Two decades ago, Hakeem Jeffries was a litigator for CBS. Fresh off his work fighting a suit against the network over Janet Jackson’s unfortunate “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, he was profiled for Crain’s New York Business. The publication speculated on his future in politics, starting with an anticipated run for a state Assembly seat in Brooklyn. “Winning would mean a massive pay cut and a commute to dreary Albany,” the article noted, but Jeffries wasn’t deterred. “Public service involves sacrifice,” he told Crain’s.

His 2006 victory, which finally earned him a seat for which he’d run twice before and a state legislator salary of $79,500, set him up for a career in politics that has made him House Democrats’ leader during the ongoing government shutdown. And while he certainly sacrificed financially compared to an alternative life as a corporate lawyer, Jeffries remains comfortable, with apartments in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., two pensions and plenty of cash left over after putting his kids through college. Put it all together, and Forbes estimates that Jeffries’ net worth is about $2 million. That’s more than his Republican counterpart, House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose fortune Forbes put at $350,000 last year; but less than the Senate’s leaders, Republican John Thune and Democrat (and fellow Brooklynite) Chuck Schumer, who are worth

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