How Rich Are Wisconsin’s Members of Congress?

Ron Johnson. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) 

Wisconsin is not sending many plutocrats to Congress.

That’s a very different situation than just 10 years ago, when the combined net worth of the state’s 10-person delegation was estimated to be as high as $171 million.
Don’t get me wrong. Even the least well-to-do of our members of Congress, which is probably Gwen Moore, the Democratic representative from Milwaukee, are not suffering.

After all, they earn $174,000, which is more than twice the average American household’s income and about 30% more than the average professional in the U.S. is paid, as a Washington Post analysis noted.

In fact, more than half of the members of Congress are millionaires, according to the last analysis by Open Secrets, in 2020. By contrast, it’s been estimated that about 10% of American households are worth at least $1 million.

That said, “much of the wealth in Congress is concentrated at the top,” as Open Secrets noted. “The top 10 percent of wealthiest lawmakers have three times more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.”  That’s America for you: even Congress has a wealth gap.

Until recently, Wisconsin tended to fit into that top heavy pattern, what with such Republicans as U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (net worth of more than $39 million), Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (estimated net worth of $21.8 million)  and Rep. Paul Ryan (estimated net worth of more than $7 million)

As of 2021, two the 50 richest members of Congress were from Wisconsin. But now just Johnson is on that list. With the retirement of Ryan and Sensenbrenner, just four of the state’s 10 members of Congress are millionaires and the total net worth of delegation has plummeted over the last decade.

Who are the richest and poorest? Let us count the dollars, from the most to least:

Sen. Ron Johnson: Estimated net worth $39,233,507

Such was the estimate by Open Secrets, which made him the sixth richest member of the U.S. Senate. Its analysis showed that Johnson’s wealth has soared since taking office in 2011, when it it just about $23 million. The median Senate member’s wealth during that period was flat and did not grow at all, Open Secrets found.

Perhaps that’s because Johnson supported policies that indirectly benefitted him and his company, and pushed for a lucrative tax break for pass-through companies that directly benefitted him.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald: Estimated net worth $3.5 million

Yes, that’s a big drop from the wealth of Ron Johnson, and only a ballpark estimate, based on Fitzgerald’s House financial disclosure form, whose details were reported by the Badger Project.

Fitzgerald the longtime state legislator and former Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader, succeeded Sensenbrenner as the 5th District Republican Congressman. He reported assets between $1.7 million and $6.7 million and liabilities between $380,000 and $850,000. He owns a ranch in Montana, and a family farm in his hometown of Juneau.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin: Estimated net worth $1,147,003

The U.S. Senator is the wealthiest Democrat in the Wisconsin congressional delegation, but below average in the Senate, where she ranks as 55th wealthiest. She is a lawyer who has served nearly her entire adult life in government. She won an election for Dane County Supervisor at age 24, served three terms (1993-1999) in the state Assembly, followed by seven terms as a congresswoman (1999-2013), and then two terms as Senator. She will run for reelection next year.

Baldwin’s net worth has actually declined since 2008, Open Secrets found. Most of her assets are contained in a blind trust.

Rep. Glenn Grothman: Estimated net worth $1,105,007

The 6th District Republican from Glenbeulah, a small town in Sheboygan County, is also an attorney and has also served long in government, first in the state Assembly (1993-2004), followed by state Senate (2004-2015) and then U.S. Congress, where he is serving his fifth term. The political conservative is also financially conservative: much of his assets are savings in banks. His net worth has grown slightly since entering Congress. He ranked as the 167th wealthiest member of the House, according to Open Secrets  and is a veritable pauper compared to his predecessor as 6th District Congressman, Tom Petri, who was estimated to be worth as much as $69 million.

Rep. Bryan Steil: Estimated net worth $987,514

The 1st District Republican from Janesville, who also replaced a wealthier politician (Paul Ryan), is just below $1 million in net worth, according to Open Secrets, and probably near the financial median in Congress.  Also an attorney and businessman, his assets include a flock of investments worth anywhere from $1,001 to $250,000, mostly with Vanguard, known for its low fees. Steil served for a year as an aide to Ryan and is now in his third term in the House.

Rep. Mike Gallagher: Estimated net worth $853,007

The 8th District Republican from the Green Bay area, a former Marine with a Ph.D. in international relations from Georgetown, has been considered a golden boy of the Republican Party since he was first elected to Congress in 2017. He has also seen his wealth more than double since taking office, rising from about $440,000 in 2017, according to Open Secrets. He now ranks as 184th wealthiest member of the U.S. House, up from 275th in 2017.

Rep. Tom Tiffany: Estimated net worth $415,000.

That’s a ballpark estimate for the 7th District Republican from Minocqua in northern Wisconsin, who listed total assets between $230,000 and $600,000 on his financial disclosure form, as the Badger Project reported. A key if rather modest asset: a billboard in Oneida County in his district which generates between $1,000 and $5,000 per year.  He and his wife Chris have run an excursion business in the Willow Flowage area since 1991, according to the Antigo Daily Journal. A businessman for many years, Tiffany served in the Wisconsin Legislature from 2011 to 2020, when he won election to Congress and is now serving his second term.

Rep Mark Pocan: Estimated net worth $385,000 

That ranked the 2nd District Democrat from Madison as the 239th wealthiest member of the House, according to Open Secrets.His net worth appears to have declined since 2012, when he reported assets of between $352,000 and $780,000, including his long-time printing company, Budget Signs & Specialties, which was listed as being worth between $250,000 and $500,000.  He has served in the House since 2013, after serving 14 years in the state Assembly.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden: Estimated net worth is minimal

The 3rd District Republican from Prairie du Chien, first elected to the U.S. House in 2022 and serving his first term, reported no income on his financial disclosure form, according to the Badger Project. Van Orden listed liabilities that may exceed his assets, depending of the value of his home. A former Navy Seal, he earns money from a military pension and from payments for his 100% disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Rep. Gwen Moore: Estimated net worth is minimal

The 4th District Democrat has long served in government, winning election as a state representative in 1988, then as a state senator in 1992, then as a U.S. House member in 2004. That’s 35 years as a public official, but she has never been wealthy. Open Secrets listed her with a net worth of zero in 2015 and -$75,001 in 2017, ranking her as one of the poorest House members. Her most recent financial disclosure from, according to the Badger Project, lists one asset, a state pension she estimates as worth about $17,000 (probably an underestimate) and one liability, of $50,000 to $100,000 for a mortgage on her residence. Like Van Orden, Moore may have a higher net worth depending on the market value of her home.

Yes, that’s a far cry from Ron Johnson.