The Wealth of U.S. Presidents
Many Americans are upset at the fact that our current president, Donald Trump, has refused to release his tax returns for the past 2 years that he has been in office. It is the norm for our president’s to release this information and have transparency with the American people, especially when it comes to their wealth. Well, this presidency is nothing like the political norm we’re used to.
Just today the House passed a bill that requires presidents to disclose their tax returns. This bill will have to then be passed by the Senate to then become law. I won’t hold my breath on that happening as long as it is controlled by Republicans. But back to discussing the wealth of presidents, and not just the 45th’s…
While it is no surprise that President Trump’s *alleged* net worth of $3.7 billion is the highest of all of the presidents that have held office, it may surprise you to see who came in second…
That’s right our very first president, George Washington, had the highest net worth after Trump. George Washington didn’t get rich from office, but from his many business ventures which included soldier, farmer, brewer, entrepreneur, and statesmen. Part of his wealth can also be attributed to marrying Martha, who was a widow with a great deal of wealth herself.
Among the wealthiest presidents were the founding fathers, as well as some of the most popular presidents in our history, like Teddy Roosevelt, who’s net worth was calculated to be $138 million (in 2016 dollars).
In the early days, being President was a job that was considered for every man, not just the rich and powerful as it has shown to be the past few decades. Lawyers, and even soldiers, were common jobs for those elected President. Unfortunately these Presidents were also more likely to end up in the bottom when it comes to net worth.
Nine out of our 44 Presidents did not reach millionaire status during their life, with Harry Truman coming in as the poorest president in our history. Truman was poor for most of his life having been a failed businessman with many debts. After leaving office, he and his wife struggled financially and because of this the presidential salary was doubled from $100k to $200k. Truman and his wife were also the first official recipients of Medicare after LBJ passed it into law in 1965.
You can find the infographic of the full list of president and their net worth and salaries here. Are you surprised to see which presidents came out on top?