Investing billionaire Herbert “Herbie” Wertheim, 86, will run for Congress as a Republican in an attempt to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel in Palm Beach County Florida, he told local news site Stet News Monday, and if he wins he would be the oldest congressional freshmen ever.
Wertheim, a Trump supporter with a net worth of $3.7 billion, told the local outlet he’s already poured $2.5 million into his own campaign, well over the $1.36 million Frankel, 77, raised as of the end of 2025.
Wertheim is the eighth Republican who has said they’ll throw their hat in the ring for the Congressional election in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, which includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, of which Wertheim is reportedly a member.
While Florida plans to redraw district maps at a special session later this month, the district is solidly Democratic-leaning, and Frankel defeated Republican Dan Franzese by a margin of 55% to 45% in the last two elections.
Wertheim is the only billionaire to have declared his intentions to run for Congress in 2026.
Wertheim will be 87 at the time of the election and, if he wins, he’ll become one of the oldest sitting Congress members behind Sen. Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) who will be 93 in September, and Reps. Maxine Waters (D-California) and Hal Rogers (R-Kentucky), who will turn both 88 this year.
He would also be the oldest person ever elected to Congress for the first time, beating William Lewis, 79, a Republican from Kentucky, who won a special election to the House in 1948 before dying in 1949.“I promise if elected I won’t go past 105,” Wertheim told Stet News of his age. “All original equipment. No spare parts.”$117.65 million. That’s the combined value of Wertheim’s three Palm Beach County homes. He bought a $61.75 million estate in Manalapan, Florida, last year, which sits about a mile from Larry Ellison's $173 million property on the same road. He also owns a Palm Beach mansion he purchased in 2024 for $38 million and a 6,000-square-foot condo in Palm Beach's Palazzo Villas he bought for $17.9 million in early 2023.In February, Wertheim bid $2 million at a charity gala for a private visit to the White House to meet with Trump.Wertheim is worth an estimated $3.7 billion as of Monday, making him the 1,133rd richest person in the world. He founded Brain Power Inc., an optical manufacturing company that makes tints for eyeglasses, and has been investing his profits in the stock market since 1970. He's signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate much of his fortune, and his philanthropy is focused on health care. He donated $65 million to Florida State University’s newly named Herbert Wertheim College of Business in December. In March, he pledged $1 million toward Nancy Brinker’s Promise Fund to expand medical care for women across South Florida.A Democrat has won the House seat in the 22nd district in eight of the last 10 elections, with the exception of 2010 and 2012, when Republican Allen West held the seat. Frankel won her first election to the House in 2012 and has served ever since, though her district has changed due to redistricting in the state. In 2020, she defeated far-right activist Laura Loomer to retain her seat despite Loomer winning Trump’s endorsement. Frankel defeated Republican challenger Dan Franzese in the last two elections. Two Democrats, Ian Blake and Victoria Doyle, will challenge Frankel in the Florida primary in August. Eight Republicans, including Wertheim, are vying for their party's nomination
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