List of United States Presidents by net worth

The wealth of Presidents of the United States has varied considerably, with one president (John F. Kennedy) possibly being a billionaire in 2010 dollars, while some others were not even millionaires.

Most U.S. Presidents before 1845 were extremely wealthy, including Andrew Jackson, who was born into poverty,[1] and George Washington, the richest of the period, but by no means were all early Presidents rich. Many of these early presidents were landowners, and some of them owned plantations, including their own slaves.[2][3] At the time of his death, Washington’s land, slaves, house, horses and personal belongings were worth about $525,000, estimated to be the equivalent of $1 billion today.[4]

The Presidents of the late 19th century and of the 1920s were generally not very wealthy, despite the widespread belief that their economic policies benefited the wealthy the most.[5][6][7] Many of these were born into poor or middle-class families and did not move up the economic ladder significantly during their lifetimes, even though a number of them served as generals in the U.S. Army.[8]

U.S. presidents since 1929 (when Herbert Hoover took office) have generally been wealthier than before; all except Harry Truman were millionaires, and John F. Kennedy, in 24/7 Wall St.'s valuation, was almost twice as wealthy as George Washington. These presidents have often received income from autobiographies and other writing;[9] other than John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush, all presidents beginning with Calvin Coolidge have written autobiographies. In addition, many presidents received considerable income from public speaking after retirement, such as Bill Clinton.[10]

As indicated in the table, four of the five richest U.S. presidents since 1929 were Democrats. The poorest U.S. president since 1929 (Harry Truman) was also a Democrat.[11]

George Washington, the wealthiest or second wealthiest U.S. President to date
Harry Truman, the poorest U.S. President since 1929
Widely considered one of the greatest U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln was also one of the poorest in terms of net worth
Current president Barack Obama ranks 21st in wealth.

The figures in the table below are all from 24/7 Wall St.'s 2010 valuation of each president's peak net worth, except for the lower figure for John F. Kennedy, which comes from the Christian Science Monitor. To allow direct comparison, all of the figures have been adjusted for inflation

Name Net worth (in millions of 2010 U.S. dollars)[11] Political party[11] Years in office Lifespan
Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy 125[12]–1,000[11] Democratic 1961–1963 1917–1963
Washington, GeorgeGeorge Washington 525 None 1789–1797 1732–1799
Jefferson, ThomasThomas Jefferson 212 Democratic-Republican 1801–1809 1743–1826
Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt 125 Republican 1901–1909 1858–1919
Jackson, AndrewAndrew Jackson 119 Democratic 1829–1837 1767–1845
Madison, JamesJames Madison 101 Democratic-Republican 1809–1817 1751–1836
Johnson, LyndonLyndon Johnson 98 Democratic 1963–1969 1908–1973
Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover 75 Republican 1929–1933 1874–1964
Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt 60 Democratic 1933–1945 1882–1945
Clinton, BillBill Clinton 55 Democratic 1993–2001 1946–present
Tyler, JohnJohn Tyler 51 Whig 1841–1845 1790–1862
Monroe, JamesJames Monroe 27 Democratic-Republican 1817–1825 1758–1831
Buren, Martin VanMartin Van Buren 26 Democratic 1837–1841 1782–1862
Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland 25 Democratic 1885–1889
1893–1897		 1837–1908
Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush 23 Republican 1989–1993 1924–present
Adams, John QuincyJohn Quincy Adams 21 Democratic-Republican 1825–1829 1767–1848
Bush, George W.George W. Bush 20 Republican 2001–2009 1946–present
Adams, JohnJohn Adams 19 Federalist 1797–1801 1735–1826
Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon 15 Republican 1969–1974 1913–1994
Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan 13 Republican 1981–1989 1911–2004
Obama, BarackBarack Obama 12 Democratic 2009–present 1961–present
Polk, James K.James K. Polk 10 Democratic 1845–1849 1795–1849
Eisenhower, DwightDwight Eisenhower 8 Republican 1953–1961 1890–1969
Ford, GeraldGerald Ford 7 Republican 1974–1977 1913–2006
Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter 7 Democratic 1977–1981 1924–present
Taylor, ZacharyZachary Taylor 6 Whig 1849–1850 1784–1850
Harrison, William HenryWilliam Henry Harrison 5 Whig 1841–1841 1773–1841
Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison 5 Republican 1889–1893 1833–1901
Fillmore, MillardMillard Fillmore 4 Whig 1850–1853 1800–1874
Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes 3 Republican 1877–1881 1822–1893
Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft 3 Republican 1909–1913 1857–1930
Pierce, FranklinFranklin Pierce 2 Democratic 1853–1857 1804–1869
McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley 1 Republican 1897–1901 1843–1901
Harding, Warren G.Warren G. Harding 1 Republican 1921–1923 1865–1923
Buchanan, JamesJames Buchanan <1 Democratic 1857–1861 1791–1868
Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln <1 Republican 1861–1865 1809–1865
Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson <1 National Union/Democratic 1865–1869 1808–1875
Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant <1 Republican 1869–1877 1822–1885
Garfield, JamesJames Garfield <1 Republican 1881–1881 1831–1881
Arthur, Chester A.Chester A. Arthur <1 Republican 1881–1885 1829–1886
Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson <1 Democratic 1913–1921 1856–1924
Coolidge, CalvinCalvin Coolidge <1 Republican 1923–1929 1872–1933
Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman <1 Democratic 1945–1953 1884–1972

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References

  1. ↑ Andrew Jackson — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts
  2. ↑ Historical News: George Washington, Landowner
  3. ↑ Which U.S. Presidents Owned Slaves?
  4. ↑ David Post, The Wealth of Presidents, The Georgetowner, February 7, 2012 (accessed 20 Jan. 2015)
  5. ↑ James Garfield (1831-1881)
  6. ↑ 30. Calvin Coolidge . . WGBH American Experience | PBS
  7. ↑ Calvin Coolidge: Why are Republicans so obsessed with him? - Slate Magazine
  8. ↑ Abraham Lincoln: Biography from Answers.com
  9. ↑ Giving, by Bill Clinton
  10. ↑ McIntyre, Mike (5 April 2008). "Clintons Made $109 Million in Last 8 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Presidential Purses - TIME". Time.
  12. ↑ The Net Worth Of The American Presidents: Washington to Obama, 24/7 Wall St.