WASHINGTON (TNND) — Representative Nancy Pelosi is set to retire next year after nearly forty years in public service, but she’s leaving office with more than just a historic political legacy. She’s leaving as one of the wealthiest members of Congress.
When Pelosi first took office in 1987, she and her husband reported holding between $610,000 and $785,000 in stocks, according to her financial disclosure published by OpenSecrets. Since then, their portfolio has ballooned, with estimates showing the couple has made at least $130 million in stock profits over the past four decades. Today, Pelosi’s total net worth is valued at around $281 million, according to data from Quiver Quantitative.
While Pelosi’s finances have drawn the most attention, she’s hardly alone. Congressional stock trading has long been a bipartisan controversy. According to the Brennan Center for Justice:
Lawmakers often have access to nonpublic information that can move financial markets, as well as the power to shape policies in sectors in which they have financial interests.
History shows that this problem crosses party lines. In 2008, Alabama Republican Spencer Bachus reportedly bet against the market right after attending a closed-door briefing with the Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair, and profited when stocks fell. In 2020, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein sold off major stock holdings just before markets crashed at the onset of COVID-19. And in 2025, Pennsylvania Republican Rob Bresnahan sold hospital bonds just weeks after voting on legislation that put those same hospitals at risk, per the Brennan Center report.
Bipartisan Push to Ban Congressional Stock Trades
Members of Congress earn a base salary of $174,000 per year, but some have amassed fortunes worth hundreds of millions, and in at least one case, over a billion dollars. As their wealth grows, so does public scrutiny over how that money is made and managed.
There’s now bipartisan momentum to change the rules. Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., recently introduced legislation called the Stock Act 2.0, also known as the Trust in Congress Act, saying, “No one is above the law, and no one should be using the government to enrich themselves.”
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Rep. Dave Min (D-CA) speaks during the We Choose To Fight: Nobody Elected Elon Rally at the U.S. Department Of The Treasury on February 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)
If passed, the bill would require all members of Congress, and even their spouses, to place their investments in blind trusts for the duration of their time in office. That means lawmakers couldn’t buy, sell, or even know which stocks were being traded on their behalf while they serve.
The Wealthiest Members of Congress
According to Quiver Quantitative, the richest member of Congress today is West Virginia Governor and Congressman Jim Justice, who disclosed over $1 billion in assets linked to his coal companies and his ownership of The Greenbrier Resort.
He’s followed by Florida Senator Rick Scott, worth as much as $700 million; California Congressman Darrell Issa, at roughly $284 million; and House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, around $281 million. Other multi-millionaires include Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts, both with net worths exceeding $100 million.
The disparity underscores what watchdogs have been warning for years: the wealth gap between lawmakers and the public is massive, and it raises questions about who Congress is really serving.
