State Capital: Florida's millionaire lawmakers

Sen. Eleanor Sobel

7. Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood)
$8,763,945 + 6.7% from 2011

Sobel, 67, is married to Hollywood dermatologist Stuart Sobel and reportedly derives much of her wealth from her husband’s medical practice and a side business, Emrelle Skin Care Products, which she started with her husband. The majority of her wealth is in property and mutual funds. Her real estate holdings include a $2.5 million condo in Manhattan. She also lists an office condo valued at $650,000 and her Hollywood residence, which is worth $420,000. She lists mutual fund holdings worth more than $4 million.

Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr.

8. Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr.
(R-West Palm Beach)
$7,928,000 +174.6% from 2011

Rooney’s wealth stems from his family, who are majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rooney’s grandfather, Arthur J. Rooney, paid the NFL a franchise fee of $2,500 to bring the Pittsburgh Pirates (as they were then known) into the league, and the Rooney family has retained a controlling interest since. The family later got into the gambling business with investments in a New York horse racing track and a dog racing track (the Palm Beach Kennel Club) in West Palm Beach. The bulk of Rooney’s wealth is derived from interest in various trusts, including 100% interest (worth more than $3.74 million) in the Patrick J. Rooney Jr. 2011 Irrevocable Trust, which owns cash and 500 voting and 2,020 non-voting shares of Yonkers Racing Corp. He also listed 14.3% interest (worth more than $1.5 million) in the Patrick Rooney Sr. 2011 Delaware Trust, which owns cash, marketable securities and 9,175 voting and 9,175 non-voting shares of Rooney Enterprises, which owns the common stock of Pittsburgh Steelers Sports.

Rep. Irving Slosberg

9. Rep. Irving Slosberg (D-Boca Raton)
$6,986,792 +3.4% from 2011

Slosberg became wealthy importing handbags. He reports a $4.2-million holding in his Pompano Beach import company, Mediterranean Trading. Other major holdings include his $800,000 house in Boca Raton and various brokerage accounts valued at $760,587.

Rep. Bill Hager

10. Rep. Bill Hager
(R-Delray Beach)
$6,737,000 +12.3% from 2011

Hager — a former insurance commissioner for Iowa and former president and CEO of NCCI, the nation’s largest workers’ compensation and health care informatics company — earned close to $550,000 from his reinsurance arbitration business last year. Hager, who was recently divorced, reported a 50% ownership in his Boca Raton residence, valued at $1.4 million. Other large assets include 50% of several IRAs, valued at $4.55 million, and 50% of several investment accounts containing a total of $4.95 million.

11 through 49

11. Sen. Charles Dean (R-Inverness)
$6,714,000 +40.6 from 2011
Retired sheriff, cattleman and consultant

12. Rep. Travis Hutson* (R-Elkton)
$6,689,629 Not available
Real estate agent

13. Sen. John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine)
$6,355,515 -3.5% from 2011
Lawyer

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law