ProFlowers on his own, which eventually was renamed and acquired by Liberty Media Corporation for just under $480 million back in 2005.
5. Jim Justice
Governor Jim Justice via Flickr, PDM 1.0 DEED
Net worth: $450 million
James Justice, born on April 27, 1951, is a businessman and politician who has served as Governor of West Virginia since 2017. His current net worth of $450 million is humble compared to the wealth he once possessed — exceeding $1 billion — which he built thanks to an inherited coal mining business that previously belonged to his father. Today, Justice’s business empire comprises more than 90 companies, including luxury resort Greenbrier.
Though he’s long been registered as a member of the Republican Party, he briefly changed his registration between 2015 and 2017, running for governor as a Democrat, and then switching back to Republican.
4. Darrell Issa
World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $460 million
A member of the Republican Party, Darrell Issa is currently the representative for California's 48th congressional district — the wealthiest serving member of Congress as of 2023. In the past, from 2001 to 2019, he served in the US House of Representatives.
In his youth, Issa dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army. He got his GED a few years later, as a young adult; a time in his life that had him run in with the law on several occasions.
With the help of his second wife, Kathy Stanton, in the ’80s, Issa invested in electronics manufacturer Quantum Enterprises. This played a pivotal role in Issa’s starting to build his fortune.
3. Doug Burgum
Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Douglas Burgum: politician, businessman, member of the Republican Party, and the 33rd Governor of North Dakota.
After graduating from North Dakota State University in 1978, Burgum studied for his MBA at Stanford. Then he worked at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant until 1983, when he mortgaged some family-owned farmland to start his accounting software company Great Plains. Selling the company to Microsoft in 2001, he brought in more than $1 billion.
Burgum is running for the November 2024 presidential elections.
2. Donald Trump
Trump White House Archived via Flickr, PDM 1.0 DEED
Net worth: $2 billion
Former president Donald Trump needs little introductions for most. He is a member of the Republican Party, although his party affiliation has changed over his career to include the Reform and Democratic Parties.
As far as his wealth goes, Trump inherited more than $410 million (adjusted to 2018 prices) from his father’s businesses, according to a 2018 report by the New York Times. Today, the Trump Organization owns, invests in, operates and develops hotels, resorts, real estate and golf courses around the world.
By the end of 2023, Trump had been indicted four times. He is also the only US president to be impeached twice.
1. JB Pritzker
World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED
Net worth: $3.4 billion
A longtime financial supporter and member of the Democratic Party, Jay Robert Pritzker is a businessman, attorney, venture capitalist and politician that’s currently serving as the Governor of Illinois.
Pritzker holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University. He comes from a wealthy family, known for owning global hotel chain Hyatt, with a market cap that currently exceeds $13 billion. In addition, he cofounded Pritzker Group Private Capital, an investor in middle-market companies, and Chicago Ventures, an investor in seed- and early-stage businesses.
Here they all are in a snapshot — the richest politicians in the US:
Final thoughts
Even though the people on this list possess a staggering amount of wealth, they’re still “just” the richest politicians in the US — and not the highest-paid in the world. Indeed, compared to the richest politicians in the world, the individuals on this rich list are significantly less well off: take Silvio Berlusconi, for example, who, prior to his passing away in 2023, had a net worth of almost $7 billion.
On the flipside, women hold none of the top spots in the nation’s or the world’s rich politicians lists: Nancy Pelosi, the richest female politician in the US according to GOBankingRates, has a net worth of $120 million. That’s leagues away from Mark Warner, #10 on our list, whose fortunes exceed $200 million.
Surprised to see any of these politicians on our list? Let us know in the comments section below.
Originally published on December 11, 2015.