Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reported a minimum net worth for 2010 that was more than 50 percent higher than the prior year, according to personal financial disclosure forms made public by the Clerk of the House on Wednesday.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) also saw a healthy growth in his minimum net worth, but the total change in his case is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, while Pelosi’s is in the millions.
Pelosi, who ranks among the 50 richest Members of Congress, reported $43.45 million in minimum assets, according to financial disclosure reports released Wednesday. That marks an increase of more than $13 million in assets from 2009.
Members of Congress are required to disclose their personal assets, including stocks, bank accounts and investment properties, as well as debts each calendar year.
According to her latest report, which covers calendar year 2010, Pelosi’s husband, Paul, increased his investment in the United Football League to from $5 million to $25 million. His investment was previously valued at $1 million to $5 million in 2009.
Pelosi’s spouse invested at least $2.47 million in the football league in 20 individual transactions in 2010 but continued to report an income loss of $1 million to $5 million.
Paul Pelosi also saw two of his real estate investments, an office building in San Francisco and an undeveloped Sacramento property, increase in value in 2010 to from $5 million to $25 million each. Pelosi valued both properties at $1 million to $5 million in 2009.
It is difficult to determine, however, whether those increases represent a significant increase in actual wealth for the family.
Because lawmakers report their assets and liabilities in broad categories, a Member’s apparent fortune can shift dramatically when an asset swings into the next category, even if the real change is a few thousand dollars up or down.
Pelosi’s minimum net worth in 2010, including $8.25 million in liabilities from mortgages and other debts, was $35.2 million. Her minimum net worth in 2009 totaled $21.74 million.
Roll Call determines each lawmaker’s minimum net worth by adding the lowest number in the range reported for each asset — for example, an asset worth $1 million to $5 million would be evaluated at $1 million — and subtracting the lowest total liabilities.
Boehner reported a minimum net worth of $2.10 million in 2010, an increase over his reported $1.75 million total in 2009.
Boehner, who listed no liabilities, reported rolling over a deferred compensation plan from the Ohio government to his personal IRA. That account was valued at $100,000 to $250,000 in his previous financial disclosure.
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