Rep. Curtis is Utah’s wealthiest member of Congress, though Romney would easily top him if elected

Washington • Utah’s newest congressman, John Curtis, is the wealthiest member of Utah’s federal delegation with a net worth of up to $15 million, though he’d be far surpassed by Mitt Romney should he win the Senate seat this fall.

Curtis, the former Provo mayor, owns multiple properties in Utah, some linked to Action Target, his former company that develops shooting ranges, as well as a slew of stocks and other investments, a disclosure filed with the U.S. House shows.

The freshman Republican is worth between $4.2 million and $15.2 million, according to the disclosure that requires only broad ranges for each asset or liability.

Romney, meanwhile, is worth between $73.7 million and $271 million, and possibly more because some assets were valued at simply “over $1 million,” his filing shows, and homes and cars owned outright are not required to be disclosed.

The former Massachusetts governor is seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Orrin Hatch and faces a Republican primary in June against state Rep. Michael Kennedy, R-Alpine.

Hatch, who has served in the Senate since 1977, has assets worth between $1.8 million and $7.2 million and no liabilities, his disclosure shows.

Members of Congress annually are required by May 15 to file their personal financial disclosures, though Curtis and Sen. Mike Lee requested and were granted extensions. Curtis’ financial information is from a July 2017 disclosure he submitted in seeking to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

The richest member of Congress is California Rep. Darrell Issa, who also is retiring at the end of the year. Issa, who made his fortune in the car-alarm business and whose voice on the Viper alarm system warns to, “Please step aware from the car,” has a net worth of $330 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The center also notes the disparity between wealth of Congress’ two chambers. In 2015, half of the Senate members reported worth of more than $3 million each while half of House members were worth less than $888,000.

Utah’s members follow that pattern, with Hatch and Curtis in the better-off category than their counterparts.

Sen. Mike Lee, who was a practicing lawyer before joining the Senate in 2010, had assets worth between $132,000 and $330,000 but an outstanding student loan of up to $15,000, his 2017 filing shows.

Rep. Chris Stewart, who made about $39,000 from book royalties in 2017, lists an “undetermined” asset for future royalties, an investment in his former consulting firm Synergy worth up to a half-million dollars and a mutual fund worth between $1,000 and $15,000. He doesn’t list a savings or checking account, but notes two home loans, one for his Utah residence and one in Washington, totaling between $700,000 and $1.5 million.

Rep. Mia Love lists several mutual funds and a retirement account as assets and a mortgage on her Saratoga Springs residence between $100,000 and $250,000.

Rep. Rob Bishop’s office did not provide his latest filing and referred the request to the House clerk, which had not yet posted the 2018 filings. His previous year’s disclosure showed the former schoolteacher’s assets between $16,000 and $65,000 with liabilities of between $10,000 an $15,000 for a home equity loan.

Romney, who ran a venture capital firm before entering politics and who owns homes in California and Utah, made some $1.4 million in speaking fees in the past year, his disclosure earlier this year showed.

Kennedy, a physician and attorney who is seeking to topple Romney’s candidacy, has a net worth of between $1.1 million and $2.6 million, his disclosure shows. Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who is the Democratic nominee for Senate, listed assets of between $900,000 and $2 million.