According to Roll Call’s list of the 50 richest members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman rank 31st and 43rd, respectively.

 

According to the lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms, Pearce, a Republican, is worth at least $8.4 million, while the net worth of Bingaman, a Democrat, is listed at $6.2 million.

 

Roll Call does say, however, that these numbers are “extraordinarily unreliable.”

 

The disclosure rules allow Members to report assets in broad categories, so there is no way to tell the difference between a $20 million investment and a $5 million investment. The top category on the Members’ forms is “over $50 million,” so it is impossible to accurately account for anything worth more than that — like a professional sports team, for example. There is also a gaping loophole for assets owned by the Members’ spouse or dependent children; anything worth more than $1 million in value can be reported as “over $1 million.” There is no way to tell whether that is $1.2 million or $1.2 billion.

 

The portion of the story on Pearce’s personal wealth shows another loophole. Pearce sold Lea Fishing Tools for $12 million, but since the money is in a corporate account, Pearce doesn’t have to declare it as part of his net worth.

 

Roll Call refers to Bingaman as “something of a media mogul” because much of his worth is “invested in partnerships that hold stock in broadcast, print media and digital communications, among other things.”

 

Bingaman’s net worth has declined 20 percent since last year, according to Roll Call.