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The Top 10 Richest Politicians In Congress

The Top 10 Richest Politicians In Congress
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Jeremy Binckes is an intern for Huff Politics. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in international relations, double majoring in political science and a minor in journalism. He can be reached at jbinckes@huffingtonpost.com

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The economy may have been tanking, but it was apparently a different story on Capitol Hill where the 50 richest lawmakers gained a cumulative $1.4 billion in personal wealth from 2008 to 2009.

Researchers at The Hill scoured the financial disclosure reports for members of the House and Senate. Because the disclosures are not exact -- they fall into monetary value ranges -- the writers used lower-range values for assets, and higher-range for liabilities.

Here's more background from The Hill's Kevin Bogardus and Barbra Kim as well as a full slideshow of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers, and here are the top 10 richest politicians on Capitol Hill:

The Hill's List Of The Richest Lawmakers In Congress
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.): $188.6 Million(01 of10)
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Sen. John Kerry (D- Mass.) can thank wife Teresa Heinz Kerry for the bulk of his fortune. The heir to the Heinz ketchup company married the senator in 1995.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif): $160.1 Million(02 of10)
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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) made his money by founding Directed Electronics, the largest maker of car security systems in the United States.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.): $152.3 Million(03 of10)
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The California Democrat is another case of marrying well. Rep. Jane Harman's (D-Calif.) husband, Sidney, founded Harman International Industries, which makes loudspeakers, CD and DVD players, and other electronics.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas): $73.8 Million(04 of10)
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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is married to Linda McCaul, the daughter of the founder of Clear Channel Communications, one of the largest radio empires in the United States.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.): $83.7 Million(05 of10)
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An old money candidate, Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W. Va.) money can be traced back generations to his great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil tycoon.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.): $70.2 Million(06 of10)
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Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a former staff member to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), made most of his money from his investment in cellular communications company, Nextel, which is now part of the Sprint corporation.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.): $56.5 Million(07 of10)
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Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) began his career as a venture capitalist. He founded a number of online ventures, including ProFlowers.com, some of which he later sold for huge profits.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.): $53.5 Million(08 of10)
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Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) had a few successes and failures in his career, but most of his money comes from his successful chain of car dealerships, as well as offshore reinsurance companies.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.): $49.7 Million(09 of10)
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Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) was the founder of Automatic Data Processing, a payroll processing company. The Hill reports he has almost $1 million worth of real estate holdings.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.): $46.1 Million(10 of10)
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) can trace most of her money to her husband, Richard Blum, a wealthy investor.

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