President Joe Biden is a lot of things to different people.
To some people, he is a champion of the middle class. He is a seemingly ordinary, almost average guy. He won’t deliver tremendous speeches as part of large rallies, like Donald Trump does, though.
To other people, he is just another crooked liberal politician, who serves his masters in China and Ukraine at the expense of American citizens.
The question of Joe Biden’s net worth is central to this dichotomy, and of utmost importance if you plan on betting on politics.
Two Sides of the Coin
Those who hold Biden to be crooked will emphasize his supposed overseas business dealings with China. They’ll assert that he is receiving a kickback from the billions that are being sent to Ukraine.
Conversely, his supporters will continue to preserve the modest image that Biden projects. They would offer a much lower estimate of Biden’s net worth than opponents.
In trying to decide the question of what Biden’s net worth is, we are doing the important deed of weighing in on his character. It’s important to try to stay objective and to stick to the well-known facts.
This might not please Biden’s opponents, but we can always change our understanding of Biden’s net worth if their allegations about his foreign business dealings with his son, China, etc. prove to be true.
To be fair to Biden’s opponents, it is indeed hard to know for certain what Biden’s net worth is because he wants to keep certain things private. But let’s do our best.
The Numbers
Forbes, a reliable company that publishes business-related content, has declared that Biden’s net worth is ten million dollars.
Before becoming the vice president in 2009, he took in money as a senator and occupied a university teaching position, and his wife also occupied a teaching position. When Biden exited his vice president position in 2017, he became substantially richer. From 2017 to 2021, he collected 17.3 million dollars.
Sources of Wealth
After finishing his term as vice-president, he continued to take in Social Security and pension money. More importantly, he profited off his political position and his name to take on speaking gigs and books. The University of Pennsylvania graced him with a fruitful professor position, for example.
Real Estate
Perhaps the largest portion of Biden’s wealth has come, however, from real estate. Biden has invested a lot in real estate. He’s used home ownership to collect assets.
For example, he bought a house in 1972 for $185,000, which would be $930,000 today. In 1996, he sold that house for an impressive $1.2 million.
More recently, he spent $2.7 million on a home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he frequently likes to vacation. That home is now worth about $3.4 million.
Where Did The Money Go?
It’s not clear why his net worth is as low as it is given how much he has earned. He might have spent a lot of money or given it to other people — he already shares his wealth with his wife, Jill.
It is already established that Biden gives a lot of money to charities. Some of that money is hard to account for because he gives to foreign charities.
For example, he donated $25,000 to a charity in Great Britain. He also spends a lot on himself.
For example, he installed an expensive pool in his home in Rehoboth Beach. He’s also rented a fancy, five-story mansion in Virginia that cost an amazing $20,000 a month.
The Rumors
When considering the somewhat nebulous question of Biden’s wealth, a question that won’t be answered completely in our lifetime, we should address the rumors that his political opponents circulate.
His son, Hunter, has business dealings abroad with China. Certain text messages and other supposed pieces of evidence have, so his opponents say, involved Joe Biden.
There is, however, nothing conclusive about these rumors; one can’t say for certain whether Biden has profited from his son’s business dealings or taken money from China.
Any truth to these rumors would radically alter our perspective of Joe Biden’s wealth.
He is alleged to have taken a lot of money from China, which, given facts about Hunter Biden’s firm and Hunter’s role in it, would amount to far fewer than the billion-plus that his opponents declare. But it would still amount to millions of dollars.
