Bernie Sanders's Net Worth, by His Own Disclosure
The senator who built a career criticizing “millionaires and billionaires” is, on paper, a millionaire himself. His financial disclosure shows about $1.15 million in financial assets — a net worth near $1 million before counting his homes — and the composition is the opposite of his colleagues': not a single individual stock, no hedge funds, just credit unions and retirement funds. His biggest outside paycheck? $148,750 in book royalties. We show the money; you draw the conclusions.
The single largest line of outside income on the disclosure isn't a dividend, a fund payout or a trade. It's book royalties from Penguin Random House — the answer to how a democratic socialist became a millionaire.
The Filing Every Senator Has to Make
Under the STOCK Act, every senator files an annual Personal Financial Disclosure — a list of assets, debts and outside income, each in a value bracket — plus a periodic transaction report for every trade. Sanders's is one of the simplest in the chamber: a few dozen lines, almost all of them mundane retirement and bank accounts.
We parsed it. Every figure here comes from his own Senate filings, pinned to his most recent annual disclosure. The interesting thing about Bernie Sanders's finances isn't the size — it's the absence of everything his colleagues' disclosures are full of.
How Much Is Bernie Sanders Worth?
Taking the midpoint of every bracket, his most recent filing shows about $1.15 million in financial assets against a roughly $175,000 mortgage — a net worth near $979,000 in financial terms, within a bracketed range of $363,000 to $1.59 million. Add the homes the form leaves out, and his total net worth is higher. By the standard of his own rhetoric, the headline writes itself: Bernie Sanders is a millionaire.
Where the Money Is
This is the portfolio of someone who doesn't play the market at all. More than half sits in retirement mutual funds — including several explicitly “socially responsible” and “social choice” funds — with the rest in credit-union accounts and a fixed annuity. There are no individual stocks, no options, no private funds. By disclosed-asset midpoint:
The Holdings — Credit Unions and Index Funds
The largest line items on the disclosure. Most are held by his wife, Jane Sanders. Note the complete absence of anything you'd call a “position” — this is a retirement account, not a trading book.
| Holding | What it is | Owner | Disclosed value |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Country Federal Credit Union | Bank accounts (VT) | Spouse | $100K–$250K |
| VALIC Fixed Account Plus | Retirement fund | Spouse | $100K–$250K |
| CREF Growth Account | Retirement fund | Spouse | $50K–$100K |
| VALIC Socially Responsible | Mutual fund | Spouse | $50K–$100K |
| TIAA Traditional Annuity | Fixed annuity | Spouse | $50K–$100K |
| U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union | Bank accounts (DC) | Joint | $50K–$100K |
| TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity | Mutual fund | Spouse | $15K–$50K |
| CREF Stock Account | Retirement fund | Spouse | $15K–$50K |
| CREF Global Equities Account | Retirement fund | Spouse | $15K–$50K |
Most members don't look like this.
See how Sanders's zero-stock disclosure compares to the 343 members who actively trade individual companies — ranked by net worth, assets and debts. Free to start, no card required.
A Salary, a Pension, and Book Money
Sanders reports zero trades — nothing to disclose. His outside income is simple: book royalties and a small pension. The disclosure lists $148,750 in royalties from Penguin Random House and a $6,222 municipal pension from the City of Burlington, where he served as mayor. That's the whole story — a Senate salary, book sales, and a pension from a job he held four decades ago.
Where He Ranks in Congress
A roughly $1 million financial-asset net worth puts Sanders squarely in the middle of the Senate — comfortable, but a fraction of his wealthiest colleagues. Sen. Rick Scott discloses close to $480 million; Nancy Pelosi's household nets around $122 million. Sanders is worth roughly one four-hundredth of the richest senator. The man who rails against concentrated wealth sits near the modest end of the body he serves in.
How We Count It
Every figure aggregates parsed line items from Sen. Bernie Sanders's congressional Personal Financial Disclosure. Asset and liability figures use the midpoints of the form's value brackets and exclude personal residences, which the disclosure does not require — so the ~$1M figure covers financial assets only and his full net worth is higher. Income figures (royalties, pension) are the exact amounts reported. Holdings marked “Spouse” are recorded under Jane Sanders; “Joint” are held together.
Zero stocks is rare. See who's the opposite.
All 538 members of Congress — plus the President and Cabinet — file the same disclosures. We read them, rank every fortune, and score every trade against the bills and committees behind it. Start free, no card required.
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Not financial advice. All data from public federal disclosures. GovGreed reports disclosed financial information and does not allege that any person violated any law.