Kevin McCarthy, Poorest Member Of GOP Leadership, Elected House Majority Leader

Moments ago Kevin McCarthy of California was elected majority leader by House Republicans, according to Riva Litman, spokeswoman for Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. He fills the spot lost by Eric Cantor following his shocking loss to a tea-party activist two weeks ago. McCarthy win is not surprising: it was largely expected. What however, is notable is that with a self-declared net worth of between only $76K and $266K, albeit is substantial jump from the he $16K he revealed in 2008, he is by far the poorest member of the GOP leadership group.

Not surprisingly, the wealthiest member of the GOP leadership, is the outgoing Eric Cantor with a net worth between $5.7 million and $19 million, more than doubling his money from the reported $2.4 – $7 million in 2008. We are confident McCarthy will be quite able to catch up in the coming years.

WSJ reports:

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), who is currently vying to succeed Mr. Cantor in next week’s election, has by far the fewest assets of any member of House GOP leadership. The California Republican is worth at least $76,000 and at most $266,000 – a significant jump from his total of $16,000 in 2008, but still significantly below the second-least wealthy, Rep. James Lankford. Mr. Lankford, the fifth-ranking Republican in the House, has at least $133,000 in assets. House Speaker John Boehner is worth $2.3 million, up from $1.7 million in 2008.

Rep. Peter Roskam (R., Ill.) is expected to run for the spot of House Majority Whip in the event that Mr. McCarthy is promoted, and his filings show he is worth at least $446,000. But two other members expected to vie for the position have considerably fewer assets than Mr. McCarthy. Rep. Raul Labrador (R., Idaho) is worth at least $6,000, and Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.) is worth at least $4,000.

Which is not to say that republicans in the House happen to be poor (or rich): this is merely the leadership group. Putting it in context, here is the chart showing the three highest-ranking democrats.

Just how did Pelosi, or rather her husband, accumulate such wealth? The following articles “Moody’s Leaked Again: Told Nancy Pelosi Will “Probably Not” Downgrade US Weeks Ago; Did Her Multi-Millionaire Investor Husband Know Too?” as well as “Congressional Insider Trading Gone Wild” may offer some clues.