Jordan Laird,Scott WartmanColumbus Dispatch
If you're a member of Congress, chances are, you're doing pretty well financially.
More than half of the members of Congress are millionaires, according to a 2020 report from Opensecrets.org.
At least five of the 13 people who represent central Ohio or are running to represent the region have an estimated net worth of more than a million dollars, based on an analysis of the most recent annual financial disclosure reports done by The Columbus Dispatch and Cincinnati Enquirer. The disclosure reports only require that candidatesdisclose their assets using wide ranges.
It's not the annualcongressional salary of $174,000 that makes them rich.
They've made their money in a variety of ways: concrete, a bestselling memoir, real estate and other investments, including in stocks like Meta, Facebook's parent company.
Much of the wealth disclosed on the reports comes from stocks, retirement packages and other investments.
Estimating the wealth of senators and House members isn't exact, as the financial disclosure reports allow the elected officials and candidates to give a range of values for their assets and liabilities. They also don't disclose primary residences or vacation homes in the reports.
Most sitting members of Congress and candidates in the area filed statements last month about their wealth in 2023. Some, like both senators from Ohio and Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus, filed for an extension on the deadline to file, and we analyzed their 2023 filing about their wealth in 2022.
Bernie Moreno would top the wealthy list
Bernie Moreno's investments in cars, real estate and technology companies allowed him to amass a fortune between $28.8 million and $110 million, according to his financial disclosure report filed in 2023. If he beats Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, the Cleveland-area Republican would become one of the wealthiest delegates from Ohio.
Moreno, 57, owns land in Costa Rica valued between $1 million and $5 million. He listed a home in Ocean Reef, Florida, worth between $5 million and $25 million, of which he has a 43% stake.
Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy' and venture capital
Prior to becoming a senator and possible vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance'sbestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" made him into a national celebrity. The book, also made into a Netflix movie, netted him $121,376 in royalties, based on the report Vance filed in October 2023.
Vance's writing doesn't pay as much as his business investing. Vance reported $945,000 in income in 2022 from Narya Capital, an Ohio-based venture capital firm he founded in 2020 with an investment from Republican megadonor and PayPal founder Peter Thiel.
He also owns $100,000 to $250,000 in stock for Rumble, an online video platform the New York Times described as "a leading destination for conservative content by positioning itself as a platform for unfettered speech."
All told, Vance is worth between $4.4 million and $10.7 million, according to his most recent report for 2022 filed in October 2023.
Sherrod Brown may not be a millionaire
Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Cleveland, was the only one of the elected members of Congress for the Columbus region whose maximum disclosed net worth wasn't above $1 million. Brown's net wealth is estimated between $14,000 and $976,000, based on his financial disclosure report filed in August 2023.
Although Brown's latest disclosure doesn't point to him being a millionaire, if his assets are at the high end, the value of personal residences and his Pulitzer-Prize-winning wife Connie Schultz's income could put him in the club.
Brown also only has to report his spouse's income sources as above $1,000 so it's unclear how much Schultz is making from book royalties, her work as a columnist at USA TODAY, and teaching at Kent State and Denison universities.
Cuyahoga County property records indicate he and his wife Connie Schultz are a few years away from paying off the mortgage on their 2,400-plus-square-foot house in Cleveland that they bought for $289,000 in 2013. Brown listed two mortgages on his disclosure above $100,000 as liabilities.
David Taylor's concrete empire
Amelia Republican David Taylor would become one of the wealthier members of Congress from Ohio if he wins in November.
Based on his financial disclosure reports, his estimated wealth between $7 million and $31 million puts his fortune second only to Bernie Moreno's.
He's the heavy favorite to win in the fall against Democrat Samantha Meadows to become the next representative of the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Pickaway County and stretches down to the Southern tip of Ohio, over suburbs, farmland and industrial towns where the median household income is about $61,600. Trump won the district in 2020 by a 3-to-1 margin. The current representative, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a Republican from Hillsboro, is retiring.
Taylor, 54, made his money in the concrete business. Since 1999, he's owned Sardinia Ready Mix Concrete, with his stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million in Taylor's financial disclosure report filed in March. The assets in his 401k with Sardinia were valued between $1.7 million and $4 million.
Joyce Beatty has stock in Facebook, others
Since 2013, Joyce Beatty has represented Ohio's 3rd Congressional District, which includes most of the city of Columbus and suburbs in the northeast part of Franklin County.
Her net worth last year was between $1.6 million and $6.5 million, according to her disclosure filed in May. Beatty also reported that she received about $250,000 from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System last year. Beatty represented Columbus in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1999 after her husband Otto Beatty Jr. resigned from the seat until 2008, when term limits prevented her from running again.
Beatty's assets include between $100,000 and $327,000 in stocks, including between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stocks in Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Not included in the report is Beatty's Downtown condo that she bought for $599,000 in 2021, according to Franklin County Auditor property records. Beatty did not disclose any mortgages as liabilities.
Mike Carey and wife's interior decorating business
Mike Carey, a Republican from Columbus represents Ohio's 15th Congressional District, which includes the eastern and southern parts of Franklin County and all of Madison County.
Carey's disclosure for 2022 puts his wealth between $375,000 and $1.38 million. Besides various investment funds, one of the largest assets Carey disclosed is his wife's interior decorating business, which he valued between $100,000 and $250,000 and which he said brought in between $100,000 and $1 million in 2022.
Difficult to tell Troy Balderson's financial worth
William Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville, represents Ohio's 12th Congressional District, which includes Licking and Fairfield counties in central Ohio. His latest disclosure puts his assets between $180,000 and $450,000, but he also reported a mortgage debt on a rental property between $250,000 and $500,000. This means his net worth could be in the negatives. Balderson reported he made between $5,000 and $15,000 in income from the rental property last year.
Jim Jordan and public employees' retirement
Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, represents Ohio's 4th Congressional District, including much of Delaware County and all of Union County. The once-hopeful House speaker candidate reported between $151,000 and $365,000 worth of assets.
Much of that wealth comes from his Ohio public employees retirement, valued between $100,000 and $250,000. Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University from 1987 to 1995. He was also a representative and then senator in the Ohio General Assembly from 1995 to 2006.
Jordan reported receiving between $5,000 and $15,000 in royalties last year from his 2021 book, "Do What You Said You Would Do: Fighting for Freedom in the Swamp."
Democratic House challengers have low net worths
Adam C. Miller, a Columbus Democrat challenging Carey in the 15th District, disclosed no assets, but did disclose a mortgage between $500,000 and $1 million as a liability. He reported earning $167,000 last year from the law firm Kegler, Brown Hill and Ritter and about $76,000 as a representative in Ohio’s General Assembly.
Jerrad S. Christian, a Democrat from Galena challenging Balderson in the 12th District, disclosed between $68,000 and $195,000 worth of assets. After factoring in a mortgage and two vehicle loans, his estimated net worth is in the negatives. His largest asset is a food truck he owns called Sparks BBQ that he valued between $50,000 and $100,000. He also reported an income as a software engineer of more than $100,000 last year.
When Samantha Meadows ran in the 2nd Congressional District in 2022 against Wenstrup, she filed an exemption saying she didn't raise or spend the $5,000 her campaign needed to meet the threshold requiring financial disclosure. The U.S. House did not have any additional financial disclosure filings for Meadows now that she is running for the open seat in 2024.
Tamie Wilson, a Democrat from Delaware challenging Jordan in the 4th District, also has not filed a disclosure form.
jlaird@dispatch.com
