Gwen Margolis, an 80-year-old Democrat and longtime political veteran, is Miami-Dade's richest state senator, according to data recently released by FloridaWatchdog.org. For her 2013 filing, Margolis, who represents the state's 35th district, which encompasses much of the eastern part of the county, including Key Biscayne and Miami Beach, reported a net worth of $5,624,729 -- nearly $5 million more than the county's next richest state senator, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, whose net worth was $863,756.
But Margolis' wealth is also paltry compared to her richest senate colleague: Don Gaetz, a republican state senator from the first district, in the Panhandle, reported a massive $26 million net worth.
Anitere Flores, another Miami-Dade state senator, reported a net worth of nearly $400,000, but the county's remaining state senators have bank accounts that are actually decidedly middle class: Rene Garcia reported $65,000, Dwight Bullard reported $54,900, and Oscar Braynon II reported $89,316.
Big picture, the watchdog found that Florida's senators are getting richer -- quickly. The body's net worth rose 18 percent since 2011 and a healthy 7.1 percent just since last year. Margolis' net worth rose near that average, by about 7 percent, while Dwight Bullard had quite a 2014 at the bank; his net worth jumped 115 percent (though, granted, he came in at just $25,500 last year).
The watchdog hasn't yet published this year's report on state representatives, but last year's tally showed that Miami-Dade's richest local representative is Michael Bileca, a Republican and dentistry businessman. Bileca's net worth was $14.2 million for the 2013 disclosure -- the richest of any state house member.
Here's the entire report of state senators' wealth:
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