By Ashley C. Allen
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the
front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential ticket, according to most
political pundits. The presidential hopeful’s husband, former President Bill
Clinton, has made millions on lucrative book deals and more than $100 million
on the speaking circuit. Secretary Clinton has recently begun to earn that kind
of money as well.
Secretary Clinton received an estimated $14 million advance
on her new book last year, and she has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars
for each speaking engagement, figures that rival her husband’s. In all, the
couple’s net worth is estimated by 24/7 Wall St. to be $55 million, making it
one of the wealthiest presidential estates in history.
Like last year, the only currently living president who is
counted among of the wealthiest of all time is President Clinton.
President Barack Obama is not one of the richest presidents.
The president receives a salary of $400,000 a year as president, which, while
generous, isn’t even close to today’s top executives salaries. The President’s
annual income has actually dropped steadily since he entered office. In 2009,
the President’s adjusted gross income was $5.5 million. That figure fell to
less than $1 million in 2012. This is primarily due to a drop-off in revenue
from his prior book deals. 24/7 Wall St. estimates the President’s net worth to
be $7.5 million.
The net worth of the presidents varies widely. George
Washington’s estate was worth more than half a billion in today’s dollars. On
the other hand, several presidents went bankrupt.
The fortunes of America’s presidents are often tied to the
economy of their time. As the focus of the economy has changed, so has the way
the presidents made their money.
It is not surprising then to find that the first few
presidents — from Washington’s election to about 75 years later — were large
landowners. They generally made money from land, crops, and commodity
speculation. Of course, this left them highly vulnerable to poor crop yields,
and they could lose most or all of their properties because of a few bad years.
By 1850, the financial history of the presidency entered a
new era. Beginning with Millard Fillmore, most presidents were lawyers who
spent years in public service. They rarely amassed large fortunes and their
incomes often came almost entirely from their salaries.
These American presidents were distinctly middle class and
often retired without the means to support themselves in anyway resembling the
presidential lifestyle. Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, and Garfield
had modest net worths when they died.
At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th,
there was another significant change to the economy. Large, professionally
organized corporations in the oil, mining, financial, and railroad sectors
allowed individuals to amass large fortunes.
The Kennedys were wealthy because of the financial empire
built by Joseph Kennedy. Herbert Hoover made millions of dollars as the owner
of mining companies. Indeed, since the early 20th century, the fortunes of many
presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F.
Kennedy, and both of the Bushes were driven by inherited wealth.
The net worth figures for the 10 wealthiest presidents are
in 2010 dollars. Because several of the presidents, particularly in the early
19th century, made and lost huge fortunes in a matter of a few years, the net
worth of each president is for the peak time. The exception to the 2010 rule
are the presidents who are still living and have more recent earnings. In the
case of each president, we have taken into account hard assets such as land,
estimated lifetime savings based on work history, inheritance, and homes. Wages
considered were earned for services as varied as collector of customs at the
Port of New York to royalties on books, as well as ownership of companies and
yields from family estates.
Source: Huffington Post
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