Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, or Joe Biden served as the 47th Vice President of The United States Of America from 2009 to 2017. Biden is now the President of the United States starting in 2021. Biden also represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. This article will go through in detail Joe Biden's net worth.
Joe Biden, also know colloquially as “Middle-Class Joe,” for his self-deprecating description as a unsophisticated man, Biden has been able to drastically grow his net worth and income since leaving office.
Joe Biden's Net Worth Skyrockets
First elected to the Senate in 1973, Biden was one of the least wealthy members of the chamber. By the time he left the White House, he and his wife, Jill Biden, reported assets between $303,000 and $1 million, as well as liabilities between $560,000 and $1.2 million.
In other words, Joe and Jill Biden remained one of the least wealthy members of Congress when Joe left with a net worth close to $0 in 2017. It is strange how a $150,000+ earning Senator and a $230,700-earning Vice President for eight years could remain so poor.
During much of his time in office, Biden’s wife was a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, where she still teaches. According to Glassdoor, the average professor salary is $80,882 plus $30,380 in additional pay. Combined, the Bidens earned between $250,000 – $400,000 a year for decades.
According to his most recent public tax return in 2015, Biden filed a joint tax return with his second wife Jill Biden, reporting a total adjusted gross income of $392,233 under a 23.3% tax rate, totaling some $91,546 in total federal tax. $392,233 is right at the cusp of a top 1% income.
Joe Biden Needs To Improve His Personal Finance Habits
Given the average American only saves roughly 6% of their salary before the pandemic began, it is possible that the Bidens practiced poor personal finance habits for decades and spent everything they earned. The lack of financial discipline by the Bidens was one of the main criticisms he faced.
How could the public trust Joe Biden to grow America's economy in a fiscally prudent way if he couldn't even properly manage his own finances?
But Joe Biden's net worth took a turn for the better in early 2017, when Joe and Jill Biden signed a multi-book deal with Flatiron Books in the “high seven figures,” according to Keith Urbahn, a literary agent who specializes in political books and has represented the likes of former FBI Director James Comey. Rumor has it the book deal was for $8 million.
Real Estate Is A Big Part Of Joe Biden's Net Worth
In June 2017, shortly after they inked the book deal, the Bidens purchased their vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., for $2.7 million. It is unclear whether the Bidens paid for the home in cash or with a mortgage. But clearly, the Flatiron book deal was quite lucrative.
Another house that Biden bought in Wilmington, Del., for $350,000 in 1996 is now worth almost $1.9 million, according to an estimate by the real estate website Zillow. The Bidens rent a third home in Virginia, near the community college where Jill Biden teaches.
Although buying a $2.7 million vacation property is likely not the shrewdest financial move, buying real estate for the long term is. Savvy investors are turning towards real estate crowdfunding to invest in lower cost areas of the country with high job growth and high net rental yields.
The coastal cities have gotten too expensive, and there's been migration towards the heartland and the south by both companies like Google, and by employees looking for a lower cost of a living. Thanks to technology, remote work has exploded in popularity.
The best platform is Fundrise, founded in 2012 in Washington D.C. once the JOBS Act was passed. It's free to sign up and explore. Real estate truly is one of the best ways to build multi-generational wealth.
Total Net Worth For Joe Biden
Based on Joe Biden's real estate holdings and book deal, Joe and Jill Biden have a total net worth of between $7 – 9 million. Depending on how the real estate market and his books sell, the Bidens could be worth substantially more or less in the future.
Estimates now have Joe and Jill Biden earning roughly $15 million total from 2017 – 2019. After tax, the figure amounts to roughly $8 million.
Given Joe has served the US government for decades, he also has a lifetime pension equal to at least 70% of his last three highest paid years, which was $230,700 as a Vice President. Therefore, Middle-Class Joe likely collects a pension of $161,490 for life.
If one were to capitalize the value of his $161,490 annual pension, one would need $3,229,800 in capital at a 5% rate of return. Given Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942, it is unlikely he will live for more than 20 years.
Therefore, depending on how long Joe lives, his net worth including the value of his pension is likely between $10 – $13 million.
If Joe Biden is able to become President of the United States Of America, he would earn a salary of $400,000, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment. He would also earn additional credits towards his pension.
Track Your Finances To Grow Your Net Worth
Although Joe Biden never grew his net worth very rapidly like most of his colleagues while in office, he was able to keep his head above water. He and his family lived a good life on their high combined salary.
What Joe and Jill Biden should have done during their careers was not only save and invest aggressively, but also diligently track their net worth. If they tracked their net worth frequently, they would have gotten more motivated to save and invest wisely.
Today, all of us can stay on top of our wealth with best free financial tool by Personal Capital. Personal Capital lets you track your net worth, manage your cash flow, x-ray your investment portfolios, and wisely model your retirement cash flow and needs all for free. Once you link all your accounts, Personal Capital's sophisticated software will provide you a holistic view of your finances.
There's no rewind button in life. Some of us will never get a chance to sign multi-millionaire dollar book deals and become the Vice President or President of the United States. As a result, we've got to make the most of our finances today.
About the Author:
Sam worked in finance for 13 years. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his passive income.
He spends time playing tennis, taking care of his family, and writing online to help others achieve financial freedom too. He started Financial Samurai in 2009. It one of the largest independently owned personal finance sites in the world.
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Joe Biden's Net Worth is a Financial Samurai original post.