Credit: Associated Press
There’s no doubt about it: being the U.S. president is a hard and often thankless job. Richard Nixon famously said, “Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the Presidency.”
But being president also has amazing perks (Air Force One!), and most presidents have been financially well-off. In fact, the average net worth of a U.S. president ($62 million) is more than 200 times the average net worth of a U.S. adult ($301,000). It pays to be president.
Using the most recent data from 24/7 Wall St., InsideGov ranked every U.S. president by net worth, from lowest to highest. 24/7 Wall St. relied primarily on historical records to value each president’s assets and adjusted all numbers for inflation. They included factors such as land and property, income, inheritance, and book royalties in their calculation.
Overall, presidential wealth has gone through several notable trends. Many of the earlier presidents made their fortunes before entering the White House, largely through land speculation. In contrast, many of the modern presidents came into office modestly wealthy, but significantly boosted their finances through subsequent book deals and public speaking.
The Poorest Presidents: #43-35
Net Worth: <$1 million
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
James Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Woodrow Wilson
Calvin Coolidge
Harry S. Truman
This group of nine won the presidency but never found significant wealth. Interestingly, six of these poorest presidents served in the period between 1857-1881. Clearly, the years before and after the Civil War were a tough time to be Commander-in-Chief.
See more:
http://us-presidents.insidegov.com/stories/5025/richest-us-presidents?utm_medium=social.paid&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=ao.sp.fb.dt.9913#2-Warren-G-Harding
*Note: the rankings are 1-43 because Grover Cleveland was president twice. All values are expressed in 2010 dollars and adjusted for inflation
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