Sen. Corker among richest in Congress; Cooper, Black, Isakson also make top 50 list

RICHEST IN TENNESSEE• 1. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tennessee, minimum net worth of $21.2 million (20th among all members in 2013, down from 14th the previous year)• 2. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, minimum net worth of $19.1 million (ranks 23rd in Congress in 2013, down from 17th the previous year)• 3. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tennessee, minimum net worth of $11.5 million (ranks 36th in Congress)RICHEST IN CONGRESSThe wealthiest members of Congress, as measured by the minimum net worth of each in 2013, include:• 1. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., $357.2 million• 2. Rep. Michael McCaul, r-Texas, $117.5 million• 3. Rep. John Delaney, D-Maryland, $111.9 million• 4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virgnia, $108 million• 5. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, $95.1 millionSource: Roll Call magazine

photo Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker may not agree with Obamanomics, but under President Obama last year the Chattanooga Republican enjoyed a $1.3 million gain in his minimum net worth, according to his annual Senate financial disclosure forms.

Corker, a 63-year-old former Chattanooga mayor who made his fortune as a commercial builder and real estate developer, reported assets in 2013 worth between $19 million and $89.7 million.

In a new list of the richest members in the 535-member Congress by Roll Call magazine, Corker ranked No. 23 last year. Despite the gain in his minimum net worth, Corker still placed lower in 2013 than he did in the previous year when Roll Call ranked him as the 17th-richest member of Congress.

The Chattanooga millionaire is not the richest member in Congress from Tennessee, however. U.S. Rep. Diane Black, a Nashville Republican, reported a net worth last year of at least $21.2 million, placing her among the 20 wealthiest members of the U.S. House or U.S. Senate.

Black showed her minimum worth dropped by $3.7 million in 2013, reducing her wealth rating by Roll Call from No. 14 in 2012 to No. 20 last year.

Black's husband, David, sold his forensic science company, Aegis Sciences Corp., to a private equity firm in 2010 for an undisclosed amount shortly before Rep. Black was elected to Congress.

Also on the list of the 50 richest members of Congress in 2013 were U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican.

Cooper, who owns millions of dollars worth of land in Tennessee and Kentucky along with beachfront property in Gulfport, Miss., reported a $3 million rise in his minimum worth last year and ranked 36th on the list of wealthiest members in Congress. Cooper is a former investment banker who owns stock in Microsoft, IBM, Comcast and Qualcomm.

Isakson, a millionaire real estate developer who was elected to the Senate in 2004, said the value of a blind trust he owns doubled in value last year to help boost the senator's overall minimum worth by 39 percent to $6.4 million.

Isakson was worth only a third of Corker's minimum fortune, however.

Corker listed 38 different holdings in his 2013 filings, including a transfer of at least $5 million to a Raymond James account and seven other transactions worth more than $1 million each.

Corker also reported at least a $5 million interest in Pointer (QP) LP, a private investment partnership also based in Chattanooga. Corker sold most of his real estate empire before running for Congress in 2006, but he continues to own the Volunteer Building in downtown Chattanooga, valued at more than $5 million.

The wealth of Congress appears to be bipartisan with 20 Democrats and 30 Republicans on the list of the 50 wealthiest members by Roll Call.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.

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