It's no secret that Nancy Pelosi was one of Congress' most prolific stock traders. During her time in Congress, Pelosi's net worth grew from roughly $785,000 in 1987 to about $280 million presently. It was so well-known that a proposed bill to curtail stock trading by members of Congress even bears her name, the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act.
Even though she's stepped away from a leadership role in Congress and is retiring when this term ends in January, Pelosi has not left the political scene or stock trading behind.
In fact, Pelosi is going to be a special guest at a swanky fundraiser taking place this evening for former Congresswoman Elaine Luria. Luria is running against incumbent Republican Congresswoman Jen Kiggans in VA-02, one of this year's most competitive districts.
Entry to this event costs at least $250, with those who wish to be 'hosts' paying $5,000, and 'co-hosts' paying $1,500, and will include many current Democratic members of Congress, such as Reps. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, and Jared Golden of Maine.
In addition to their Democratic politics, Luria and Pelosi also share their love of stock trading. While a member of Congress, Luria traded hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of stocks. During her time in office, Luria was the largest trader of Chinese stocks. Luria also objected to a ban on such trades by members of Congress, calling any attempt to prevent such trades 'bulls**t.'
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"I think this whole concept is bulls**t," Luria told Punchbowl News at the time. "Because I think that, why would you assume that members of Congress are going to be inherently bad or corrupt? We already have the STOCK Act that requires people to report stock trades."
But it's a fair assumption to make, as Luria's net worth skyrocketed during her time in Congress. When she was elected in 2018, Luria had a net worth of $1.13 million, and when she was defeated in 2022, that net worth had jumped to over $22 million. That's an 1873 percent increase.
The issue of Congressional stock trading is a hot one this election cycle, and a sizeable majority of Americans, 63 percent, support banning lawmakers from stock trading. This includes 69 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Independents, and 57 percent of Americans favor banning lawmakers' families from trading stocks. too.
Congresswoman Kiggans, on the other hand, has called for a ban on stock trading and is a co-lead on the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act. That legislation would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, commodities, or futures. Kiggans is joined by Democrats on the legislation, including Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
When speaking of the bill, Rep. Kiggans said, “When it comes to owning and trading stocks, Members of Congress must be above reproach. The ETHICS Act will ensure no Member of Congress can use their power and position to enrich themselves. When more and more Americans are losing trust in our institutions, including Congress, this bipartisan bill is one way we can begin to restore that trust.”
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