The 10 Richest U.S. PresidentsBy Ashley C. Allen February 12, 2015 7:51 pm EST

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The ongoing debate over income inequality has picked up steam, especially as the economic recovery is widely considered to be benefiting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. In fact, President Barack Obama promised to tackle income inequality in this year’s State of the Union address.


Obama said that the key to the country’s success is “middle-class economics — the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” Income inequality will likely be a central issue in the 2016 presidential elections.

A struggling middle class stands in stark contrast to the wealth of America’s presidents. While presidents were regularly middle class or even poor in the 19th century, they were far wealthier in the 20th century. Each of the last four presidents, including President Obama, is a millionaire.

Current presidential candidates are also far richer than the average American. Though President Bill Clinton likes to point out that he was the poorest president elected in the 20th century, his great success as a public speaker after his term in office has made him among the wealthiest presidents of all time. After resigning from office, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has enjoyed similar success, amassing a fortune from book deals and speaking engagements.

Click here to see the 10 richest presidents
Click here to see the 10 poorest presidents

Secretary Clinton received an estimated $14 million advance on her 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 $60 million, making it one of the wealthiest presidential estates in history.

Five years ago, 24/7 Wall St. published “The Net worth of Every American President, from Washington to Obama.” Each year, we have updated our figures to reflect the earnings of the still-living presidents. One thing remains clear: these days, it pays to be president, especially after leaving office.

In this year’s updated list, the only currently living president who is counted among of the wealthiest of all time is President Clinton.

President Obama is not one of the richest presidents. Obama receives a salary of $400,000 a year as president, which, while quite generous, doesn’t come close to the salaries of today’s top executive. The president’s annual income has actually dropped steadily since he entered office. In 2009, the president earned $5.5 million. That figure fell to less than $1 million in 2012 and fell again to just over $500,000 in 2013. This is primarily due to a decline in revenue from his prior book deals. 24/7 Wall St. estimates the president’s net worth to be unchanged at $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 close to 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. 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.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the richest U.S. presidents.




Read more:  The 10 Richest U.S. Presidents - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/02/12/the-10-richest-u-s-presidents/#ixzz3RxXpS8al 
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"THE WORDS WE SPEAK CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE, BUT OUR ACTIONS NEED NO TRANSLATION."


"United is voiding the bookings of several thousand individuals who were attempting to take advantage of an error a third-party software provider made when it applied an incorrect currency exchange rate, despite United having properly filed its fares," a company spokesperson told CNN.



United Airlines would not honor the first-class flights from Europe to the US for $69.  So much for the customer is always right! ha.  

In the past, several airlines, including United Airlines (UAL), have honored "mistake fares" that offered tickets for as little as $5. Delta (DAL) also honored a similar fare in 2013. 

To take advantage of this deal, travelers had to jump through several hoops. First, travel could only originate in Europe, mainly from the U.K. Second, passengers had to use United's Denmark site to book and pay for the tickets. 

The deal was posted early Wednesday on many travel blogs and forums, including Flyertalk.com, a popular site for frequent travelers and enthusiasts. By 9:30 am ET the deal was no longer available.

Listening to sports talk radio in my car and every other word I hear is about keeping the integrity of a sport.  This got me to think about the history of the major sports leagues and wonder if they follow the rules that they impose, and if there is a double standard with the participants/employees/partners of these games.  This will be a series of exploration, because I have uncovered waaaay to much information for 1 blog.  Growing up in a sports family, I never looked at the big picture until it began to effect me.  The powers that run the games live by a total different set of rules than those that play the game.  The sad thing is that, the players of the game are harder on each other than the leagues could ever be.  @MoneLynch aka Marshawn (Beast Mode) Lynch has knowingly or un knowingly raised awareness to the power of a brand.  His refusal to give the bare minimum to reporters has been demonized by the mass media, but he fulfilled his obligation and in turn he has shown, that controlling your own content is power!!!  

The picture above of Legarrette Blount further shows the crabs in the barrel mentality that needs to be broken.  I don't know mr. Blount but he can take a page out of Marshawn's book instead of following the all to familiar status quo. (Break someone down to build yourself up).  Understanding the true power of your value changes the game and the conversation.  My father unknowingly had the luck and foresight to have good people in his corner that took a gamble on his appeal.  He was a free agent in boxing before there was such a thing and in turn, did not have to sign with promoters, because he controlled his brand.  @FloydMayweather is doing the same thing now.  @MoneyLynch will become the highest paid running back in the game, and has the opportunity to be one of the highest paid athletes if he can leverage and control his brand.  This is power and it levels the playing field.  The double standard of rules changes when you have something of value and know the power of it.  

Ok, so I went in a round about way of to discuss the double standard in sports and entertainment.  I did this to emphasize a point, that when you are in control you can adjust the narrative and rules to fit you.  The NFL unilaterally imposed a new personal conduct plan outside of the union and controlled the conversation through the media.  Although it is a good thing to have stronger stance on the issues that the league faces, there is a reason that the standards are collectively bargained!!  The general public will say that these athletes make so much money that they shouldn't complain.  WOW!  Its all relative.  Let me have mr. Einstein explain relativity: 


Einstein stated that the theory of relativity belongs to a class of "principle-theories". As such it employs an analytic method. This means that the elements which comprise this theory are not based on hypothesis but on empirical discovery. The empirical discovery leads to understanding the general characteristics of natural processes. Mathematical models are then developed to describe accurately the observed natural processes. Therefore, by analytical means the necessary conditions that have to be satisfied are deduced. Separate events must satisfy these conditions. Experience should then match the conclusions.


Did I lose you on that one?  Simply put, The majority of employers won't spend over 20% of gross revenue to pay for employees and this holds true in the NFL and other major leagues, no matter how much they try to convince you it is a true partnership.  


This is just a little "food for thought" teaser.  I will bring it all together in my next series of blogs and hopefully we can answer the initial question.  I welcome your comments.


Ray