Bernie Sanders Net Worth

Candidates’ policy positions are a very important part of deciding whether or not to vote for them. To some people the policy positions are the only important issue. On the other side some people take the view that the only thing that matters is a candidate’s background and qualifications. Sometimes looking at a candidate’s net worth can give some insight into both of these things. How did the candidates make their money? Is that relevant to the Presidency? How might the candidate’s self-interest impact policy positions? There’s always some distance between what candidates say they believe and how they actually govern. You can often judge their self-interest from their net worth and background. From this information you might be able to gain some insight into what that distance will be.

Bernie Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist. He has been a US senator since 2006 and a congressman since 1988. He is well known for being the first independent member of the House of Representatives in 40 years. Bernie Sanders earned a degree in political science from the University of Chicago. Before becoming a member of the House, Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington for seven years.

Bernie Sanders’s Net Worth

Age: 74
Occupation: Politician
Most Money Made In: US Senate
Estimated Net Worth as of 2015: $420,000

Over the last 9 years Bernie Sanders made 1.5 million dollars in the senate. The important lesson here is that even if you have a high income, it is still important to spend less than you make. If you spend all of the money you make, you make no progress. Of course, maximizing net worth isn’t necessarily his goal, nor does it need to be.

Bernie Sanders’s net worth is provided by his personal financial disclosure. His personal financial disclosure was taken from the Center for Responsive politics webpage: opensecrets.org. The disclosure itself is quite interesting. It isn’t at all clear to me what Sanders is doing with the rest of his income. According to his tax returns he donated about $10,000 to charity last year. His entire net worth appears to be attributable to his spouse, so all of his money seems to be getting spent one way or another.

It seems to me that this probably indicates that for his retirement he is relying on his wife’s money, his congressional pension, and social security. His interests are therefore relatively more aligned with folks that are part of a similar pension scheme and social security. This may predict his behavior. For example, one proposal is that senators should have to depend on social security rather than their congressional pension. Sanders would likely be grandfathered, but if not, this would represent a huge drop in his retirement income. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t support such a thing, or if he opposes it that he does so out of greed. It’s just that the negative effects of policy are easier to envision and empathize with when you have to experience them yourself.