The Hill’s 50 Wealthiest lawmakers

McCaul remains in the stratosphere of the very richest members of Congress.

His wealth rose slightly in 2011, up about $3 million from 2010. That might be explained by a footnote on his financial disclosure form for last year: “interests in various partnerships increased during 2011 due to the withdrawal of other partners.”

Specifically, one family trust credited to a dependent child went from $1 million in value in 2010 to $5 million in 2011. All of McCaul’s assets are attributed to either a dependent child or the lawmaker’s spouse, Linda. Several family trusts, worth at least $50 million each, are responsible for the bulk of McCaul’s wealth.

Lowry Mays, McCaul’s father-in-law, is the founder of radio-broadcasting behemoth Clear Channel Communications, which might help explain the congressman’s massive net worth. Another footnote on McCaul’s 2011 report says that “certain assets owned by spouse were acquired via gift from spouse’s parents.”

Unlike in 2010, McCaul reported a liability last year, likely due to new reporting requirements for personal mortgages. The Texas lawmaker has a Bank of America mortgage worth at least $500,000.

- Kevin Bogardus

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