Three Lawmakers Have S. Africa Ties : Sen. Wilson’s Assets Top $1 Million, Report Shows

WASHINGTON —  California Sen. Pete Wilson, who three years ago reported only about $20,000 to his name, joined the growing list of his congressional colleagues whose assets topped $1 million last year, according to annual financial disclosure reports for senators and representatives released Monday.

The reports, which require federal lawmakers to catalogue in rough terms their assets, income sources and liabilities, also revealed that at least three of California’s most liberal Democratic congressmen--Mel Levine of Santa Monica, Vic Fazio of Sacramento and Barbara Boxer of Greenbrae--had holdings in companies that conduct business with South Africa. Black groups protesting the white-controlled Pretoria government’s racial separation policies have urged a boycott of such American companies.

Wilson’s new wealth has more to do with the ups and downs of his private life than his business acumen, however. When the former San Diego mayor was elected as a Republican senator in 1982, he was newly divorced from his first wife, Betty, to whom he turned over the family home and most of his other assets. Wilson, meanwhile, was left with an old Mercury automobile and a handful of other possessions.

Marriage Brings House

The following year, however, he married the former Gayle Graham, who brought a house and a considerable amount of stocks to Wilson.

Although a Wilson aide acknowledged that the senator’s family assets may top $1 million, he pegged Wilson’s net worth--a truer indicator of millionaire status--at about $850,000.

Like Wilson, Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston also is toying with the million-dollar mark, listing holdings the value of which could range from $812,000 to $1.1 million. Because the reporting requirements are vague, most lawmakers detailed their assets in wide ranges of dollars rather than in precise terms. Cranston, who has considerable real estate holdings throughout California, listed income sources that earned him $122,000 to $219,000 last year.

Other reports released Monday showed several other senators clearly to be in the money. At least 17 listed assets of more than $1 million. Sens. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) and John C. Danforth (R-Mo.) topped the $5-million mark, with Democratic Sens. John Glenn of Ohio, Dennis DeConcini of Arizona and John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV of West Virginia next in line with more than $4 million in holdings.

Can Be Misleading

However, the listings can be a bit misleading. Although Rockefeller did not top Monday’s list, Forbes magazine has estimated his fortune at $150 million and he is widely considered to be the wealthiest man in Congress.

Levine listed stock holdings in Colgate-Palmolive valued at between $15,001 and $50,000. The firm, best known for its toiletry products, has more than $18 million invested in South Africa, according to the American Committee on Africa and the Pacific Northwest Research Center, two anti-apartheid groups that have compiled statistics on U.S. corporate investments in South Africa.

‘I Will Sell It’

“I did not realize it and, frankly, if that’s the case, I will sell it,” Levine said in a telephone interview. “This is something I have owned for a long time. . . . I haven’t paid much attention to it.”

Fazio and Boxer showed small amounts of interest or dividend income in other companies that invest in South Africa. Chris Humes, Fazio’s administrative assistant, said that the congressman realized only two weeks ago that the companies do business with South Africa and is considering whether to divest. Neither Boxer nor her aides could be reached for comment.

Although many California lawmakers earned thousands of dollars in fees last year for speaking to business, political and citizens groups, Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne) probably netted the most unusual assignment. His disclosure report indicates that he earned $2,000 for addressing a group representing In-N-Out Burger. The report did not say where the speech took place.