These 8 senators each earned more than $100,000 from writing books last year

• For senators with a national profile, writing books remains lucrative.

• In 2023, eight senators earned more than $100,000 in royalties, according to financial reports.

• These include Democrats like Raphael Warnock and Republicans like Ted Cruz.

If you’re an ambitious congressman with national profile, there’s a proven way to make some extra money: write a book.

According to recently filed financial reports, eight incumbent U.S. senators earned more than $100,000 in additional income from book royalties in 2023, in addition to their $174,000 annual salary.

This trend continues. Last year, six senators earned more than their annual salary from book royalties.

These include both Democrats and Republicans, all of whom have capitalized on a mix of personal biographies, policy blueprints and political manifestos they have published in recent years.

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia

Raphael Warnock, the first-term Democratic senator from Georgia, earned more than $460,000 in book royalties last year.

That’s in addition to more than $655,000 in 2022 and almost $244,000 in 2021. In total, Warnock has earned more than $1.3 million from book sales since his election to the Senate.

According to a disclosure Warnock filed last year for 2022, the senator has even went on a reading tour for his 2022 memoirs, “A Way Out of No Way” in June and July of that year, in the midst of his hard-fought re-election campaign against Republican Herschel Walker.

In his latest disclosure, Warnock stated that he has signed a new deal with Penguin Random House in June 2023 to write two more books titled “We’re All In This Together 1” and “We’re All In This Together 2.”

There is little public information about these upcoming books, including their expected release date. A spokesperson for Warnock did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Senator Ted Cruz from Texas

Ted Cruz, the Texas senator and 2016 Republican presidential candidate who is known as the host of a thrice-weekly podcast, earned $390,000 in book royalties last year.

But that is only part of a much larger financial windfall that Cruz will receive for his book.

In January 2022, Cruz signed a deal with right-wing publisher Regnery Publishing to write two books for a total of $1.1 million, to be paid in four installments. In total, Cruz has received $890,000 of that amount so far.

These books include Justice Corrupted: How the Left Weaponized Our Legal System, published in 2022, and his 2023 book Unwoke: How to Defeat Culture Marxism in America.

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas

In 2022, Cotton published his second book, “Only the Strong: Reversing the Left’s Plan to Sabotage American Power.” Since then, he has received a total of $600,000 in book royalties – $300,000 in both 2022 and 2023.

But while Most senators seem to receive their book royalties directly, but Cotton does it differently. He has set up a limited liability company called TBC Books (Cotton’s full name is “Thomas Bryant Cotton”), who License revenue. Then he withdraws money from that unit at his discretion.

In 2023, he withdrew $100,000. In 2022, he withdrew $73,537.

It’s unclear why Cotton is using an LLC rather than receiving royalties directly. A spokesperson did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Senator Katie Britt of Alabama

Britt, the young senator from Alabama best known for her response to the 2024 State of the Union address, earned $233,750 in book royalties last year for her 2023 memoir.God calls us to do difficult things: lessons from the Alabama Wiregrass.”

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky

Paul, the staunch libertarian senator from Kentucky and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, earned $185,000 in book royalties last year for his 2023 book,Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up.”

Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont

Sanders, the independent socialist senator from Vermont and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, earned $148,750 in royalties from Penguin Random House last year.

The Vermont senator has published several books, his most recent being “It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.” In 2022, he earned enough royalties to practically double his Senate salary.

“I wrote a bestseller,” Sanders said memorably told the New York Times in 2019“If you write a bestseller, you too can become a millionaire.”

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri

According to his most recent financial disclosure, Hawley earned $127,500 in book royalties in 2023.

This is probably an unexpected success of his 2023 book “Manhood,” in which he argues, among other things, that the political left is waging an attack on traditional masculinity.

But Hawley has another book in the works, as Business Insider first reported in May.

In October 2023, the Missouri Senator signed an agreement with Regnery Publishing to publish a book entitled ““The Revivals: The Religious Awakenings That Shaped America—and Why We Need Another.”

It is unclear when the book will be published, but Regnery says a manuscript is expected in January 2025.

In 2021, Hawley earned $467,000 in book royalties.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia

Kaine, Senator from Virginia and Democratic candidate for Vice President in 2016, earned $114,000 in book royalties last year for his memoir, “Walking, driving, paddling: a life outdoors.”

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