- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said her net worth was less than $500,000.
- She said her only income is her congressional salary, and she doesn’t own a home or trade stocks.
- Commenters on X reacted to her wealth with a mix of shock, judgment, and reluctant respect.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she’s worth less than $500,000, prompting a mixture of disbelief, criticism, and begrudging respect from commenters on X.
The New York congresswoman, often called AOC, discussed her personal wealth after an X user claimed she was worth tens of millions as a result of taking kickbacks.
The Democratic lawmaker said that the user was “completely making things up” and that she didn’t trade individual stocks or earn any income apart from her congressional salary. “I don’t even own a house!” she said in a second response.
Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender and server before winning a seat in the House of Representatives, which she’s held since 2019. She earns the standard congressional salary of $174,000 a year.
Her financial disclosure form last year showed she had no more than $46,000 across her checking, savings, brokerage, and 401(k) accounts, and owed between $15,000 and $50,000 of student loans.
Forbes estimated Ocasio-Cortez’s net worth last year at about $125,000 with most of her wealth in a Thrift Savings Plan — a 401(k)-style investment vehicle for government employees that doesn’t have to be listed in financial disclosures.
Several X users said they disagreed with her progressive politics but appreciated her integrity.
@SpanglEdReAper, who has “GOD, GUNS AND TRUMP!” in their bio, wrote: “As much as I despise completely your political ideology and your methods, its true AOC is one of the few that is not taking kickbacks, or at least that we know of atm.”
Similarly, @starbw_eth wrote: “I am not a fan of your politics, but I do believe you are ethical and trustworthy when it comes to your own personal corruption stance. I wish more congressional officeholders followed that same standard.”
Meanwhile, others were surprised by the state of Ocasio-Cortez’s finances.
“How do you make 174k per year and your net worth is almost nothing?” user @raphaellimasp wrote.
@coldhealing wrote: “Not being worth $500k at age 35 with a salary of $174k is not the financial strategy that we want to encourage in Americans.”
“This is NOT a flex,” @GuyTalksFinance wrote. “Someone get AOC a book on personal finance and budgeting.”
Restoring a little faith
Thomas Roulet, a professor of organizational sociology and leadership at the University of Cambridge, told Business Insider in an email it was “reassuring” to see apparent critics of Ocasio-Cortez give her kudos for coming across as “morally and ethically consistent.”
The reaction also speaks to the social-media-fueled polarization in politics where “everything triggers an outrage and there is no middle ground,” and “politicians and leaders are either deeply hated or deeply revered,” he said.
In Roulet’s view, authenticity can feed polarization because “if you are true to yourself it makes you even more at odds with those who dislike you, but it connects you with your supporters.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a vocal critic of corporate influence and corruption in politics, has previously posted on X about setting people straight regarding her finances.
In October 2022, she recalled someone asking her how she was worth $29 million and her replying: “Sir, I wish. My financial disclosures are public. I still owe ~$18k in student loans.”
“I don’t own nor trade individual stocks, accept no corporate money to my campaign, & live solely off my congressional salary (which requires us to pay for 2 rents out of pocket),” she continued in a second post. “All of this is publicly disclosed info. I save in a Thrift Savings Plan just like other fed workers.”
Accusations of political corruption, many of them demonstrably false, have surged in recent days as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has made government fraud and waste a hot topic online.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
