The list of presidents of the United States by net worth at peak varies greatly. Debt and depreciation often means that presidents' net worth is less than $0 at the time of death. Most presidents before 1845 were extremely wealthy, especially Andrew Jackson and George Washington; their wealth was derived from extensive land holdings and slaves. There has never been a property qualification for the presidency or other federal offices, but, in the early years of the republic, there were property qualifications for voting or for some of the stepping-stone offices to the presidency, particularly governorships.
The two Roosevelts, John F. Kennedy, and Donald Trump were parties to extensive family fortunes. Several other presidents married into substantial fortunes. Presidents since 1929, when Herbert Hoover took office, have generally been wealthier than presidents of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Hoover was born into poverty but became a multimillionaire (perhaps $100 million in 2022 dollars) due to his mining interests. Lyndon B. Johnson was born quite poor, but he and his wife were ultimately millionaires (perhaps $100 million in today's money) due to the LBJ Holding Company owning radio and television stations and two banks, as well as owning the LBJ Ranch.
All presidents since 1929 have been millionaires. These presidents have often received income from autobiographies and other writing. Except for Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy (both of whom died while in office), all presidents beginning with Calvin Coolidge have written autobiographies. In addition, many presidents—including Bill Clinton—have earned considerable income from public speaking after leaving office.
Harry S. Truman claimed to struggle financially after his leaving of office, with a net worth considerably less than $1 million. His appeals to Congress contributed to the doubling of the presidential salary to $200,000 in 1949. In addition, the presidential pension was created in 1958 when Truman again said he was experiencing financial difficulties. Harry and Bess Truman received the first Medicare cards in 1966 via the Social Security Act of 1965. A 2021 investigation by Paul Campos showed that Truman was financially comfortable throughout his life, with an inflation-adjusted net worth of about $6.6 million after he left office, including $2 million that he misappropriated from an expense account at the beginning of his first full term.
List of presidents by peak net worth
The figures in the table below are all derived from 24/7 Wall St.'s 2016 valuation of each president's peak net worth. For purposes of 24/7 Wall St.'s valuation, a president's peak net worth may occur before or after that president has left office. To allow for a direct comparison, most of the figures have been adjusted for inflation to 2022 U.S. dollars except for the Donald Trump figure.
Name Net worth(millions of 2022 US$)Political party Years in office Lifespan 6,500 Republican 2017–20212025–presentborn 1946 None/Independent 1789–1797 1732–1799 （Democratic-）Republican 1801–1809 1743–1826 Democratic 1993–2001 born 1946 Republican1901–19091858–1919 Democratic 1829–1837 1767–1845 （Democratic-）Republican 1809–1817 1751–1836 Democratic 1963–1969 1908–1973 Republican 1929–1933 1874–1964John F. KennedyDemocratic1961–19631917–1963 Democratic 1933–1945 1882–1945
Democratic 2009–2017 born 1961 Whig/None 1841–1845 1790–1862
Republican 2001–2009 born 1946
（Democratic-）Republican 1817–1825 1758–1831
Democratic 1837–1841 1782–1862
Democratic 1885–18891893–1897 1837–1908
Republican 1989–1993 1924–2018
（Democratic-）Republican 1825–1829 1767–1848
Federalist 1797–1801 1735–1826
Republican 1969–1974 1913–1994
Republican 1981–1989 1911–2004
Democratic 1845–1849 1795–1849
Republican 1953–1961 1890–1969
Democratic 2021–2025 born 1942
Republican 1974–1977 1913–2006
Democratic 1977–1981 1924–2024
Whig 1849–1850 1784–1850
Whig 1841 1773–1841
Republican 1889–1893 1833–1901 6.6 Democratic 1945–1953 1884–1972
Whig 1850–1853 1800–1874
Republican 1877–1881 1822–1893
Republican 1909–1913 1857–1930
Democratic 1853–1857 1804–1869
Republican 1897–1901 1843–1901
Republican 1921–1923 1865–1923 <1 Democratic 1857–1861 1791–1868 <1 Republican/National Union 1861–1865 1809–1865 <1 Democratic/National Union 1865–1869 1808–1875 <1 Republican 1869–1877 1822–1885 <1 Republican 1881 1831–1881 <1 Republican 1881–1885 1829–1886 <1 Democratic 1913–1921 1856–1924 <1 Republican 1923–1929 1872–1933
See also List of richest American politicians
Notes
References 11. https://afrotech.com/how-barack-obama-increased-his-net-worth-to-70m-after-leaving-office/