Massachusetts 'Royalty' Is the State's Richest Congressional Member

By Brooklyn Lowery (Patch staff)

Photo of Joe Kennedy/Patch file photo

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-4th District) is one of the 25 wealthiest members of Congress according to Roll Call’s new Wealth of Congress Index.

Katherine Clark, who represents Natick as part of the 5th District, came in at No. 176 on the list. Her net worth is estimated at $1.2 million.

The index is based upon the congressional financial disclosure forms each member of Congress is required to submit. Specifically, according to Roll Call, “... members are required to report values in broad ranges of minimums, starting at $1 to $1,000 and ending with any asset or liability worth $50 million or more. Our equation for calculating the minimum net worth of each member remains unchanged: Total minimum reported value of assets minus total minimum reported value of liabilities equals total minimum net worth.”

Kennedy, whose net worth is estimated at $18.6 million, saw that figure fall over the past 12 months, dropping him from No. 21 to No. 22 in the index.

Kennedy’s portfolio is “filled with a slew of amply stocked trust funds and individual investments totaling more than $19 million,” according to Roll Call. “His most generous commodities include a common trust fund worth at least $5 million, while his largest stake in any single enterprise appears to be the at least $750,000 he’s sunk into Exxon Mobil.”

He and his wife, Lauren Anne Birchfield, remain in debt with her education loans as well as an estimated $750,000 in mortgage payments for their residences in the 4th District.

Here’s how Massachusetts’ senators and representatives ranked:

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Democrat): Net worth of $4.3 million
• Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-3rd District), No.103: Net worth of $1.7 million
• Rep. William Keating (D-9th District), No. 156: Net worth of $1.5 million
• Rep. Michael Capuano, (D-7th District), No. 158: Net worth of $1.4 million
• Rep. Katherine Clark (D-5th District), No. 176: Net worth of $1.2 million
• Sen. Edward Markey, (Democrat), No. 198: Net worth of $950,000
• Rep. Jim McGovern, (D-2nd District), No. 208: Net worth of $850,000
• Rep. Stephen Lynch, (D-8th District), No. 276: Net worth of $410,000
• Rep. Richard Neal, (D-1st District), No. 372: Net worth of $70,000
• Rep. Seth Moulton, (D-6th District), No. 419: Net worth of -$10,000

Photo of Katherine Clark by Susan Petroni of Petroni Media Company