When Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase
announced this week that it had lost an estimated $2 billion (now upped
to $3 billion) on risky trades, Republican and Democratic members of
Congress rushed to make their political cases: Either this was something
that more regulation couldn't have prevented, or this was exactly what
stronger government rules could have thwarted. None of them, however, mentioned whether they had a financial stake in JPMorgan Chase.
Usually,
the money-in-politics conversation is about how much money a company
has invested in a politician via campaign donations. In this case, while
JPMorgan Chase has plenty invested, it also goes the other way: at
least 38 members of Congress owned shares in the bank.
According to OpenSecrets.org
data, which is based on personal financial disclosure forms filed by
all members of Congress for the year 2010 (disclosure forms for 2011
were due this week, but aren't yet publicly available), 15 Democrats and
23 Republicans owned shares in JPMorgan Chase worth a total of between
$2.1 million and $3.8 million.
The single biggest congressional shareholder in the company at that point was Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who reported owning at least $1,000,001 in JPMorgan Chase stock. Of course, for Lautenberg, who is listed as the fifth-richest senator with an estimated personal net worth of between $55 million and $116 million, the bank was just one of 190 assets he listed.
The single biggest congressional shareholder in the company at that point was Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who reported owning at least $1,000,001 in JPMorgan Chase stock. Of course, for Lautenberg, who is listed as the fifth-richest senator with an estimated personal net worth of between $55 million and $116 million, the bank was just one of 190 assets he listed.
Below is a list of all senators with a stake in the bank as of 2010:
| Senators | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D) | $1,000,001 | $1,000,001 |
| Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D) | $100,001 | $250,000 |
| Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) | $52,003 | $130,000 |
| Sen. Tom Coburn (R) | $17,003 | $80,000 |
| Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) | $15,001 | $50,000 |
| Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) | $15,001 | $50,000 |
| Sen. Jon L. Kyl (R) | $2,290 | $2,290 |
| Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D) | $2,002 | $31,000 |
| Sen. Pat Roberts (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Sen. Tom Carper (D) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Sen. David Vitter (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
The top JPMorgan Chase investor in the House was Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), who owned more than a quarter million dollars' worth of JPMorgan Chase shares in 2010, a much larger chunk of his entire personal net worth. Below is the complete list of House members who owned a piece of JPMorgan Chase in 2010.
| Representatives | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Rep. Leonard Lance (R) | $250,001 | $500,000 |
| Rep. Jim Renacci (R) | $213,937 | $213,937 |
| Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr (R) | $100,001 | $250,000 |
| Rep. Peter Welch (D) | $100,001 | $250,000 |
| Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) | $50,001 | $100,000 |
| Rep. Mike Conaway (R) | $50,001 | $100,000 |
| Rep. John Boehner (R) | $30,002 | $100,000 |
| Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R) | $30,002 | $100,000 |
| Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R) | $17,003 | $80,000 |
| Rep. Connie Mack (R) | $17,003 | $80,000 |
| Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R) | $15,001 | $50,000 |
| Rep. Kurt Schrader (D) | $15,001 | $50,000 |
| Rep. David McKinley (R) | $15,001 | $50,000 |
| Rep. Rick Berg (R) | $5,472 | $5,472 |
| Rep. Tom Price (R) | $3,690 | $3,690 |
| Rep. Vernon Buchanan (R) | $2,002 | $30,000 |
| Rep. Michael McCaul (R) | $2,002 | $30,000 |
| Rep. Xavier Becerra (D) | $2,002 | $30,000 |
| Rep. Fred Upton (R) | $2,002 | $30,000 |
| Rep. Ben Chandler (D) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Rep. Brad Miller (D) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Rep. Gary Peters (D) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Rep. Nan Hayworth (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
| Rep. Dan Benishek (R) | $1,001 | $15,000 |
In the executive branch, the lone JPMorgan Chase investor -- who
also happened to be the biggest of any that we are aware of -- was
former White House Chief of Staff William Daley, who left his post in
January 2012. It's not surprising, since Daley is a former top executive
for JPMorgan Chase; he held a stake worth somewhere between $5 million and $25 million.
President Obama doesn't own any stock in JPMorgan, but he is a client -- on his most recent financial disclosure form, filed this week, the president reported having two checking accounts there, one worth between $500,000 and $1 million.
