California’s Wealthiest Lawmakers Are Heavily Invested in the Stock Market

More than half of the lawmakers representing California have a median net worth of at least $1 million, according to NOTUS analysis of their most recent financial disclosures.

One major factor driving their wealth: the stock market.

Rep. Darrell Issa, who has represented California since 2001 (with a break between 2019 and 2021), has among the highest median net worths in the delegation at $282.4 million. The Republican, who announced he is retiring this year, made his fortune in the car alarm business and has remained a multimillionaire throughout his time in Congress, holding multimillion-dollar investment accounts and income generated by roughly a dozen rental properties.

Rep. Ro Khanna’s family made 4,284 stock trades at a volume of over $59 million in 2025, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of data from Capitol Trades. Those include investments in everything from health care companies like Humana and Eli Lilly to retail companies like Lululemon — though most of the family’s assets are in trusts.

Khanna has a median net worth of $232.7 million.

Rep. Gilbert Cisneros is another one of Congress’ most active stock traders.

Cisneros, who won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million in 2010, is heavily invested in defense manufacturers like Boeing and sits on the House Armed Services Committee, which some have cited as a potential conflict of interest. A spokesperson from Cisneros’ office said day-to-day trading is managed by a financial adviser, not the congressman nor his wife.

His median net worth is $65.9 million.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is retiring this year, also stands out, with a median net worth of $187.7 million, much of which comes from assets belonging to her venture capitalist husband, Paul Pelosi.

Per reporting requirements, Pelosi is required to list her husband’s shares on her final disclosure. According to the latest disclosure, he holds individual shares in a variety of companies, including tech giants like Alphabet, Apple, PayPal, Dropbox and Roblox.

In a statement to NOTUS, Pelosi’s spokesperson Ian Krager said that she “does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”

Though Pelosi was previously against a ban on stock trading, saying, “We are a free-market economy,” she has since come around to supporting a ban on trading individual stocks.

Neither Issa nor Cisneros have publicly supported a ban on stock trading, or signed on to legislation that would do so. Khanna has for years advocated for a ban on lawmakers trading individual stocks and has introduced legislation advocating for such rules.

Every year, members of Congress are required to report the values of each of their assets and liabilities in broad ranges, like from $15,001 to $50,000. The ranges get bigger the larger the assets or liabilities get. The biggest value range they can report is open-ended — $50 million or more. There are also assets a lawmaker doesn’t have to report, such as their primary residence.

Still, disclosures offer a window into how California’s lawmakers are making their money. As Congress debates whether lawmakers should be allowed to own stocks, the financial disclosures of the California lawmakers with the highest median net worths show just how big a role the stock market plays in these politicians’ wealth.

NOTUS calculated the median net worth of each lawmaker by first finding each member’s minimum net worth — the sum of the minimum value of all assets minus the sum of the maximum value of all their liabilities — and their maximum net worth — maximum asset value minus minimum liabilities. NOTUS then calculated the median between the minimum and maximum net worths.

Lawmakers filed their most recent financial disclosures in 2025, and they detail the lawmakers’ finances in 2024.

The growing movement to ban lawmakers from owning stocks altogether has received support from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as from the White House. There are currently no rules dictating that lawmakers cannot trade stocks in industries under their oversight.

Raihan Alam is among a group of doctoral students at the University of California, San Diego, who published a report that found that congressional stock trading not only erodes public trust but also undermines the legitimacy of congressional authority in the eyes of constituents.

“The U.S. for a long time has been seen as a poster child. Why is American democracy functioning so well? It’s because people believe in their institutions,” he told NOTUS. “What practices like stock trading show is that there are cracks in these institutions.”

A handful of California representatives also earn income from rental properties, like Rep. Judy Chu, who reported earning between $15,000 and $50,000 from each of three Santa Clara rental properties last year and between $50,000 and $100,000 from a fourth.

Some, particularly Republicans who represent districts with agrarian economies, own or are invested in farming businesses. Reps. Jim Costa and Vince Fong both generate income from family farming businesses.

Sen. Alex Padilla’s liabilities exceed his assets, according to his financial disclosure reports. Sen. Adam Schiff has a median net worth of $1.3 million, holding only individual stocks of Apple — the rest of his investments are in mutual funds and ETFs.

In the 119th Congress, California’s delegation welcomed nine new members — four of them were millionaires already. This includes Rep. George Whitesides, former CEO of Virgin Galactic, a multi-millionaire.

By and large, these lawmakers are wealthier than the average Californian: According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the state’s median household net worth is $288,000.