WASHINGTON — Maine is not known as a particularly wealthy state (ranking 35th in per-capita personal income in 2007). But two of the Pine Tree State’s four elected representatives in Washington, D.C., rank among the Top 50 wealthiest members of Congress.
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has appeared consistently in annual rankings of the richest senators and House members, partly because of the income and investments of her husband, former Maine Gov. John McKernan.
She ranks 36th on The Hill’s list for 2011, with a net wealth of at least $9 million.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, has vaulted onto The Hill’s list for the first time, landing in the No. 12 position with a net worth of at least $31.8 million. Pingree’s meteoric rise is the result of her marriage last year to S. Donald Sussman, the billionaire hedge fund manager and major donor to Democratic and progressive causes as well as various charities.
Sussman is also majority share owner of MaineToday Media, which owns The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville.
Members of Congress are required to include their spouses in their annual financial disclosure forms, although the vagueness of those forms makes it impossible to gauge their true net worth with any real accuracy.
The disclosure requirements for spouses are even less detailed than for members of Congress.
Sussman founded the Connecticut-based investment fund Paloma Partners and is the chairman of Trust Asset Management LLP, an investment firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. He also owns homes in Portland, Augusta, Saco, Deer Isle, North Haven and the Virgin Islands.
Among Pingree’s holdings is Nebo Lodge, an inn and restaurant on North Haven valued at $500,000 to $1 million last year.
Neither U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, nor U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-2nd District, appear on The Hill’s list of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress.
And in case you’re wondering, according to The Hill, the three richest members are: U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, at $290.5 million; U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at $198.5 million; and U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., at $140.6 million.
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