As dire climate change projections mount, one in four members of Congress is invested in oil, gas, or coal interests.
25% of Congress is personally invested in denying Climate Change and handing out "roughly $20 billion per year” in fossil fuel subsidies.
How many more members of Congress are not personally invested but receive money from fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists?
As of Dec. 13, 2019, 134 members of Congress and their spouses own as much as $92.7 million worth of stock in fossil fuel companies and mutual funds, according to an analysis of financial disclosures by Sludge.
House members own between roughly $29.5 million and $78.2 million in fossil fuel stocks, while senators have between $3.8 million and $14.5 million invested in oil, gas, and coal interests. Members of Congress generally report the value of their investments in broad ranges, so it’s not possible to know exactly how much their stocks are worth.
GOP members of Congress own as much as $60.4 million in fossil fuel stocks
Democrats and an independent who caucuses with the Democrats own up to $32.3 million.
Top Republicans
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of oil-rich Texas is Congress’ biggest fossil fuel investor, owning between $8.2 million and $19.1 million worth of stock in oil, gas, and coal interests. His stock holdings include Berkshire Hathaway (over $2 million), which owns natural gas and coal businesses, Anadarko Petroleum (as much as $500,000), oilfield services company Schlumberger (up to $395,000), and Vanguard Energy ETF (between $3 million and $11 million), a mutual fund that is invested in oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevon, and ConocoPhillips.
McCaul is the second-richest member of Congress, worth an estimated $113 million, according to CQ Roll Call. His wife, Linda McCaul, is the daughter of the founder of Clear Channel Communications, which is now called iHeartMedia.
Fellow Texas Republican Rep. John Carter owns between $1.1 million and $5.3 million worth of stock in ExxonMobil, which is headquartered a few hours north of Carter’s 31st Congressional District. Carter is by far the biggest congressional investor in ExxonMobil.
Twelve Texas representatives (10 Republicans and four Democrats) and one senator, Republican Ted Cruz, have between $14.5 million and $35 million invested in the oil, gas, and coal industries.
Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.), a former tech executive, has over $4.8 million in fossil fuel stocks. With an estimated net worth of $136 million, he is the richest member of Congress.
Top Democrats
Joe Manchin is a Democrat in Name Only #DINO
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has between $1 million and $5 million invested in his family coal business, Enersystems.
Ritu Khanna, the wife of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution, owns between $752,000 and $7.5 million worth of fossil fuel stocks, making Khanna, by proxy, the second-biggest fossil fuel investor in Congress.
There’s way more:
Use to the interactive charts to see how much and which companies each Congress person has invested in
Top Companies
Concerns Over Conflicts
Methodology
