List of presidents of the United States by net worth
The peak wealth of presidents of the United States has varied considerably. Debt and depreciation often meant that presidents had negative net worth when they died.[1] Most presidents before 1845 were extremely wealthy, including Andrew Jackson, who was born into poverty,[2] and George Washington. Many of these early presidents were landowners, and some of them owned plantations, including slaves.[3][4]
Presidents since 1929, when Herbert Hoover took office, have generally been wealthier than before; all except Harry Truman were millionaires. These presidents have often received income from autobiographies and other writing;[5] other than John F. Kennedy (who died in office in 1963), all presidents beginning with Calvin Coolidge have written autobiographies. In addition, many presidents, including Bill Clinton, had considerable income from public speaking after leaving office.[6][7]
The richest president in history is Donald Trump, who is the first billionaire president.[8][9] His net worth, however, is not known precisely because The Trump Organization is privately held.[8][9] By estimate, Trump is wealthier than all former presidents combined.[10][11]
Harry Truman was the poorest president, with a net worth considerably less than $1 million. The presidential pension was created in 1958, when former President Harry Truman was experiencing financial trouble.[12] His financial state contributed to the doubling of the presidential salary to $100,000 in 1949.[13] Harry S and Bess Truman received the first Medicare Cards in 1966 via the Social Security Act of 1965.[14]
List of presidents by net worth
The figures in the table below are all from 24/7 Wall St.'s 2016 valuation of each president's peak net worth, which can be after they left office.[15] To allow direct comparison, all of the figures have been adjusted for inflation to 2016 dollars.
Name | Net worth (in mil. of 2019 US$)[15] |
Political party[16] | Years in office | Lifespan |
---|---|---|---|---|
Donald Trump | 3,100[nb 1][17][18] | Republican | 2017–present | born 1946 |
George Washington | 587 | None/ Independent | 1789–1797 | 1732–1799 |
Thomas Jefferson | 236 | Democratic-Republican | 1801–1809 | 1743–1826 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 139 | Republican | 1901–1909 | 1858–1919 |
Andrew Jackson | 132 | Democratic | 1829–1837 | 1767–1845 |
James Madison | 113 | Democratic-Republican | 1809–1817 | 1751–1836 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 109 | Democratic | 1963–1969 | 1908–1973 |
Herbert Hoover | 83 | Republican | 1929–1933 | 1874–1964 |
Bill Clinton | 75 | Democratic | 1993–2001 | born 1946 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 66 | Democratic | 1933–1945 | 1882–1945 |
John Tyler | 57 | Whig / None | 1841–1845 | 1790–1862 |
Barack Obama | 40 | Democratic | 2009–2017 | born 1961 |
George W. Bush | 39 | Republican | 2001–2009 | born 1946 |
James Monroe | 30 | Democratic-Republican | 1817–1825 | 1758–1831 |
Martin Van Buren | 29 | Democratic | 1837–1841 | 1782–1862 |
Grover Cleveland | 28 | Democratic | 1885–1889 1893–1897 |
1837–1908 |
George H. W. Bush | 26 | Republican | 1989–1993 | 1924–2018 |
John Quincy Adams | 23 | Democratic-Republican | 1825–1829 | 1767–1848 |
John Adams | 21 | Federalist | 1797–1801 | 1735–1826 |
Richard Nixon | 17 | Republican | 1969–1974 | 1913–1994 |
Ronald Reagan | 14 | Republican | 1981–1989 | 1911–2004 |
James K. Polk | 11 | Democratic | 1845–1849 | 1795–1849 |
John F. Kennedy | 10[nb 2] | Democratic | 1961–1963 | 1917–1963 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 9 | Republican | 1953–1961 | 1890–1969 |
Gerald Ford | 8 | Republican | 1974–1977 | 1913–2006 |
Jimmy Carter | 8 | Democratic | 1977–1981 | born 1924 |
Zachary Taylor | 7 | Whig | 1849–1850 | 1784–1850 |
William Henry Harrison | 6 | Whig | 1841–1841 | 1773–1841 |
Benjamin Harrison | 6 | Republican | 1889–1893 | 1833–1901 |
Millard Fillmore | 4 | Whig | 1850–1853 | 1800–1874 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 3 | Republican | 1877–1881 | 1822–1893 |
William Howard Taft | 3 | Republican | 1909–1913 | 1857–1930 |
Franklin Pierce | 2 | Democratic | 1853–1857 | 1804–1869 |
William McKinley | 1 | Republican | 1897–1901 | 1843–1901 |
Warren G. Harding | 1 | Republican | 1921–1923 | 1865–1923 |
James Buchanan | <1 | Democratic | 1857–1861 | 1791–1868 |
Abraham Lincoln | <1 | Republican / National Union | 1861–1865 | 1809–1865 |
Andrew Johnson | <1 | National Union / Democratic | 1865–1869 | 1808–1875 |
Ulysses S. Grant | <1 | Republican | 1869–1877 | 1822–1885 |
James A. Garfield | <1 | Republican | 1881–1881 | 1831–1881 |
Chester A. Arthur | <1 | Republican | 1881–1885 | 1829–1886 |
Woodrow Wilson | <1 | Democratic | 1913–1921 | 1856–1924 |
Calvin Coolidge | <1 | Republican | 1923–1929 | 1872–1933 |
Harry S. Truman | <1 | Democratic | 1945–1953 | 1884–1972 |
See also
Notes
- ^ While Trump has claimed to have as much as $10 billion, his financial disclosure and campaign statements vary, and Forbes estimates his net worth to be only $3.1 billion as of 2016.[15]
- ^ "Although he never inherited his father’s fortune, the Kennedy family estate was worth nearly $2 billion. His own personal net worth at the time is calculated to be around $10 million."[15]
References
- ^ Wilson, Gaye. "Monticello Was among the Prizes in a Lottery for a Ruined Jefferson's Relief". www.history.org. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ "Andrew Jackson". HISTORY.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ "Heritage Auctions Newsletter: George Washington, Landowner". Historical.ha.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ "How many presidents owned slaves?". Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Giving, by Bill Clinton". Ontheissues.org. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ McIntyre, Mike (5 April 2008). "Clintons Made $109 Million in Last 8 Years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ Tonner, Andrew (Nov 20, 2016). "The 10 Richest U.S. Presidents -- The Motley Fool". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ a b Rebecca Seales, Eight ways President Donald Trump will make history Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (January 21, 2017).
- ^ a b Leada Gore, Donald Trump's net worth as he takes office and Barack Obama's as he leaves Archived 2018-01-09 at the Wayback Machine, AL.com (January 19, 2017).
- ^ "Donald Trump is richer than all the presidents combined". Retrieved 2017-04-06.
- ^ "Donald Trump is Richer than Every U.S. President Combined". Money. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
- ^ Isidore, Chris (2017-01-20). "Here's how much Obama's pension is worth". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
- ^ "The 8 poorest US presidents". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
- ^ "A brief history of Medicare in America". medicareresources.org. 2019-05-01. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ a b c d "The Net Worth of the American Presidents: Washington to Trump". 24/7 Wall St. 247wallst.com. November 10, 2016. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ "Presidential Purses - TIME". Time.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ "Donald Trump". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ "The Definitive Net Worth Of Donald Trump". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2017-03-24.