The late South Carolina senator had an estimated net worth of about $1.5 million despite more than three decades in Congress and years as one of the Republican Party’s most influential foreign-policy voices.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham accumulated an estimated net worth of approximately $1.5 million during more than three decades in Congress, placing him in the lower half of federal lawmakers by personal wealth despite his long tenure and political influence.
Graham, who died Saturday at age 71, ranked 294th among the 535 voting members of Congress, according to data compiled by Quiver Quantitative and reported by the New York Post.
His financial standing contrasted sharply with that of some congressional colleagues.
Sen. James Justice, R-W.Va., identified by the tracker as the wealthiest member of Congress, had an estimated net worth exceeding $664 million. Both senators received the standard annual Senate salary of $174,000.
Graham’s comparatively limited wealth reflected a life that began in a working-class family in Central, South Carolina.
He grew up behind the Sanitary Cafe, his family’s restaurant and pool hall, where his parents worked long hours and Graham helped operate the business.
Graham frequently said that upbringing motivated him to become the first person in his family to attend college.
His early adulthood was marked by the deaths of both parents within 15 months while he was attending the University of South Carolina.
After their deaths, Graham became the legal guardian of his 13-year-old sister and helped raise her while completing his education.
He later earned a law degree and joined the Air Force before beginning his political career.
Graham won election to the U.S. House in 1994 and took office in 1995. He was elected to the Senate in 2002 and began serving there in 2003.
Over the following two decades, he became one of the Republican Party’s most prominent voices on national security and foreign policy.
Despite his seniority, committee assignments and political prominence, Graham’s personal finances changed relatively little during the final decade of his life, according to the Post.
His financial disclosure records showed that much of his investment portfolio consisted of mutual funds and corporate bond funds.
His largest reported assets included a townhouse near the U.S. Capitol valued at approximately $890,000 and a residence in Seneca, South Carolina.
Graham never married and had no children.
During his unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign, the Center for Responsive Politics ranked him among the Senate’s least wealthy members for 10 consecutive years.
His estimated $1.5 million net worth left him far below many colleagues who accumulated substantial fortunes through businesses, investments, inheritances or careers outside government.
The ranking also placed Graham below the midpoint of Congress despite a political career that lasted more than 30 years and put him at the center of major debates over war, diplomacy, national security and Republican politics.
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