McCain no. 13 on list of richest members of Congress

John McCain: Getty Images PhotoU.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix) takes the number 13 spot on the list of wealthiest members of Congress, according to a report in Monday's Roll Call.

The Capitol Hill paper begins its list by saying "everything you are about to read might be wrong," due to the imprecise rules regarding the disclosure of members' assets - particularly the assets of spouses and children, who are only required to report individual assets in the category "over $1 million," with no ceiling on how far over $1 million the asset is valued.

With that in mind, Roll Call reports:

McCain’s true value is impossible to estimate because most of the major assets are listed in the name of his wife or children, thereby requiring far less detailed disclosure. Other news outlets have suggested that Cindy McCain’s net worth may exceed $100 million, but there is no documentation to prove that figure.

McCain’s disclosure form lists 12 items with values of “over $1 million” that are owned by his wife and children. In 2007, the family liquidated a trust set up by Cindy McCain’s late mother that had a reported value in 2006 of more than $2.5 million. The proceeds were then distributed to three other trusts, which show a minimum value of $1.4 million. Cindy McCain also liquidated a blind trust in 2007, selling millions of dollars worth of stock, and the reported value of the stock she owns through Hensley & Co. — her family’s beer distributorship — dropped more than $4 million in value last year.

The only assets McCain claims as his own are a checking account with a balance of $15,000 to $50,000, a money market fund worth less than $15,000 and several book deals.

McCain is the only member of the Arizona congressional delegation to the House or Senate who made the list.