When Jack Bergman is in Washington, he lives in a stately home on Capitol Hill. For years, that house was owned by one of the biggest donors to his campaigns.
A Detroit News investigation by Melissa Nann Burke found that Bergman rented the house from an entity managed by Kim Kiyosaki — the former wife and longtime business partner of Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and a Vietnam War buddy of Bergman's. Then, in February, Kim Kiyosaki sold the house to Bergman's daughter in what the paper called a "favorable seller-financed deal" — for $1.55 million, the same price it was bought for in 2022, on a land contract with all principal due in 2033. In other words, the donor didn't just sell her the house — she lent her the money to buy it.
Bergman still lives there. Now his rent goes to his daughter.
The donors
The Kiyosakis have given more than $257,000 to Bergman's campaign and affiliated committees since 2016, the Detroit News reported, according to a summary by Deadline Detroit.
Federal Election Commission records back that up. Searching FEC contribution records for the Kiyosaki name shows Kim and Robert Kiyosaki gave at least $197,400 to two Bergman committees between 2016 and 2024:
- $181,200 to the Bergman Victory Committee, his joint fundraising committee, some of which it passed on to his campaign
- $16,200 directly to his campaign, Bergmanforcongress
Why the daughter matters
Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog, told the Detroit News the sale to Bergman's daughter might have been an attempt to sidestep congressional ethics rules. "It seems like it's potentially structured to transfer something of value to the congressman's family, while sidestepping the ethics rules," he said.
Whatever the paperwork says, the result for Bergman is the same: he keeps living in the house his donor owned, and that donor is now his daughter's lender.
What Bergman says
Bergman's spokesman, James Hogge, said: "General Bergman pays fair market value for his rent, which was established by the previous owners, and is in full compliance with House Ethics."
Note what that statement says: the rent was set by the donor who owned the house. The statement doesn't say what the rent is, and Bergman gave the paper no documentation of the monthly rent, so there's no way to check whether it's fair.
Not the first ethics question
This isn't Bergman's first brush with ethics complaints this year. Two of his own constituents filed a complaint after it came out that his top aides run a political consulting business on the side.
What the record shows
For years, Jack Bergman rented a Capitol Hill house owned by an entity run by Kim Kiyosaki, who with her former husband has given his campaigns more than $257,000 since 2016 — at least $197,400 of it visible in FEC records for two Bergman committees. This year she sold the house to Bergman's daughter and financed the sale herself, and Bergman still lives there. A Campaign Legal Center expert said the deal may have been an attempt to get around House ethics rules; Bergman's office says he pays fair market rent, set by the previous owners.
