Democrats Emerge From Election As Party of the Rich

Maybe it’s time to rebrand the Democrats as the party of the rich.

This month saw the election of Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker as governor of Illinois. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, is worth an estimated $3.2 billion, and spent $171.5 million to get himself elected, according to Money magazine.

Another winner was Edward M. “Ned” Lamont Jr., in the Connecticut governor’s race. Lamont, an heir to the J.P. Morgan banking fortune of his great-grandfather Thomas Lamont, estimated hisassets in 2006 at between $90 million and $300 million, and showed reporters tax returns last month with income totaling $18 million over five years.

The winner of the election for governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, filed financial disclosure forms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives indicating estimated wealth of more than $300 million.

Pritzker, Lamont, and Polis are all Democrats.

The Democratic Party’s list of possible presidential contenders for 2020 includes Michael Bloomberg, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at about $47 billion. A declared presidential candidate is a Democratic congressman from Maryland, John Delaney, who is worth an estimated $90 million. John Forbes Kerry might have another go at it, having recently acquired an $11.75 million, 18.75-acre property on Martha’s Vineyard to go with his $10 million house on Boston’s Louisburg Square.

More