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The richest politicians in the US are a mix of senators, House members, governors, and a president.
Aside from those who married into or inherited the majority of their wealth, most of these politicians made their mark by creating and running companies in a variety of industries, including software, health care services, private equity, corporate turnarounds, and worker training.
See below for a list of the 15 wealthiest US politicians as of April 2018.
Within the US, the 15 wealthiest politicians in office as of April 18, 2018, include one senator, five billionaires, six governors, seven House members - and a president.
Using data from Forbes' "The World's Billionaires: 2018 Ranking," which ranks the planet's top 400 billionaires' wealth in real time; Roll Call's "Wealth of Congress: Ranking the Net Worth of the 115th Congress;" and other sources, Business Insider put together a list of the 15 wealthiest US politicians now in office, at any level of government (i.e., local, state, or federal). This list excludes appointees, former politicians, and mega-donors.
It's interesting to note that four of the five billionaires on the list are governors. The Economist called the current Illinois governor's race a "yacht primary."
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The contest, which has also been described as "billionaire vs. billionaire," pits J.B. Pritzker ($3.5 billion), the venture capitalist, Hyatt Hotel heir, and wealthiest politician currently running for office, against Bruce Rauner ($1 billion - $2 billion), the incumbent Illinois governor who made his fortune in private equity.
Other wealthy politicians running for office this year include Senate candidate Phil Bredesen ($88.9 million - $358 million), as well as US Rep. Diane Black ($38 million), who recently gave up her role as House Budget Committee Chairman (but not her seat in Congress) to compete in Tennessee's 2018 gubernatorial primary. And in Texas, health care executive Tahir Javed is competing to be a US Rep by financing his own campaign.
Here are the 15 wealthiest politicians currently in office in the US:
John Delaney made his fortune creating and running a small medical services company and HealthCare Financial Partners, which finances small health care businesses. He is retiring from the House at the end of this term to run for president in 2020.
Greg Gianforte made his fortune by creating Brightwork Development, a software company which he sold to McAfee Associates for $10 million, and RightNow Technologies, a cloud-based customer service software business that he sold to Oracle for $1.5 billion.
Ricketts' father is Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts (estimated net worth: $2.4 billion), whose company acquired TD Waterhouse and renamed itself TD Ameritrade.
14. Gov. Bill Haslam, Tennessee
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Haslam's wealth comes from his family's truck-stop company, Pilot Flying J, which was founded by his father.
15. Pres. Donald Trump
Net worth: $3.1 billion
Trump inherited his father's real estate company and has developed buildings, golf courses, and hotels all over the world. He's also made money in television and has licensed his name to properties and products worldwide.
