Bernie Sanders’s net worth over time
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He joined Congress in 1991 and the Senate in 2007. The Senate's online database has his electronic reports from 2013 on, so we can't show his wealth when he first took office. Every bar is one official report, added up the same way. Nothing is filled in between reports. Tap or hover a bar for details.
See every year as a table
| Year | Net worth range | Midpoint | Source |
| 2013 | −$959K to $225K | −$367K | Annual Report for CY 2013 (Amendment 5), filed August 31, 2016 |
| 2014 | −$910K to $310K | −$300K | Annual Report for CY 2014 (Amendment 4), filed August 31, 2016 |
| 2015 | −$729K to $650K | −$39K | Annual Report for CY 2015 (Amendment 1), filed August 31, 2016 |
| 2016 | −$444K to $765K | $161K | Annual Report for CY 2016 (Amendment 1), filed July 19, 2017 |
| 2017 | −$408K to $830K | $211K | Annual Report for CY 2017, filed May 15, 2018 |
| 2018 | −$28K to $1.05M | $514K | Annual Report for CY 2018, filed May 15, 2019 |
| 2019 | −$285K to $575K | $145K | Annual Report for CY 2019, filed August 12, 2020 |
| 2020 | −$29K to $1.14M | $556K | Annual Report for CY 2020, filed May 13, 2021 |
| 2021 | −$37K to $1.14M | $554K | Annual Report for CY 2021, filed May 16, 2022 |
| 2022 | −$51K to $1.11M | $530K | Annual Report for CY 2022, filed May 11, 2023 |
| 2023 | −$15K to $1.17M | $580K | Annual Report for CY 2023, filed May 15, 2024 |
| 2024 | $363K to $1.59M | $979K | Annual Report for CY 2024, filed May 15, 2025 |
| 2025 | $162K to $1.63M | $896K | Annual Report for CY 2025, filed August 13, 2026 |
Since the earliest online report (2013)
Compares the 2013 report with the 2025 report, using the same method for both. He joined Congress in 1991 and the Senate in 2007. The Senate's online database has his electronic reports from 2013 on, so we can't show his wealth when he first took office. Changes can come from a spouse’s assets, market moves, property values, new debts or how filers choose bands, and the forms do not say which. We do not guess.
What the latest report lists
| Retirement funds in his wife's name (TIAA-CREF, VALIC) | $1,001–$250,000 each |
| Credit union accounts (Senate FCU, North Country FCU, Congressional CU) | $50,001–$250,000 each |
| Income: book royalties from Penguin Random House (2025) | $200,000 |
| Income: City of Burlington pension (2025) | $6,408 |
| Debts: two Rocket Mortgage loans, joint | $100,001–$250,000 each |
From the 2025 report filed August 13, 2026. Highlights only. The full report is linked in the sources below.
Where the money comes from
Main sources named in the disclosures and the reporting we cite. The forms don’t split the total into exact amounts, so we don’t show percentages.
Bernie Sanders reported household assets minus debts of $162K to $1.63M, a midpoint of about $896K, on his latest financial disclosure (Annual Report for CY 2025, filed August 13, 2026).
Bernie Sanders has been in Congress since 1991, first as Vermont's only House member and, since 2007, as a senator. He is the longest-serving independent in congressional history and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. Before Congress he was mayor of Burlington for most of the 1980s.
For most of his career his disclosures showed modest savings and mortgage debt. That changed after his first presidential run, when best-selling books brought in large advances and royalties.
What his disclosures show
His report for 2025, filed on August 13, 2026, lists mostly retirement funds held by his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, plus savings at three credit unions. It lists two mortgages with Rocket Mortgage, each in the $100,001 to $250,000 band, and notes that one is a 2025 refinancing of an older loan. Income on the report includes $200,000 in book royalties from Penguin Random House and a $6,408 pension from the City of Burlington.
His reports also list a role as co-trustee of a family trust created when the couple bought a summer home. Homes the filer lives in are not part of what the forms require, so their value is not in our totals.
How books changed his finances
His disclosures show a $795,000 advance from St. Martin's Press in 2016, at least $811,000 from the same publisher in 2017 and $391,000 in 2018. In April 2019 he released 10 years of tax returns. Reuters reported adjusted gross income of $1,062,626 in 2016 and $1,131,925 in 2017, including more than $800,000 in book royalties in each of those years. NPR reported that his income fell to $561,293 in 2018 as royalties slowed.
On his 2013 report, the earliest electronic one, his disclosed range ran from about −$959,000 to $225,000, mostly because of mortgage debt. By his 2025 report it ran from about $162,000 to $1.63 million. His reports for 2020 and for 2022 through 2025 list royalties of $148,750 to $200,000 a year from Penguin Random House.
Career and money timeline
- 1981
Elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont.
- 1991
Joins the U.S. House as Vermont's only representative.
- 2007
Takes office as a U.S. senator.
- 2013
Earliest electronic report in the Senate database: range of −$959,000 to $225,000.
- 2016
Runs for president; his disclosure lists a $795,000 book advance from St. Martin's Press.
- 2019
Releases 10 years of tax returns showing income above $1 million in 2016 and 2017, mostly from book royalties, per Reuters and NPR.
- 2025
Latest report: range of $162,000 to $1.63 million, with $200,000 in book royalties.
Bernie Sanders net worth FAQ
What is Bernie Sanders's net worth?
Bernie Sanders's 2025 financial disclosure puts household assets minus debts at $162K to $1.63M, a midpoint of about $896K. Officials report values in ranges, so this is an estimate, not an exact figure.
Where does this number come from?
From Bernie Sanders's official annual financial disclosure, filed with the U.S. Senate on August 13, 2026. We add up every asset and debt band on the form. The same method is used for every year on the chart.
Has Bernie Sanders's net worth changed since taking office?
Compared with the earliest online report (2013), the low end of the range went from −$959K to $162K and the high end from $225K to $1.63M. He joined Congress in 1991 and the Senate in 2007. The Senate's online database has his electronic reports from 2013 on, so we can't show his wealth when he first took office.
Is Bernie Sanders a millionaire?
Possibly, but the forms can't say for sure. His 2025 disclosure gives a range of about $162,000 to $1.63 million, and it leaves out homes he lives in. His income passed $1 million in 2016 and 2017, mostly from books, according to tax returns reported by Reuters and NPR.
Sources
- U.S. Senate, Electronic Financial Disclosures (eFD) database (accessed October 21, 2026). Filings used for the chart:
- Annual Report for CY 2025 (August 13, 2026)
- Annual Report for CY 2024 (May 15, 2025)
- Annual Report for CY 2023 (May 15, 2024)
- Annual Report for CY 2022 (May 11, 2023)
- Annual Report for CY 2021 (May 16, 2022)
- Annual Report for CY 2020 (May 13, 2021)
- Annual Report for CY 2019 (August 12, 2020)
- Annual Report for CY 2018 (May 15, 2019)
- Annual Report for CY 2017 (May 15, 2018)
- Annual Report for CY 2016 (Amendment 1) (July 19, 2017)
- Annual Report for CY 2015 (Amendment 1) (August 31, 2016)
- Annual Report for CY 2014 (Amendment 4) (August 31, 2016)
- Annual Report for CY 2013 (Amendment 5) (August 31, 2016)
- House Committee on Ethics, Financial Disclosure Instruction Guide (calendar year 2025). What is and isn’t reported.
- Reuters (via Global News), Bernie Sanders releases tax returns: his income went from $314,742 to $1.13 million in 8 years (April 15, 2019)
- NPR (via GBH), Bernie Sanders Releases A Decade Of Tax Returns (April 15, 2019)
- Background facts: Wikipedia, Bernie Sanders (accessed October 21, 2026). Used for career facts only, never for figures.
Photo: Anderseidesvik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Every number on this page comes from an official filing or the named report next to it. We never fill in years with our own guesses, and this page is not a judgment about how the money was made. How we handle estimates.