It’s no secret that  many members of  the U.S. House and Senate are  millionaires — 47 percent of them — their salaries  paid  in part by the American taxpayers.

The Center for Responsive Politics has crunched the numbers and released the results on its Open Secrets blog:

“ About 47 percent of Congress, or 249 current members are millionaires. … In 2010, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.56 million,” according to the Center’s research.

“Despite the global  economic meltdown  in 2008 and the sluggish recovery that followed, that’s up about 7.6 percent  from an estimated median net worth of $2.38 million  in 2009 … and up 13 percent from a median net worth of $2.27  million in 2008 . … Fully 36 Senate Democrats, and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million  in 2010.  The same was true for 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats.”

“The vast majority of members of Congress are quite comfortable, financially , while many of their own constituents suffer from economic hardships,” said Sheila Krumholz at the Center For Responsive Politics.   “Few Americans enjoy the same financial cushions maintained by most members of Congress — or the same access to market-altering information that could yield personal, financial gains.”