Joe Biden Net Worth

Four years older than Trump, at 80, Joe Biden is the oldest US president. He was a representative of the state of Delaware for 36 years in the US Senate and the 47th vice president of the United States, for eight years in the Barack Obama Administration.

What is Joe Biden’s net worth?

At the time this article is written the American politician Joe Biden has a net worth of $9 million.

Key facts

Joe Biden earns anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000 per speech
He was consistently one of the poorest members of the Senate
As a college professor, Jill Biden makes $100,000 per year
In 2016, when he left the White House, Joe Biden had a net worth of $1.5 million
In 2017 Joe Biden earned $11 million mainly from book advances

Joe’s childhood and teenage years

Joseph Robinette “Joe” Biden, was born on November 20, 1942, in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a middle-class, Roman Catholic family that, although wealthy, struggled with a series of problems.

The oldest of four children, Biden grew up as part of the middle class after his family moved to Delaware, settling in the town of Wilmington, where his father made a career out of selling used cars.

He played football and baseball at a Catholic high school where he was head of the class for the last two despite being poor. He then attended the University of Delaware and earned his law degree from Syracuse University in New York.

Political career

At the beginning of his career, Biden practiced law, then, at the age of 29, he became the fifth youngest American senator elected in the nation’s history.

Joe Biden was re-elected senator in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008. Practically, his mandate included the period from January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009, when he resigned to take over the mandate of vice president of the United States.

On January 20, 2009, Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. For his part, in a separate ceremony, Joe Biden was sworn in as US Vice President, becoming the 47th Vice President. Joe Biden was re-elected as Vice President on December 17, 2012. His term began on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017.

Throughout his career, Biden has been at the forefront of legislation related to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and in post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia, he has fought for tougher penalties for violence against women and played a role in ending the war in Iraq, making eight visits to the area to mark its formal end.

Presidential salary

The President of the United States, Joe Biden has a base salary of $400,000, according to the Title 3 of the US code. Also, he is entitled to a $19,000 annual entertainment stipend, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and a $50,000 annual expense account.

The Bidens were granted $100,000 to be used for redecorating before moving into the White House.

Tax returns

In recent years, the Bidens had the following earnings, according to Joe’s tax returns:

2016: $400,000
2017: $11 million
2018: $4.6 million
2019: $944,737

Financial background

With a net worth of less than $500,000 for a long time before becoming Vice President, Joe Biden was describing himself as “middle-class Joe” or one of the “poorest” members of congress.

Between 1998 and 2009, Joe Biden and his wife, Jill had an average annual income of around $215,000 per year. In 2009 they got a boost of $55,000 from Social Security payments and pensions. Their total income had increased to around $390,000 per year by the time they reached their final years as Vice President and Second Lady.

Joe Biden had a net worth of $1.5 million by the time his term as Vice President was over.

After he left the White House, Joe Biden earned most of his money from book royalties and speeches, peaking at an income of $11 million in 2017. Joe and Jill Biden earned almost $17 million between 2016 and 2019.

Earning from book deals

Joe Biden and his wife Jill signed a $10 million, three-book agreement after they left the office of the Vice President. Joe Biden promoted his book “Promise Me, Dad”, which is about his son’s death, with a tour. This tour had more than forty stops and the cost for a basic ticket was $25, while for a VIP ticket, which included a photo with Biden, you would have to pay $450.

Earnings from speeches

Joe and Jill Biden made a minimum of $15 million from book deals and speaking engagements after they left the White House. Biden became one of the most sought-after public speakers, making hundreds of thousands of dollars for each speech. For instance, in 2018 he earned $190,000 for one speech at Drew University in New Jersey. Between 2017 and 2018 Joe had forty speeches, earning five-figure or six-figure paydays for each speech.

Rental earnings

According to federal financial disclosures, during his time as Vice President, Joe Biden earned $2,200 per month by renting out their guest house to members of the Secret Service. The Bidens had a rental income of around $170,000 during that time.

Joe Biden salary

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Joe Biden’s salary has fluctuated over time, according to his tax returns. The earliest available record date is from 1998 when he earned $215,432. Until 2009 his income stayed at almost $200,000 but then it increased to $55,000 per year thanks to pensions and social security payments.

Joe was making around $400,000 per year in 2016 when he was preparing to leave the office as Vice President. This amount had risen to $11 million in 2017. One year later, in 2018, Joe earned only $4.6 million.

Jill Biden’s salary

As a teacher at Northern Virginia Community College, Jill Biden earns $100,000 per year.

Debts

Over the years, the Bidens have struggled with debt, according to their financial disclosure forms. At that time, his house in Delaware was his only financial asset. Joe took out several loans for his house. He borrowed against the cash value of his life insurance policies, which are valued at a maximum of $50,000, between 1983 and 2015.

According to the financial disclosure forms from 2015, in 2013 Joe Biden took out a mortgage on his house and owed $500,000 to $1 million on the property.

Real estate

In 1997 Joe and Jill Biden bought a house in the neighborhood of Greenville in Wilmington, Delaware for $350,000. This is their primary residence. Recently, similar houses in that area have been sold for around $2 million.

The Bidens bought a six-bedroom vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for $2.74 million in 2017.

Joe and Jill rented a house in McLean, Virginia worth $4 million, paying a rent of $20,000 per month, between 2018 and 2019.

Private life

Biden first married Neilia Hunter, also a student at Syracuse, in 1966, with whom he moved to Delaware where he obtained the right to practice law and with whom he had three children.

Neilia and their one-year-old daughter died in a car accident while Christmas shopping just weeks after Biden, then 29, was first elected senator in 1972 – being, at that time, the sixth youngest senator in history. The two sons Beau and Hunter escaped with only a few injuries. Beau would die in 2015, aged 45, from brain cancer.

In 1975 he met Jill Jacobs, whom the children loved and in 1977 she became his wife. In 1981, they had a daughter, Ashley.

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Alec Pow

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Alec Pow is a thorough and methodical Financial and Business Analyst with over 15 years of experience in financial statement analysis, Foreign exchange derivative hedging instruments analysis, modeling, and risk management, with a long history of writing for big news publications like Forbes, MSN.com, Washington Post, and many more.