Bill Nelson, Alcee Hastings Bookend South Florida Congressional Delegation's Estimated Net Worths (SLIDESHOW)

After diving into the financial disclosure forms of area politicians, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel concluded what we all might have guessed after we cooked our ramen noodles: our elected officials are richer than those they represent. In fact, the paper reported, nearly one in three local politicians in Broward and Palm Beach counties is worth more than $1 million, and Broward New Times did some math to find that Florida's 27 congressional delegates are worth a whopping $170 million.

"You talk about government of, by and for the people, and clearly they're not," Occupy Fort Lauderdale's Adam Salater told the Sun-Sentinel. "We obviously have a political and economic elite in this country, and they run things for the benefit of those interests. The people in elected office are not a representation of the people."

Or, in some cases, are they? Sparkly hat collections don't come cheap, but a look at net worths estimated by the Center for Responsive Politics shows some South Florida congressional delegates are just as in debt as your average American, and Miramar Rep. Alcee Hastings may never eat again: his estimated net worth is nearly $5 million in the red, thanks to mounting legal fees.

What's your elected official worth? Read more from the Sun-Sentinel for local Broward and Palm Beach balance sheets, or check out the slideshow below to find out who may be South Florida's wealthiest member of Congress. For even further reading, here's the estimated net worth of every Florida delegate (PDF), calculated by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Comments

[webwzrd]

03:26 PM on 12/30/2011

We need publicly financed elections and a ban on ALL electoral contributions. Maybe then we can elect some normal people.

[Robbert Hoekstra]

02:52 PM on 12/29/2011

How do these Democrat "elected" officials get to became millionaires? Read the story about the little Shore Bank in Chicago. Learn about how Hussein Obama and many of these "people's" representatives are connected to it. While at it read up on HR4646 and how it will affect your banking transactions. Learn how Hussein Obamaa will take and spread the wealth. YOUR wealth. Where does the black messiah get the money from to pay for his hollow promises?

[indyclem]

09:50 AM on 12/29/2011

lets see vote for someone 5million in the hole are vote for someone that knows business and doesnt have a drug problem seems like an easy choice to most yet hastings keeps his seat only in america

[Donns]

07:04 AM on 12/29/2011

Perhaps those Florida politicians who are not amongst the richest percentages just haven't had enough time to rip off the tax payers yet. Give them time they will get there.

[Scott Weiner]

11:50 PM on 12/28/2011

I know Jeremy Ring who is listed as having about 17M (it's probably much more). However he did run a hard campaign and I don't think his money has anything to do how hard he works as a congressman. He's been wealthy for a while and his run for congress was honest.

[Waltfl]

08:04 PM on 12/28/2011

You forgot Vern Buchanan. He got a loan from Merrill Lynch ( $15.4 million). In 1992, the company filed for bankruptcy, three days after Buchanan resigned; at the time, he owned all the company's stock, and had taken out "excessive compensation". In a 1995 deposition, he said that he had no personal obligation to repay the loan from Merrill Lynch; a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over taxes on the money Buchanan received from Merrill Lynch stretched through the 1990s and ended with him paying $1.5 million penalty for "excessive compensation".

After that he became a car dealer and founded an offshore insurance company in the Turks and Caico-Islands. He bought lots of real estate in the Bahamas. After the IRS started breathing down his neck again, he decided to run for Congress. He "won" the election by 369 votes, after the paperless voting machines in Katehrine Harris' old district showed a 18.000 votes undervote in just a couple of precincts, but in ONLY this race, even though his comptetitor (Jennigns) had lead double digit in all polls.

[69dogrudebark]

10:53 PM on 12/28/2011

Vern is not in what is considered....South Florida....for some reason...we down here define South Florida....what most people would call....Southeast Florida...

[Freedomaphile]

07:46 PM on 12/28/2011

I think my local house rep Vern Buchanan is the richest in south Florida and he is not mentioned.

[popman]

07:50 PM on 12/28/2011

That's because he isn't a south Florida congress critter......

Sarasota west coast isn't south Florida

[Waltfl]

08:09 PM on 12/28/2011

Buchnanan's 13th district goes all the way down to Port Charlotte, and includes DeSoto county, which is clearly not West Coast, and is also Nelson's Senatorial district.

[ka0226]

06:39 PM on 12/28/2011

Debbie Blabber Mouth Schultz is in debt for 27K? Doesn't the DNC pay her a salary?

[Waltfl]

08:11 PM on 12/28/2011

Shows only that she is in nobody's pocket, unlike Rubio, who couldn't pay his student loans back two years ago, and now owns serious cash.

[jkkFL]

09:03 PM on 12/28/2011

And who defaulted on his house in Tallahassee when he decided to run; after charging a boatload to FL GOP's AMEX card with Greer's blessing!

[indyclem]

09:53 AM on 12/29/2011

guess he should have gone with ows they want everything free

[greenygenie]

02:27 PM on 12/28/2011

Umm, how much is Bill Nelson worth?
Because "$376,5503" ain't a number.

[kain099]

06:35 AM on 12/29/2011

i read it as 3.76$million.

he was an astronaut before running for office

[indyclem]

09:55 AM on 12/29/2011

and you are a space cadet he got to go on a flight because he was a politician

[J David Castro O]

01:52 PM on 12/28/2011

Bill Nelson is so rich that new types of numbers had to be invented.

[Doreen1960]

04:47 PM on 12/28/2011

He is also a good man, who does a honest job by the people of my state.. Rubio on the other hand, worth 379,000 surprising since he was under investigation for using the GOP credit card fro personal expenses and had to file allow a house in Tallahassee to be foreclosed on, because he didn't have the money to pay for it...

[ka0226]

06:41 PM on 12/28/2011

Rubio is a fine Senator who I voted for in 2010. He is bringing fiscal sanity to Washington.

Bill Nelson is a goner because he supported Obamacare.

[popman]

07:47 PM on 12/28/2011

I live in Florida...I get Bill Nelson email....mostly dribble and nonsense...

I'm sure he is was a good man.....but WAY past his expiration date.......clueless and probably senile

He needs to go....