Does U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have a net worth of $13 million as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: The district communication manager for Ocasio-Cortez told Lead Stories, "The claim is false." The post on X cited no sources nor did it indicate what the $13 million figure is based on. Ocasio-Cortez's latest official financial disclosure report shows numbers and ranges amounting to a vastly smaller maximum possible total.
The claim appeared on X, formerly Twitter, and was published on October 2, 2023 (archived here). The post read:
AOC has been in Congress for 4 years
She was a bartender
Her net worth is now $13,000,000
Damn. It pays to play. The game is rigged. Good for her
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
The X post included a screenshot of a chart claiming that Ocasio-Cortez was worth $13 million in 2023. The X post did not indicate where this chart was from, nor were there any clues in the image. Lead Stories could not find the source of this screenshot.
A Google News search of the phrase, "Rep. Ocasio-Cortez AND net worth 13 million dollars" (archived here) did not yield any relevant articles confirming this claim.
In a October 2, 2023, email, Diego de la Vega, the district communication manager for Ocasio-Cortez, told Lead Stories that this claim is false:
The claim is false. As previously stated in Reuters and Politifact, the claim has been debunked. Politifact reports, 'Ocasio-Cortez's latest financial disclosure report, filed Sept. 12, 2022, showed assets amounting to $4,004 to $60,000. It listed four assets -- one savings account, one checking account, one brokerage account and a 401(k) plan. Each asset ranges from $1,000 to $15,000.'
We pointed out to de la Vega that the Reuters and Politifact articles were written before her August 13, 2023 report was filed. In a October 3, 2023, email, he reiterated that the claim was still false:
Yes, the claim is still false. Her 2023 filings are linked here. The three bank accounts listed indicate assets between $1,001 and $15,000.
Ocasio-Cortez's reported amount for 2023 included a savings account that held anywhere from $1,001 and $15,000, a checking and a brokerage account holding an amount between $2,002 to $30,000 and a 401(k) plan with an amount between $1,001 and $15,000 in it. All of her disclosure reports since she took office have also included a federal student loan debt of an amount between $15,001 to $50,000.
Her salary as a Representative is $174,000, according to the Congressional Research Services document titled, "Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief" (archived here). The document was updated on September 19, 2023. Highlighting done by Lead Stories:
(Crsreports.congress.gov screenshot taken on Tue Oct 3 16:54:09 2023 UTC)
Lead Stories debunked a similar claim, that Ocasio-Cortez had a net worth of $29 million in November 2022, here.
Other Lead Stories articles on claims related to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are here.
