Top 10 Richest Presidents in America
Top 10 Richest Presidents In United States Net Worth, Top 10 Richest Presidents In United States Biography, Top 10 Richest Presidents In United States Sources, Top 10 Richest Presidents In United States Images
Despite two centuries of campaign rhetoric touting identification with the common man, the simple fact is that no truly poor individual ever has become president of the United States
1. George Washington (1789-97)
George Washington February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799 was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. The Father of His Country held a big chunk of it, too. Shrewd business judgment and marriage to a wealthy widow allowed him to amass a considerable fortune--including hundreds of slaves. He is the only president sometimes listed among the country's 100 richest-ever persons in relative economic terms.
2. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
Herbert Clark Hoover August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st President of the United States 1929–1933. Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. A totally self-made man, the orphaned Hoover studied geology at Stanford, then adroitly applied that knowledge consulting and investing in mines. As early as 1910 he was earning $2.5 million annually in today's dollars. His wealth allowed him to enter public service. While president, he gave his salary to charity.
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-09)
Thomas Jefferson April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence 1776. For all of his famous intelligence, the core of Jefferson's wealth was inherited from his parents. As an adult, Jefferson himself was considered among Virginia's 30 richest. But he also lived extremely well--building his celebrated home at Monticello--and likely was poorer after the end of his presidency.
4. John F. Kennedy (1961-63)
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963, often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was a financier and wheeler-dealer who made a fortune in investing, banking and liquor. A trust-fund baby, JFK lived well and, like Hoover, donated his presidential salary to charity. But other lists putting his net worth at $1 billion are sheer fantasy.
5. Andrew Jackson (1828-37)
Andrew Jackson March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845 was the seventh President of the United States 1829–1837. Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815) and the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, he destroyed the national bank and relocated most Indian tribes to the west. He campaigned as a man-of-the-people and railed against the country's biggest bank. But a lawyer by occupation, Jackson got rich as a U.S. Army general using insider information--buying land becoming available as Indians were forced onto reservations.
6. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919 was the 26th President of the United States 1901–1909. He is noted for his energetic personality, range of interests and achievements, leadership of the Progressive Movement, and his "cowboy" image and robust masculinity. That allowed him to live well as a young man even after the 1880s collapse of a cattle ranch in North Dakota cost him $1.5 million in today's dollars. Like many presidents, he earned a tidy income out of office as an author.
7. Zachary Taylor (1849-50)
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States (1849-1850) and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass. President for only 14 months before dying of a sudden stomach ailment in 1850, Taylor hailed from a plantation family that owned thousands of acres and hundreds of slaves in Kentucky. A military hero, he later amassed substantial land and slave holdings of his own in Louisiana.
8. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945 also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. An only child, FDR had some of the same old-money roots as Teddy Roosevelt, a fifth cousin. He was raised in luxury, attending a fancy prep school and Ivy League universities.
9. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69)
Lyndon Baines Johnson August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973, often referred to as LBJ, was a US politician who served as the 36th President of the United States 1963-1969 after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States 1961-1963. It was only after entering public life as a Congressman in the 1930s that LBJ, a man from humble origins, started amassing considerable assets.
10. James Madison (1809-17)
James Madison, Jr. March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836 was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States 1809–1817 and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The White House was burned on his watch, but Madison, of course, didn't own it. What he did own was 5,000 acres of lush tobacco-growing plantation land in his native Virginia, mostly inherited. Due to mounting debts, he likely entered office far richer than he left it. During his lifetime Madison delayed publication of his Constitutional Convention notes, figuring their estimated $1.5 million value in today's dollars would provide an annuity for his wife, Dolly.
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