Between George Washington and Barack Obama there have been 43 different Presidents of the United States. Barack Obama is technically the 44th President because Grover Cleveland held the office for two non-consecutive terms, first from 1885-1889 and the second from 1893-1897. In America's relatively short history, our Presidents have not been a particularly diverse group of people. Every single President has been male, and only one wasn't white. But that doesn't mean every President has been extremely rich, at least before they got elected. In fact, in terms of wealth and net worth, American Presidents have come from very wide and diverse backgrounds. We've had Presidents who were extremely wealthy and some who had no money at all. We've had Presidents who died penniless and others who have earned fortunes after leaving the office thanks to book deals, consulting jobs, speaking events and more. So who were the richest American Presidents of all time when you take into account inflation?
Richest American Presidents
Being the President of the United States is definitely one of the greatest jobs in the world. Not only are you the most powerful person in the free world, but you get paid a hefty salary plus incredible perks like access Air Force One, Camp David and, of course, The White House. Since 2001, The President is paid an annual salary of $400,000. He also has access to a $200,000 travel and entertainment expense account. Between 1789 and 1873, the President's salary was $25,000 which is equal to $673,000 in today's inflation adjusted dollars. In 1873, the salary was increased to $50,000 which is worth $992,000 today. In 1909 it was bumped to $75,000 ($1.9 million today), then in 1949 it was raised to $100,000 ($967,000) and then in 1969 the salary was set at $200,000 ($1.2 million). A final perk of being President is that once you leave office, you are paid an annual pension of $199,000. You are also entitled to Secret Service protection for life plus a $100,00 per year for staff, an office space and and medical insurance. This last perk only existed for Presidents after 1958. Enough dilly-dallying, let's take a look at the inflation adjusted net worth of every American President listed from richest to poorest!
The Richest Presidents Of All Time – Inflation Adjusted:
#1: George Washington – $525 Million (Owned 8000 acres of Virginia farmland and 300 slaves)
#2: Thomas Jefferson – $212 million (Owned 5000 acres of Virginia farmland plus dozens of slaves)
#3: Theodore Roosevelt – $125 million (Inherited large trust fund and more than 200 acres of land in Long Island)
#4: Andrew Jackson – $120 million (Real estate, 300 slaves, inheritance plus married into money)
#5: James Madison – $100 million (Owned 5000 acres of Virginia farmland and dozens of slaves)
#6: John F. Kennedy – $100 million (Father Joseph was worth $1 billion from liquor importation, real estate and more)
#7: Lyndon B. Johnson – $100 million (Owned a radio and TV station plus a 1500 acre ranch in Texas)
#8: Bill Clinton – $80 million (Bill's net worth was jut $700k on his first day in office. Since re-entering private life, Bill has earned more than $100 million from speaking engagements alone. He also has made a fortune from book sales)
#9: Herbert Hoover – $75 million (Made millions in the mining industry, owned millions in valuable real estate)
#10: Franklin Delano Roosevelt – $60 million (Inherited millions, owned hundreds of acres of valuable real estate on the East Coast)
#11: John Tyler – $50 million (Owned thousands of acres of tobacco plantations)
#12: George W. Bush – $35 million (Texas Rangers, oil investments, stocks, book sales and speaking engagements)
#13: James Monroe – $30 million
#14: Martin Van Buren – $25 million
#15: George H. W. Bush – $25 million
#16: Grover Cleveland – $25 million
#17: John Adams – $20 million
#18: John Quincy Adams -$20 million
#19: Richard Nixon – $15 million
#20: Ronald Reagan – $13 million
#21: Barack Obama – $12 million
#22: James K. Polk – $10 million
#23: Dwight D. Eisenhower – $8 million
#24: Gerald Ford – $7 million
#25: Jimmy Carter – $7 million
#26: Zachary Taylor – $6 million
#27: William Henry Harrison – $5 million
#28: Benjamin Harrison – $5 million
#29: Millard Fillmore – $4 million
#30: Rutherford B. Hayes – $3 million
#31: William Howard Taft – $3 million
#32: Franklin Pierce – $2 million
#33: Chester A. Arthur – $1 million
#34: William McKinley – $1 million
#35: Warren G. Harding – $1 million
#36: Calvin Coolidge – $500 thousand
#37: Woodrow Wilson – $400 thousand
#38: Harry S. Truman – $300 thousand
#39: James Buchanan – $250 thousand
#40: Abraham Lincoln – $250 thousand
#41: Andrew Johnson – $200 thousand
#42: Ulysses S. Grant – $50 thousand
#43: James A. Garfield – $10 thousand
Read more: The Richest American Presidents Of All Time – Inflation Adjusted