List of presidents of the United States by net worth

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 leaving 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.