The file

Bernie Sanders

Independent · U.S. Senator, Vermont · Vermont · Spectrum score -64

Senate · Progressive ·

Bernie Sanders is U.S. Senator, Vermont in Vermont. Political positions and ideology score -64 (Far left). Sanders did not sell out to Goldman.

College: University of Chicago, B.A. 1964
Spouse: Jane O'Meara Sanders (m. 1988). Previously Deborah Shiling (div.)
Children: One — Levi; three stepchildren
Résumé: U.S. Senator · Vermont · 2007–
U.S. Representative · Vermont at-large · 1991–2007
Mayor · Burlington, Vermont · 1981–1989

Net worth: $3.0M
Salary: $174,000
Before office: $350K
2026 raised: $4.2M
Years in office: 45

Where Bernie stands on the spectrum

Bernie Sanders scores -64 on Spectrum’s left–right line (far left), left of center on the economy and progressive on social issues. The number is modeled from twelve issue positions and the public record — not a poll and not a party label.

Composite -64 · Far left · economic -88 · social -60 · authoritarian -31

Confidence 94. How we calculate scores →

Background & record

Sanders did not sell out to Goldman. He sold books to the people who already agreed with him. The file MSM flattens: a genuine voting record plus a family educational venture that failed, plus a small-dollar machine that is also a media company. The houses are a footnote. The apparatus is the story.

Finances

Modeled midpoints from public disclosures — not an audit of any household.

Net worth

$3.0M

+757% since taking office

Senate disclosure + books, 2024

Before office$350K

Now$3.0M

Three properties and million-dollar book years after 2016. The number shocks only if you ignored the bestseller.

Money in · 2026 cycle

Raised: $4.2M
Cash on hand: $2.1M

Top industries

Small-dollar
Unions
Publishing

Stock holdings

Index / retirement funds

The gotcha is the lake house. The file is index funds and book royalties, not a trading desk.

Senate disclosure, 2024 · STOCK Act ranges, not an audit

VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market
Joint
$250K–$1.0M
VXUS
Vanguard Total International
Joint
$75K–$300K

Ticker	Name	Owner	Range
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market	Joint	$250K–$1.0M
VXUS	Vanguard Total International	Joint	$75K–$300K

Sum of ranges $325K–$1.3M · midpoint $813K

X sentiment

Last 7 days

Odds

Polymarket · Kalshi

Implied probability from open contracts. Real money, not a poll. Updates while you sit here.

Live wire

Live · checked just now

New articles land here as they publish. Checking about every 12 seconds.

Conflicts

Millionaire socialist is a gotcha; the better question is the book advance as a political instrument.
Wife Jane’s Burlington College collapse — a local scandal that national fans never absorbed.

Issue detail

−100 left pole · +100 right pole

Economic: -88
Social: -60
Authoritarian: -31
Confidence: 94

Taxes & spending-88
Higher taxes on high earners, larger public budget
Health care-92
Public or single-payer coverage as a right — Medicare for All is the through-line of three presidential campaigns.
Climate & energy-82
Aggressive climate rules and fossil-fuel phase-down
Business regulation-86
Stronger antitrust, labor, and consumer rules
Labor & wages-90
Unions, higher minimum wage, worker power — The most consistent pro-union vote in the Senate.
Immigration-58
A broader legal path, less interior enforcement
Abortion-78
Legal access, opposed to bans
Guns-72
Licensing, assault-weapon limits, red-flag laws
Crime & policing-52
Reform, diversion, less incarceration
Schools & speech-74
Public-school investment, DEI frameworks
Defense & alliances-48
Diplomacy-first, smaller overseas footprint
Civil liberties-28
Privacy, speech, limits on surveillance and bans

Legislative first dimension (NOMINATE-like): -0.53

Compass

Auth · leftAuth · rightLib · leftLib · rightAuthoritarianLibertarianEconomic leftEconomic right

Sources

DW-NOMINATE ~−0.53
GovTrack ideology
Wealth and fundraising are modeled midpoints from public disclosures — not an audit.
College, family, and résumé are public-record facts, not a campaign bio.