(NewsNation) — How rich are presidential candidatesJoe BidenandDonald Trump? The numbers have been debated, as the2024 electionsparks an interest in thenet worthof candidates.
Net worthis the value of the assets a person owns minus the liabilities they owe. Here’s a closer look at Biden and Trump’s current net worth, and their worth before and after their time in the White House:
Donald Trump’s net worth
Trump is worth over $7 billion, making him among the world’s richest 500 people. Trump’s riches can be attributed to his Truth Social parent company, real estate, clubs and resorts, and other assets.
Truth Social’s parent company rakes in $5.6 billion for Trump. Hemet the requirementto receive up to 36 million additional shares of Trump Media, worth $1.17 billion. Trump’s real estate assets, including Trump Tower, three Florida homes and Trump International Hotel Las Vegas equate to $1.1 billion. His clubs and resorts, including Mar-a-Lago, 10 golf courses across six states, his Miami resort and three European golf properties, have a value of $810 million.
According to Forbes estimates, Trump has more than $410 million in cash/liquid assets and $100 million in other assets. In aTruth Social postin March, Trump told his supporters he has nearly $500 million in cash.
However, Trump’s legal liabilities put a dent in his net worth with Forbes saying Trump’s legal liabilities come out at -$540 million. In February, a judge ordered Trump to pay a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling Trump inflated the value of his assets. Trump’s lawyers appealed the ruling.
Trump’s net worth before the presidency
Trump said he got his start in business when his father, a prominent real-estate developer, gave him an alleged $1 million loan.
“My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars,” hetold NBC during a 2015 town hall. “A million dollars isn’t very much compared to what I built.”
With the help from his father, Trump became a luxury real estate developer and investor. He alsostarted building his personal brandin the 1980s, publishing books like “The Art of the Deal” and hosting “The Apprentice” on TV before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump dropped off the Forbes 400 List from 1990 to 1995. According to Forbes research, in the 10 years prior to Trump becoming president, he averaged a net worth of $3.13 billion annually. His highest net worth before the 2016 election came in at $4.5 billion in 2015. In that ten-year window, $2 billion marked the lowest annual net worth for Trump.
Trump’s net worth during the presidency
Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016. On Jan. 20, 2017, Trump was inaugurated. On Jan. 20, 2021, Trump officially left office.
Bloomberg reportsthe presidency cost Trump $700 million, pointing to a fallout with brokers and lenders over the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and the impacts of the pandemic on office buildings.
From2017to 2021, Trump averaged a net worth of $2.86 billion each year. His highest annual net worth during the presidency was $3.1 billion in 2017, 2018 and 2019. His lowest annual net worth was $2.5 billion in both 2020 and 2021.
Joe Biden’s net worth
The president and first lady earned $620,000 before taxes last year, according totheir 2023 tax returnreleased by the White House. As Forbes puts it, the Bidens’ annual income is “about how much the Girl Scouts of Greater New York pay Trump in annual rent for their office” on Wall Street.
While 2023 marked a good financial year for the Bidens, it didn’t make much of a dent in their net worth.Joe and Jill Biden’s fortune now stands at about $10 million.
Biden’s net worth before presidency
Biden served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017. While the current annual salary for vice president is $230,700, Biden was paid about $225,000. Before his time on Pennsylvania Avenue, Biden worked as an attorney who becameDelaware’s longest-serving senator.
He graduated from Syracuse University Law School in 1968 and initially took a job with a corporate law firm but soonbecame a public defender. Biden got his first taste of the political world in 1970 when he won a seat on the New Castle County Council.
At age 29, Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, making him one of the youngest people ever elected to the Senate.Biden referred to himself as “one of the poorest members” of Congress. In the years leading up to being vice president, Biden earned around $155,000 each year as a senator and another $20,000 for teaching at Widener University.
When he left public office in 2017, his estimated worth was $2.5 million, with the majorityof his net worth coming from his Delaware home and his federal pension, whichreportedlyguaranteed him an annual income of around $160,000 for life. As the former vice president, Biden worked as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and started writing books and booking speaking engagements.
In late 2017 and 2018, Bidenearned more than $4 millionfrom delivering dozens of speeches. Also in 2017, Biden and his wife signed a book deal valued at areported $8 million.
Biden’s net worth during the presidency
Thepresident was reportedly worth $8 millionwhen he landed in the Oval following the 2020 election. His wealth has grown by roughly 25% since his 2021 inauguration, thanks to his presidential salary, real estate and the stock market increasing the value of some of his investments.
According to the Biden’s 2023 tax return, Joe Biden made $400,000 for being president and Jill Biden made $86,000 as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
Most of the Bidens’ net worth, an estimated $7 million of their $10 million, comes from their two Delaware homes. The couple’s 4,800-square-footsummer home in Rehoboth Beachis worth an estimated $4.5 million. They bought it in 2017 for $2.7 million. Their colonial-style home in Wilmington is worth around $2.5 million. Forbes says the rest of the Bidens’ wealth is split between pensions and holdings likeBiden’s 1967 Corvette Stingraythat’s worth $100,000.
How Trump and Biden’s net worth stack up to past presidents
While Trump is worth more than$6.4 billionand Biden has a $10 million fortune, how do they compare to past commanders-in-chief? A2023 reportfeatured on Yahoo! Finance places Trump at the top of the list with Biden trailing near the middle.
Other presidentsreportedlyraked in the following net worth – Mostly due to millions of dollars from public speaking engagements and lucrative book deals, much like Biden:
- Bill Clinton: $120 million
- Barack Obama: $70 million
- George W. Bush: $50 million
- George H.W. Bush: $25 million
- Ronald Reagan: $13 million
- Gerald Ford: $7 million
In terms of 2024 candidates’ net worth, both Trump and Biden ranked in the top five. Trump led the way followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr, Biden then former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
