Well-Populated Group : Rockefeller Again Leads Senate Millionaires’ Club

The senator with the gold-plated name, John D. Rockefeller IV, has emerged once again as the leading member of the Senate’s well-populated millionaire club, alongside such lesser-known members as William L. Armstrong and Alan J. Dixon.

Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, lists income of at least $508,013 above the $75,100 every senator receives in salary in the annual financial disclosure forms required of every member of Congress.

His assets were put at at least $3,741,022 and he listed liabilities of at least $500,000. Where other senators earned thousands of dollars in speaking fees, Rockefeller listed only $500.

His report was eclipsed on paper by that of Sen. John C. Danforth (R-Mo.), an heir to the Ralston Purina fortune, who listed his assets at least at $7,240,269, income at $464,644 and speaking honoraria at $11,875.

The numbers may be deceiving, however, because Rockefeller is the beneficiary of two trusts--one set up by his great-grandfather and grandfather, the other by his father. Rockefeller’s wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, is wealthy in her own right; her holdings are included in the senator’s report.

Other millionaire senators included Armstrong (R-Colo.), Dixon (D-Ill.) and Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.).

Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) appears eligible for membership based on the reports, which are only guideposts to actual wealth. Cranston listed assets of $1 million to $1.3 million, but his liabilities, also listed in ranges, were from $65,000 to $150,000.

The disclosure forms for both House and Senate omit the $75,100 annual salary paid to most members. The information reported is imprecise because the forms list information such as assets and liabilities only as “category of value,” which establishes a minimum amount. Thus, a $10-million building owned by a senator would be listed as category F--$250,000 or more.