Cynthia Lummis is a prominent politician in the United States. The Wyoming-born senator has, in recent years, held various positions that projected her into the limelight of the country’s political landscape. Since venturing into politics at the age of 24, Lummis has continued to enjoy enormous financial backing from supporters. On numerous occasions, donations to her political campaigns have been whopping.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Lummis is a millionaire, with over $5 million net worth as of 2023. Prior to her emergence as a Senator, Lummis’ reported net worth was estimated to be around $20 million. In 2015, Cynthia Lummis reported a net worth of $12.26 million.
Cynthia Lummis’ Net Worth
Year | Net Worth |
---|---|
2023 | $5 million |
Early Life
Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn was born on September 10, 1954, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She is one of the four kids of Doran Lummis and Enid Bennett. Lummis’ ancestral family migrated from Germany to Wyoming, United States in 1868. The family is well-known for their reputable status in Wyoming’s political landscape. Lummis’ father once served as the chair of the Laramie County Republican Party. Likewise, her brother, Del Lummis also chaired the same party. The family’s activeness in politics encouraged Lummis to develop a strong interest in it. While growing up, Lummis attended Cheyenne East High School.
Thereafter, she proceeded to the University of Wyoming where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science around 1976. Lummis also earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the institution two years later. Then, she worked as a student teacher at Rock River School. In 1985, she bagged a Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming. Her outstanding performance during the program earned her a place on the dean’s list. At the end of her program, she served as the Clerk to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
State Legislature
The family’s strong political background provided Lummis with the capacity to venture into politics. In 1978, she was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives at age 24. She made history as the youngest woman to serve in the state legislature. She was reelected in 1980 after the expiration of her first tenure. However, Lummis opted against reelection in 1982, but eventually made a return to the state legislative arm two years later. While in the state house, Lummis headed the Revenue Committee. She also served on the Judiciary and Agriculture Committees.
Likewise, during the 1988 Republican presidential primaries, Lummis served in Bob Dole’s steering committee in Wyoming. She also served as the campaign manager of the Republican candidate Mary Mead during the 1990 gubernatorial election. Lummis went on to retain her seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives till 1990.
As a legislator with the Wyoming House of Representatives, Lummis developed into a top politician. During the year, Senate Majority Leader Diemer True tipped her to replace Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Then, she was viewed as a potential and qualified replacement for Senator Dan Sullivan. However, Lummis couldn’t accept the offer due to her commitment to the Wyoming gubernatorial election at that time.
In 1992, Lummis contested for a seat in the Wyoming Senate from the 5th district. She defeated Norman P. Feagler for the Republican nomination and eventually the incumbent from the Democratic party, Senator Harriet Elizabeth Byrd in the general election. During the campaign, she made history as the fifth-highest-spending elected candidate.
She spent $11,661 during the election. Nonetheless, Lummis decided not to seek reelection in 1994, citing family commitment. She was then succeeded by Republican nominee Don Lawler. In 1997, Jim Geringer, the 30th Governor of Wyoming appointed Lummis as the interim director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.
Wyoming Treasurer
Lummis turned her attention to the position of Wyoming state treasurer after Stan Smith announced that he won’t seek reelection. Consequently, she declared her ambition in March 1998 at the Laramie County Republican convention. She clinched the Republican ticket for the treasurer unopposed and went on to defeat candidates of the Democratic and Libertarian parties.
In 2002, Lummis was tipped to contest the Republican nomination for the gubernatorial election but declined the offer. As the Treasurer, Lummis’ performance was incredible, earning her widespread applause. She executed an accounting transformation by inflating the interest rate on $100 million in Wyoming banks. With this, she was able to reduce Wyoming’s expected budget deficit in 1999 by more than $5 million.
Similarly, Lummis masterminded the 1% increase in the interest yield of Wyoming’s $2.6 billion permanent fund. The move engineered a $26 million yearly return on the fund. In another landmark achievement, while serving as the Treasurer, the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund rose to over $2 billion for the first time. In April 2002, Lummis declared her intention to rerun for Wyoming Treasurer. Her declaration didn’t receive any opposition and she was eventually elected unopposed in 2002.
She emerged as the only statewide candidate to emerge unopposed in the 2002 election. During the campaign, the politician actualized $9,275 and spent $12,151. She couldn’t rerun for the third term due to a constitutional provision. Nonetheless, she endorsed former Speaker Fred Parady to succeed her in the 2006 election. However, Parady lost the Republican ticket to Joseph Meyer who eventually won the general election.
United States House of Representatives
In 2008, Barbara Cubin publicly announced that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection to the United States House of Representatives. Therefore, Lummis was encouraged to succeed her and eventually clinched the Republican nomination, defeating Mark Gordon, Bill Winney, and Michael Holland. She appointed Tucker Fagan as the manager of her campaign. The campaign team actualized $1,557,313 and spent $1,543,875. Eventually, Lummis floored Democratic nominee Gary Trauner in the general election.
As an elected member of the United States House of Representatives, she served on the Agriculture and Appropriations Committees. With this, Lummis made history as the first lawmaker from Wyoming to serve on the Agriculture Committee after Frank O. Horton. Also, she was a member of other committees, including the Energy and Mineral Resources, and National Parks.
In 2013, the lawmaker left the Appropriations Committee. The same year, she was appointed as the chair of the Science Subcommittee on Energy. She went on to serve on the Republican whip team until her removal in 2015. She was relieved of her duties in the team for voting against giving President Barack Obama the authority to propose a trade agreement with Pacific countries.
Lummis won two reelection bids to retain the position till 2016. She was succeeded by Liz Cheney who enjoyed the support of Lummis’s daughter, Annaliese Wiederspahn. During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Lummis was a campaign surrogate for Rand Paul. However, she ended up endorsing Trump in the presidential election. The lawmaker considered running for the Republican nomination in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Later, she dropped the aspiration and endorsed Sam Galeotos.
United States’ Senate
Following the retirement of Senator Mike Enzo from active politics, Lummis decided to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Thereafter, she bagged the Republican nomination and also defeated the nominee of the Democratic party Merav Ben-David in the general election. She won the election with 72.8% of the total votes cast, thereby making history as the first woman to represent Wyoming in the United States Senate. While campaigning for her election into the Senate, Lummis raised $3,003,788 in donations and spent $3,037,813.
As a senator, Lummis has served on various committees. They include Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Environment and Public Works, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Later, she appointed Hans Hunt, a member of the Wyoming State House, as her agriculture and trade policy adviser.
Lummis attracted huge media attention after the 2020 presidential election. During the counting of the electoral college vote, the lawmakers voted to certify the results from Arizona. However, she voted against certifying the results from Pennsylvania. More so, she voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial. Lummis also voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 202. But, she supported the PPP Extension Act and the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.
On November 29, 2022, Lummis voted for the final passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. Before then, the Wyoming-born senator had opposed federal same-sex marriage recognition. While providing insights into her decision, Lummis explained that she was guided by two factors. They include the Wyoming Constitution and her unflinching advocacy for religious liberties.
Controversy
While serving as the Treasurer, in 2001, Lummis became the subject of widespread criticism. Then, she announced a conflict of interest relating to her role as treasurer of the Arp and Hammond Hardware Company. Lummis claimed the company came into existence in December 2000, but findings indicated otherwise. By virtue of this, she, alongside other Republican Wyoming officials, was accused of wresting power away from Governor Dave Freudenthal.
However, Lummis denied the accusation. The prominent politician argued that she oversaw the increase in Wyoming’s investments during her tenure as treasurer. This assertion didn’t sit well with the Governor who refuted her claims stating that no one person could take credit for the increase.
In 2022, during a commencement speech at the University of Wyoming, Lummis made a statement that evoked jeers and boos from the crowd. While giving the speech, Lummis said, “The existence of two sexes, male and female was a fundamental scientific truth.” The comment didn’t sit well with many and she was compelled to issue an apology.
Is Cynthia Lummis Pro Crypto?
Lummis’ strong advocacy for crypto has positioned her as one of the prominent senators in the U.S. Congress. When it comes to advocating for crypto innovations, no one comes close to Lummis among the members of Congress. Her vocal and unparalleled support for the industry amid the clampdown by the Biden administration makes many refer to her as a “Crypto Queen.”
Lummis finds great potential in crypto and has been backing it since 2013. Her belief in the importance of crypto in availing financial services to the unbanked is second to none. In a recent interview, the pro-crypto senator said digital assets would be beneficial to everyone, including “the rich, the poor, the banked, the unbanked, the Native Americans who don’t trust non-Indian banks, the people that live in governments that are corrupt.”
She added that “these assets can help individual people control their own money and have an asset that is going to withstand the test of time.”
Lummis’ consistent stance on cryptocurrency has, in recent years, reflected her activities in the U.S. Senate. She came into the spotlight as a crypto proponent after she co-sponsored the bipartisan “Responsible Financial Innovation Bill” with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). The proposal, according to her, would introduce a clear body of rules to regulate and drive innovations in the crypto industry. Nevertheless, the bill has yet to scale through and faces tough scrutiny from other members of Congress.
Similarly, Lummis once recommended that the Federal Reserve should hold Bitcoin on its financial record.
“I believe it’s brilliant for the Fed to purchase Bitcoin as it holds more than $40 Billion in unfamiliar money saves.”
Despite the ups and downs in the crypto industry, Lummis’ admiration for Bitcoin has not diminished. She is confident that the largest crypto by market cap is here to stay, describing it as a good hedge against rising inflation ravaging the country’s economy.
“I love that it can’t be stopped, especially because I’m concerned about our national debt, I’m concerned about inflation… We see things that are inflationary… It’s actually comforting to know that Bitcoin is there,” the senator said.
Lummis’ position remains that Bitcoin will survive even if other crypto assets go into extinction. She re-emphasized this belief while featuring on the Squawk Box Show. According to the senator, Bitcoin is the standard and should be given its flowers. She insisted that Bitcoin must not be treated the same way as altcoins because of its full decentralization. There’s no doubt that this attribute of Bitcoin has impressed Lummis the most.
"I do think that #bitcoin is here to stay, and I think a lot of the others are not," says @SenLummis. "#Bitcoin is the standard. Everything else has to be monitored differently because they are created differently." pic.twitter.com/yvWvz0hjFm
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 2, 2021
Although Lummis has been critical of the SEC’s aggressive actions on the crypto industry, she believes the agency was right with its stance about Bitcoin. Don’t forget that the U.S. regulator has clarified that Bitcoin is not a security, unlike many other crypto assets. SEC’s stance has propelled its class-action lawsuits against firms offering cryptocurrencies that it considers securities.
Some of the firms that have been embroiled in the lawsuits include Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, and many more. Despite suffering a setback in Ripple’s case, it is not willing to back down and has already appealed the ruling. Nevertheless, Lummis is happy that the regulator has at least exempted Bitcoin from its enforcement action. She labeled the asset as a commodity and digital gold.
Meanwhile, Lummis is one of the senators criticizing Biden’s proposal to impose a 30% tax on electricity used by miners of Bitcoin. While speaking at the 2023 Bitcoin conference, she vowed to ensure that the proposal did not scale through at the congress.
“A 30% tax hike on any specific industry is a blatant attempt by the administration to pick winners and losers. That isn’t going to happen. I will not let President Biden tax the digital asset industry out of existence,” she said.
A 30% tax hike on any specific industry is a blatant attempt by the administration to pick winners and losers.
I will not let President Biden tax the digital asset industry out of existence.https://t.co/GNUgfER8yr
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) May 25, 2023
Similarly, the senator also condemned the enforcement approach by the SEC on the industry. According to Lummis, the agency “has failed to provide a clear path for digital asset exchanges to register and, even worse, has failed to provide adequate legal guidance on what differentiates a security from a commodity.”
My statement on the SEC suing Coinbase, inc. https://t.co/5KNEM0IPSV pic.twitter.com/EgRIxrIcjj
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) June 6, 2023
While speaking to an audience of wealthy Bitcoin investors, advocates, and policymakers at Washington’s National Press Club, Lummis acknowledged the rising frustration as regards the regulatory atmosphere in the U.S.
“The frustration that you encounter in dealing with the regulatory climate here in the US is going to push you abroad if we don’t get with the program.”
The pro-Bitcoin senator also gave details about her proposed “Responsible Financial Innovation Bill.” In her submission, the bill would ensure that open-source cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are regulated as commodities and not as securities. This simply means if the bill eventually becomes law, assets that fall under commodities would be placed under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Likewise, assets that are classified as securities would also be within the jurisdiction of the SEC alone. Lummis is confident that such provisions are necessary to ease the aggressive regulatory scrutiny in the country.
She added that “we want to make sure that the SEC is involved, but not through enforcement actions, through the actual submission of information that can help a buyer, a consumer make an informed decision.”
Also, Senator Lummis hinted that Congress is trying to come up with laws to combat rising fraud in the volatile industry. She believes the menace of the 2022 FTX scandal has heightened the need for a framework that protects investors and addresses illicit use of crypto assets.
“This has been a bit of a one step forward and two steps back experience. Because of what happened with FTX and other companies, we’re making a more robust penalty provision for the illicit use and attempts to commit fraud on the consuming public,” she confirmed.
However, she does not believe the FTX crisis would discourage more people from venturing into the industry. While responding to a question about the future of Bitcoin amid the market crisis, the vocal senator said; “As people learn more about Bitcoin and become comfortable and familiar with an asset that is online, they’ll begin to see it as … behind them, and they’ll have it for their long-term savings and long-term future.”
Crypto and NFT Holdings of Cynthia Lummis
Only two senators in the United States have publicly confirmed their personal exposure to crypto assets. They are Cynthia Lummis and Pat Toomey. Senator Lummis is a Bitcoin maximalist. She started acquiring Bitcoin around 2013. Then, the crypto asset was not well-known and only traded within $350. Therefore, the heavy upsurge in the value of Bitcoin since that period must have impacted the net worth of Cynthia Lummis.
Lummis has often described herself as a Bitcoin “HODLer.” This term is only used to describe people who acquire Bitcoin to “hold on for dear life” and not to cash out quickly. She revealed that she has continued to purchase more rather than sell her Bitcoin stashes.
Around mid-2021, Lummis said she owned five Bitcoins. A few months after this revelation, she added about $100,000 worth of the asset to her portfolio. According to her mandatory filing, the legislator bought it from a popular Bitcoin exchange, River Financial.
However, the Bitcoin proponent has yet to get into NFTs. She confirmed this while fielding questions in an interview with a known publication.
“I don’t own NFTs, and NFTs are among the mysteries to me,” Senator Lummis affirmed.
But, she admitted that she has started learning the rudiments of the digital tokens through Senator Gillibrand, the co-sponsor of her “Responsible Financial Innovation Bill.” Lummis said the Senator got exposed to NFTs through her children and has shown a willingness to share the knowledge with her.
“I’m learning about this from Senator Gillibrand, because she has children who have NFTs, and she’s the one who is teaching me about how they are used. And so it’s a good thing that I have such a knowledgeable partner in this… It helps enrich and fill out my own dance card when it comes to learning about it.”
Crypto and NFT Projects Featuring Cynthia Lummis
In spite of her strong advocacy for Bitcoin, Senator Lummis has not been featured in any crypto or NFT projects. However, the attitude of Congress as a whole towards regulating digital assets has attracted tremendous attention from Wall Street Memes. Lummis attained prominence as a Congress member due to her vocal contributions to all forms of digital asset bills before the House.
Wall Street Memes has already made a name for itself with its tantalizing memes on social media platforms. Through the powers of memes, the project has continued to steer crypto advocacy, fighting every form of stigma and opposition against the industry. In recent months, many of its memes made a mockery of the untoward activities of unrepentant crypto detractors in the United States like Joe Biden, Gary Gensler, Jerome Powell, and so on.
JEROME POWELL IS SELECTED FOR A SECOND FOUR YEAR TERM. FUCK YOUR PUTS. pic.twitter.com/RIcm8juigx
— Wall Street Memes (@wallstmemes) November 22, 2021
Without any doubt, the daily memes command overwhelming attention, spreading across every corner of the Internet. The project has become a strong movement on social media due to the vibrancy of members of its over one million community supporters. This explains why its content usually generates millions of impressions monthly. With this feat, Wall Street Memes has sent shock waves into the camp of its rivals.
Meanwhile, amid the growing popularity of this project on social media, its team decided to tokenize the movement. This commitment led to the development of $WSM as the native token of Wall Street Memes. The presale is still in progress, with at least 50% of the total supply of $WSM up for grabs at a cheap price. Likewise, the team also dedicated the remaining 50% to community rewards and CEX and DEX liquidity.
Since launch, scores of mega-optimistic crypto whales have participated in the presale. These investors are not only impressed by the tokenomics of the meme coin but also its strong social media movement. With over $26 million raised, $WSM is definitely one of the biggest meme coins in the market right now. The team plans to position the meme coin for multiple CEX listings by September 2023.
Reputable analysts and crypto influencers are now igniting the frenzy around $WSM, describing it as the heir to Doge. They have no doubt that it will become the next cryptocurrency to bring huge proceeds for its early investors.
You can also become an early investor. Visit wallstmemes.com to buy now.
Cynthia Lummis Net Worth – Our Verdict
When we talk about crypto and financial advocacy, no one comes close to Cynthia Lummis in Congress. She has been very vocal about her support for the integration of emerging technologies like crypto into the U.S. financial landscape. Since she became a member of Congress, Lummis has proposed several amendments to bills targeting crypto and blockchain tech.
Also, she founded the Financial Innovation Caucus to enlighten many of her colleagues about the huge potential of emerging technologies to enhance financial inclusion, combat rising inflation and transform the banking system. Popular as Capitol Hill’s “crypto queen,” the Republican Senator is definitely not backing down on her support for clear crypto regulations in the United States.
Meanwhile, the 2023 net worth of Cynthia Lummis is estimated to be around $5 million, courtesy of her salary as a legislator and early Bitcoin investments.
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FAQs
What bill did Cynthia Lummis co-sponsor with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand?
The duo sponsored the bipartisan “Responsible Financial Innovation Bill.”
What's the 2023 net worth of Cynthia Lummis?
The 2023 net worth of Cynthia Lummis is estimated to be around $5 million.
Is Cynthia Lummis a Democrat or Republican?
Cynthia Lummis is one of the Republican senators in the U.S. Congress.