Financial Reports Point Out High Court’s High Rollers

WASHINGTON — The nine Supreme Court justices are richer than all but a small percentage of Americans, with at least five millionaires among them.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the wealthiest member of the high court, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday. She has held that honor in past years as well. She’s worth from $7.7 million to $33.7 million.

Justice Clarence Thomas, as in the past, is worth the least on paper. He reported holdings of $150,000 to $410,000, not counting his home in Virginia.

Thomas noted that a family friend gave him a Bible that once was owned by Frederick Douglass, worth an estimated $19,000. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, gave him a bust of Abraham Lincoln worth about $15,000.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist earns about $192,000 annually; the other justices make about $184,000. They are appointed for life. The new reports cover 2001.

Like many other government employees, the justices must account publicly for income beyond their salaries and list stocks or other holdings that potentially could influence them on the job.