Herger's wealth about $12.2 million

WASHINGTON — Rep. Wally Herger is the 43rd wealthiest member of Congress, according to a study released Tuesday.

Herger's average net wealth in 2006 was estimated at about $12.2 million, the Sunlight Foundation said in its Fortune 535 list.

Herger, R-Chico, had a net worth that ranged from $7.9 million to $16.4 million.

Herger's average net wealth placed him eighth among California's congressional delegation.

According to the report, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is Washington's wealthiest legislator, with a net worth estimated at $409.4 million, followed by California Republican Rep. Daryl Issa at $337.4 million and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat, with a fortune estimated at $267.8 million.

The Sunlight Foundation posted on its Web site the first-ever analysis of the 535 House and Senate members' net worth in inflation-adjusted 2006 dollars over as many as 11 years, from as far back as 1995 to 2006.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's average net worth, adjusted for inflation, grew from negative $6 million to $30.7 million between 2000 and 2006, the fastest financial climb in recent years for any member of Congress who started out with no assets, the political watchdog group reported.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, reported a $27.6 million surge in his average net worth — the midpoint between the lowest and highest ranges of his and his wife's assets listed on his Senate financial disclosure forms — from 1995 to 2006. He and wife Cindy rose from an average net worth of $8.9 million to an average of $36.4 million, the ninth fastest upward move in Congress.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's estimated net worth rose from $328,442 in 2004 to $799,006 in 2006.