Average net worth of Congressmen and women now $913,000

It’s a good time to be a member of Congress.

As many Americans go through tough financial times, Senators and Representatives are richer than ever. Almost half of the members of Congress are millionaires and the median net worth is $913,000. According to the Washington Post, the median net worth in 2009 of a House representative was more than 2.5 times more than it was in 1984 — $725,00 vs. $280,000 — adjusted for inflation.

Peter Whoriskey of The Washington Post said it’s long been known that the Senate is populated by the wealthy, but in his latest article, he looked closely at the House and discovered that it’s wealth was skyrocketing.

“The most surprising thing we found was how much that has increased over time,” he said. “That doesn’t include their house — any home equity they have.”

By comparison, Whoriskey said, the net worth of the average American has remained stagnant.

Congress has always been wealthier than most of America, Whoriskey said, and in the United States, the rich are getting richer, which means that the gap between members of Congress and the general population is simply accelerating.

“The other part of it is it is now many times more expensive to run for Congress than it used to be — at least to run a winning campaign,” he added.