# Half of Senate candidates are millionaires

> At least half of major U.S. Senate candidates have net worths of $1 million or more, with two senators worth approximately $200 million each.
- Title: Half of Senate candidates are millionaires · Fortune
- Summary: At least half of major U.S. Senate candidates have net worths of $1 million or more, with two senators worth approximately $200 million each.
- Keywords: 2026 midterms, u.s. senate, wealth in politics, mark warner, pete ricketts, campaign finance, Half, Senate, candidates, millionaires, Fortune
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/11/02/millionaires-running-for-us-senate-mark-warner-pete-ricketts-net-worth-over-200-million-wealth-in-politics
- Author: Preston Fore
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: 2026 midterms, u.s. senate, wealth in politics, mark warner, pete ricketts, campaign finance
## Most Senate candidates are millionaires
At least half of major U.S. Senate candidates vying for seats have household net worths of at least one million dollars, according to a New York Times review of financial disclosure forms.
## Two senators worth $200 million each
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, both seeking reelection, have net worths soaring into nine figures, at about approximately two hundred million dollars each.
## Warner built fortune in telecoms
Warner founded Columbia Capital, a venture capital firm focused on cellular communications, and cofounded FleetCall, the telecommunications company that later became Nextel, acquired by Sprint in two thousand five for thirty five billion dollars.
## Ricketts heir to brokerage fortune
Ricketts is the son of Joe Ricketts, founder of the brokerage firm Ameritrade, now part of Charles Schwab.
## Wealth doesn't guarantee victory
A Brookings Institute analysis of four election cycles from two thousand eighteen to two thousand twenty four found that just thirty three of one hundred eighty three candidates who contributed more than one million dollars…

> The fact is that most rich people who spend personal money on campaigns lose, some big time.
## Billionaires' spending doesn't guarantee wins
David Trone, billionaire co-founder of Total Wine & More, spent nearly sixty three million dollars of his personal fortune on his two thousand twenty four Democratic Senate primary campaign in Maryland, only to lose by…
## Key takeaway

At least half of major U.S. Senate candidates are millionaires, with two senators worth about $200 million each, far exceeding typical American household wealth.