Should members of Congress, who have visibility into the status of bills that can move tickers and markets be allowed to trade stocks and potentially profit from their so-called public service? Or is that a form of insider trading?
Either way, these members of Congress are outperforming the market — and just about everybody else.
Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi (D-Md.)
Few people get more publicity for their trading activity than Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-Md.) While the S&P 500 has enjoy over 19% gains over the last year, Pelosi’s portfolio has outperformed that by 67%, with an estimated 28% returns over the same period.
According to data by Quiver Quant, Pelosi’s compounded annual growth rate is nearly 670% since 2014, making her the most successful trader in active Congress. Her estimated net worth is just shy of $250 million.
But she has some stiff competition.
Congressman Daniel Meuser (R-Pa.)
Pelosi’s 28% 1-year returns pale in comparison to Pennsylvania House Representative Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) Congressman Meuser has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 400% and Pelosi by more than 320%, clocking an 86.5% profit over the last 12 months — the most successful Congressional trader over the last year.
The vast majority of these gains appear to be from Meuser’s investments in A.I. giant NVIDIA, which skyrocketed more than 150% over the last year.
Congressman Meuser’s net worth is currently estimated to be around $40 million.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island hasn’t outperformed the S&P 500 over the last year — his returns have been pretty much in line with the market overall at 18% gains.
However, since 2014, Senator Whitehouse has clocked a 480% compounded annual growth rate, which doubled his net worth between 2017 and now.
Over the same period, Democratic Senator has bagged some big losses. Luckily for him, a handful of successful trades in 2019 and 2020 with NVIDIA, Tesla, and Carrier Global Corporation, offset all his others losses and out him deep in the money overall.
Senator Whitehouse’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $14.25 million.
Senator Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.)
New Jersey Senator Josh Gottheimer is by far the most active trader in Congress, having traded nearly $280 million worth of equities and bonds since 2017 — $97 million of which occurred in the last year alone over more than 500 trades.
Senator Gottheimer, who serves on the Senate’s Financial Services Committee, has averaged 27% returns over the last year, outperforming the market by nearly 50%.
His estimated net worth is $45 million.
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.)
Republican Senator Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma has had a very profitable 5 years. His net worth skyrocketed more than 520% since 2019, from $12 million to nearly $64 million.
Despite his mushroom-clouding portfolio, the Republican Senator was granted $1.4 million in taxpayer money for PPP loan forgiveness.
Senator Mullin has made more than $8 million worth of trades since January 2023.
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Congressman Mark E. Green (R-Tenn.)
Republican House Representative Mark E. Green had a very profitable year in 2023, bringing in an estimate 122% in returns on his investments. By comparison, the S&P 500 brought in 22% — which Congressman Green bested by nearly 6-fold.
Congressman Green has made stock trades worth nearly $100 million since he took his Congressional seat in 2019. Over the same 5-year period, his estimated net worth exploded by over 250% — from $30.3 million to $80.6 million today.
Per Unusual Whales, a nonpartisan site that aggregates trading data, Congressmen Green bet against the U.S. economy with nearly $50,000 worth of short bets where Green would financially benefit from a decline in the U.S. economy.
His stock portfolio is highly concentrated is fossil fuels and crude oil.
