Congress’s financial winners and losers

Most lawmakers — but not all — fared better than the average American in recent years.

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While the median American household has seen its wealth plummet by 39 percent since 2007, these lawmakers saw large gains in their estimated wealth between 2004 and 2010, a Washington Post examination of congressional wealth found.

View The Post’s complete findings on every member of Congress.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)

Issa has consistently ranked in the top five richest House members, with an estimated wealth of $448 million in 2010. The California Republican, who made his fortune in the car alarm business, appeared to lose about $90 million in 2008, but his portfolio gained an estimated $197 million within two years of the financial meltdown. The rises were fueled by his commercial real estate ventures in San Diego and successful investments in mutual funds, bonds and other securities.

View Issa’s full profile.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

The House minority leader saw a $60 million increase in her estimated wealth as the value of her husband's real estate holdings in San Francisco climbed dramatically during the first decade of the century. Pelosi’s estimated wealth totaled $101.1 million in 2010.

View Pelosi’s full profile.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

Wyden saw his wealth jump dramatically in 2005, the year he married his wife, Nancy, who is a co-owner of New York City’s famed Strand Bookstore. In 2010, his personal wealth was estimated at $6.8 million.

View Wyden’s full profile.

Rick Bowmer / AP

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)

Harkin’s fortune can be traced to his wife's success in the corporate world. The senator's estimated wealth jumped by more than 500 percent between 2004 and 2010. The biggest jump in the couple's wealth occurred in 2007, a time when the stock market was reaching historic heights. The couple doubled their estimated wealth, from $8 million in 2006 to $16 million in 2007. The Great Recession shaved off about $3 million in 2008, but the Harkins rebounded in 2009, rising to an estimated $17 million.

View Harkin’s full profile.

Charlie Neibergall / AP

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

The Senate minority leader is an active investor who saw his estimated wealth grow from $3.1 million in 2004 to $27.2 million in 2010.

View McConnell’s full profile.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)

McCaul’s estimated wealth rose by more than 1,000 percent between 2004 and 2010. His wife, Linda, is the daughter of the founder and former chief executive of Clear Channel Communications, which generates nearly $6 billion in annual revenue from its network of radio stations and outdoor advertising business.

While many portfolios suffered painful losses during the economic meltdown, McCaul's finances emerged stronger than ever because of money coming from his wife's family. His estimated wealth skyrocketed, from $70 million in 2008 to $380 million in 2010, broadly invested in numerous companies.

View McCaul’s full profile.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Like many Americans, these members of Congress saw a sharp decline in their estimated wealth between 2004 and 2010.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)

Hoyer’s reported wealth declined by an estimated 90 percent between 2004 and 2010. The House Democratic whip had holdings estimated at $600,000 in 2004, not including his home. Between 2007 and 2008, he lost about $249,000 in his mutual funds, joining legions of investors who watched their savings wither away as the housing and financial markets teetered.

Hoyer’s reported wealth declined by an estimated 90 percent between 2004 and 2010. The House Democratic whip had holdings estimated at $600,000 in 2004, not including his home. Between 2007 and 2008, he lost about $249,000 in his mutual funds, joining legions of investors who watched their savings wither away as the housing and financial markets teetered.

View Hoyer’s full profile.

Chris Keane / Reuters

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

The estimated wealth of Waters dropped from $2 million in 2004 to $1 million in 2010. Nearly half of those losses were tied to holdings in OneUnited Bank, where Waters's husband (pictured) served on the board. Waters was the subject of a two-year House Ethics Committee investigation relating to bailout money OneUnited received under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The committee cleared her of any wrongdoing last month.

View Waters’s full profile.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Rep. Rubén E. Hinojosa (D-Texas)

Hinojosa is the only member of Congress known to have filed for personal bankruptcy after the financial crisis. In 2007, his family's longtime food processing plant in Mercedes fell on hard times. As the economy shrank, the plant was unable to secure credit. "It took a turn for the worse during the financial crisis," he said in an interview. His estimated wealth fell dramatically between 2004 and 2010, the year he filed for bankruptcy, citing debts that range between $1.4 million and $5.9 million, the largest owed to Wells Fargo.

View Hinojosa’s full profile.

Marco Ugarte / AP

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.)

For years, Hastings has been one of the most financially distressed members of Congress. He reported debts of between $2 million and $7 million in 2010. The debt is due to legal fees he incurred in the 1980s when he was a federal judge and accused of accepting bribes. A jury acquitted Hastings, but Congress impeached him.

View Hastings’s full profile.

Carl De Souza / AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.)

Bono Mack’s estimated holdings dropped from $3 million in 2004 to $848,000 in 2010. Much of the loss was due to the declining value of the music catalogues she inherited from her late husband, onetime congressman and singer-songwriter Sonny Bono.

View Bono Mack’s full profile.

Cliff Owen / AP

Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.)

Bishop had an estimated family wealth of $184,000 in 2004. His mutual funds lost money during the recession. The biggest apparent drop in assets he reported came during 2009, from $335,000 to $9,000 in debt. By 2010, he reported holdings that were an estimated $159,000 in debt.

View Bishop’s full profile.

Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

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