Hotels are Big Business for Two Maine Lawmakers — and Many Other Top Government Leaders

Nestled on the island of North Haven, Maine, sits Nebo Lodge, a quaint bed and breakfast that boasts nine guest rooms.

Nebo Lodge markets itself as a cozy getaway in “one of the most beautiful places on earth.” But the hotel’s owner spends much of her time at a different tourist destination: Capitol Hill.

Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree is one of several members of Congress who own a hotel, inn or other travel accommodation. Nebo Lodge, which notes Pingree’s ownership on its website, is valued from $1 million to $5 million, according to Pingree’s latest annual financial disclosure report filed with Congress.

The Nebo Lodge in North Haven, Maine. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP

The inn accounts for a good chunk of her estimated median net worth of $7.3 million, which NOTUS calculated using lawmakers’ annual financial disclosures.

“Rep. Pingree has fully disclosed her interest in Nebo Lodge, a family-owned inn that is operated by a third party, in accordance with federal law. She does not trade individual stocks,” Pingree spokesperson Gabrielle Mannino said in a statement to NOTUS.

Three of the Maine delegation’s four members are millionaires, including Pingree, according to NOTUS’ Capitol Gains project. (The median net worth of households in Maine is $99,000, according to Census Bureau data.)

Pingree is the only outright hotel owner among the delegation, although Sen. Angus King — an independent whose estimated net worth is around $21 million — owns from $101,002 to $265,000 in Marriott stocks and $1,001 and $15,000 in Host Hotels & Resorts stock.

Hotel ownership at the highest levels of government is not uncommon.

President Donald Trump has his name on hotels and resorts across the globe as part of his vast real estate portfolio. Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire and potential 2028 presidential hopeful, is heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire.

The north entrance of the now-defunct Trump International Hotel is seen in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2019. Mark Tenally/AP

Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican representing South Dakota, owns several hotels across Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota through Bird Dog Hospitality LLC, according to his latest financial disclosure. The hotels are collectively valued from $375,000 to $850,000 — a sizable slice of his estimated median net worth of $8.1 million. (Lawmakers are only required to disclose the values of their assets in broad ranges.)

“Senator Rounds’ investment shares are reviewed annually by the Senate Ethics Committee and continue to be reported in his annual public financial disclosure reports. He continues to support transparency in elected officials’ major financial transactions,” his press secretary, Arden Koenecke, said in a statement to NOTUS.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado reported an asset valued from $15,001 to $50,000, Belmar HH Owner LLC. He specified on his latest financial disclosure that this involves a “hotel” in Lakewood, Colorado.

A spokesperson for Bennet — whose estimated median net worth is $17.1 million — told NOTUS that the asset is an investment in the “Lakewood-based real estate entity” and that “all investments in the trust, including this one, are managed by an independent third party and disclosures are informed by that same entity.”

And Linda Schatz, the wife of Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, owns a bed and breakfast in Vesuvius, Virginia, worth from $500,001 to $1 million. The Osceola Mill Bed & Breakfast Inn & Cabin experienced “overall loss in 2024,” according to Brian Schatz’s most recent financial disclosure. His estimated median net worth is $2.9 million.

Perhaps the best-known hotelier in Congress is Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia. Justice — the wealthiest member of the Senate, with a median net worth estimated at $1.3 billion — and his family own the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Jim Justice speaks at the Greenbrier Resort in 2016. Rick Barbero/AP

While the Greenbrier is a significant asset for the Justice family, they have struggled to pay their debts and narrowly avoided having to put the Greenbrief up for auction twice in the months leading up to his Senate election in November 2024. Late last month, Martinsville, Virginia-based Carter Bank sold more than $200 million in past-due loans connected to the Justice family businesses.

On his latest financial disclosure, Justice disclosed a loan from the bank valued at “over $50,000,000.” Congress does not require lawmakers to require additional valuation details for such large liabilities or assets, highlighting the limits of lawmakers’ financial disclosures and raising questions about whether Justice is actually a billionaire.

When lawmakers fill out their annual financial disclosures, they report the value of their assets and liabilities in ranges, including open-ended ranges such as “over $50,000,000.” As such, it is impossible to pinpoint an exact net worth.

So to estimate members’ net worths, NOTUS calculated the minimum and maximum value of all their reported assets and liabilities. To get the low end of the net worth range, NOTUS subtracted a lawmaker’s maximum liabilities from their minimum assets, then got the high end by subtracting minimum liabilities from maximum assets. NOTUS then calculated the median of that range, which we use to report lawmakers’ estimated net worth.

The data is invaluable but imperfect. Lawmakers, for example, do not have to report the value of their personal residence, vehicles or personal property such as art that does not generate income. They are also allowed to report the value of pensions and intellectual property as “undetermined.” (Read more about how NOTUS calculated net worth and what’s included and not included here.)

Lawmakers are required to report what stocks they own among their assets.

King, who has served Maine as a senator since 2013, is certainly not the only lawmaker who owns stocks in hotels.

Newly installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who represented Oklahoma in the Senate until late last month, reported owning from $50,001 to $100,000 worth of Hilton stock on his most recent Senate financial disclosure.

The Hilton stock is one of dozens that Mullin pledged to sell within 90 days of becoming secretary, NOTUS first reported. When NOTUS asked in early April if he had sold his stocks yet, a DHS official said in a statement, “As Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin acts to ensure full compliance with all ethics and conflict of interest rules.”

Republican Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, whose estimated net worth is $191.7 million, previously reported owning from $250,001 to $500,000 in Hilton stock. He reported selling that stock in September.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat representing Nevada, owns from $15,001 to $50,000 in Sunstone Hotel Investors stock. (Rosen’s median net worth is $15.6 million)

And Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania owns a few hotel stocks. He has invested from $1,001 to $15,000 in both Hilton stock and Host Hotels & Resorts stock. A spokesperson for Bresnahan said he has an adviser who makes stock investments for him and that Bresnahan generally supports banning stock trading for members of Congress.

Spokespeople for Schatz, Rosen, McCormick, King and Justice did not return requests for comment.

Neither Pingree nor Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, the other representative from Maine, owns individual stocks — a hot topic of debate among lawmakers, some of whom want to ban the practice, citing conflict-of-interest and potential insider trading concerns. (Pingree last year did fail to properly disclose several U.S. Treasury security transactions within the 45-day window mandated by law, the Portland Press Herald reported.)

Pingree, for her part, “strongly supports banning Members of Congress and other senior government officials from trading individual stocks,” her spokesperson said, noting the congresswoman is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act and recently signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the separate Restore Trust in Government Act.

Maine’s two U.S. senators and their spouses are a different story.

In addition to King’s hotel stock, his wife is invested in companies such as Nike and Disney, owning from $15,001 to $50,000 of stock in each. She has also invested in Pepsico, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Apple and Oracle stock, among others, according to King’s latest financial disclosure.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins does not own individual stocks, but her husband does. His portfolio includes from $50,001 to $100,000 in Amazon stock, $100,001 and $250,000 in Apple stock, $15,001 and $50,000 in Boeing stock and $15,001 and $50,000 in Hershey stock, according to her 2024 annual report.

Collins recently violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act for not properly disclosing her husband’s recent purchase of Pfizer stock worth from $15,001 to $50,000.

Sen. Susan Collins speaks with reporters at the Capitol. Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

“Throughout her entire service in the Senate, Senator Collins has never bought, sold, or owned any individual shares of stock,” Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins, said in a statement to NOTUS. “Since she does not own any stocks, she has had little change in her financial situation other than when she married Tom in 2012. Her husband’s investment decisions are made exclusively by a third-party advisor.”

Kernen added that Collins was a lead author of the bipartisan STOCK Act, which then- President Barack Obama signed into law in 2012. She also said Collins “believes that Members of Congress should not be allowed to buy or sell individual stocks unless the stock portfolio is managed by an outside advisor who makes the decisions independently and without consultation with the member.”

Two of Collins’ major, potential Democratic challengers both support banning stock trading among members of Congress.

One, Graham Platner, does not own any stock, according to his candidate financial disclosure.

The other, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, owns several stocks: from $1,001 to $15,000 in Pfizer stock, from $50,001 to $100,000 in Home Depot stock and from $1,001 to $15,000 in Bank of America stock, among others, according to her candidate financial disclosure.

Mills’ campaign said the governor will place all her stock holdings into a blind trust if elected to the Senate.

“Unlike Susan Collins, I will fully support legislation to ban Congressional stock trading,” Mills said in a statement to NOTUS. “The people of Maine and America deserve to know their leaders in Congress are focused on one thing and one thing only: advancing the interests of the people they’re elected to serve — and that is exactly what they will get with me.”