Joe Biden’s net worth was $41 million in 2022.
Biden’s net worth is around $10 million, not $41 million
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After leaving the vice presidency, Joe Biden increased his wealth through book deals and speaking engagements.
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His published financial disclosures, tax filings and news reports point to a net worth of around $10 million, not $41 million as actor James Woods’ X post said.
Before he was vice president or president, Joe Biden was one of Congress’ least wealthy members. Now one critic says Biden’s net worth more than quadrupled since before he moved into the White House.
Actor James Woods shared an image on social media that said Biden’s net worth has increased from $9 million in 2019 to $41 million in 2022. Net worth is the value of people’s income and assets minus the debt and other liabilities they owe.
“I’m shocked,” Woods, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, wrote Dec. 10 on X, formerly Twitter. The image Woods shared also questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ assets, but we focused on the Biden claim.
Financial disclosures, tax filings and news reports show that Biden’s net worth has grown slightly since entering the White House, but nothing on the scale Woods suggests.
Forbes in August wrote that Biden’s net worth was at $10 million, up from about $8 million when he entered the White House in 2020.
“The increase has nothing to do with family business dealings in far-flung countries,” Forbes wrote. “Instead, he is getting richer by doing what a lot of 80-year-old Americans are doing: sitting on real estate. The president owns two homes in Delaware that are worth an estimated $7 million combined, $1.8 million more than they were when he took office.”
Much of the Bidens’ current net worth is from the combined value of their two Delaware homes, which include a six-bedroom mansion in Rehoboth Beach that they purchased in 2017, Forbes reported.
After leaving the vice presidency in 2017, Biden’s income increased substantially. In 2017 alone, Forbes found, Joe and Jill Biden brought in $11.1 million — nearly double their total earnings from 1998 to 2016. In 2018, they brought in another $4.6 million.
Speaking engagements and book deals drove much of that new wealth before 2020.
As president, Biden earns $400,000 a year. His 2022 financial disclosures, published by the White House in May, show he has assets between $1 million and $2.65 million. But these figures represented little change from 2021, his first full year as president.
We rate the claim that Biden’s net worth was $41 million in 2022 False.
Our Sources
X post (archived link)
PolitiFact, Biden’s income sources aren’t such a big mystery, Oct. 22, 2020
Forbes, Here’s How Much Joe Biden Is Worth, Aug. 17, 2023
Reuters, White House releases show Biden personal finances little changed, May 15, 2023
Washington Post, Biden’s latest financial disclosure lists book royalties, bank interest, May 15, 2023
PolitiFact, Hunter Biden investigation: What's a special counsel, and why did Merrick Garland appoint one?, Aug. 11, 2023
Business Insider, How President Joe Biden went from 'Middle Class Joe' to $8M net worth, July 15, 2023
White House, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure reports, accessed Dec. 14, 2023
White House, The President and Vice President release their 2022 tax returns, accessed Dec. 14, 2023
PolitiFact, Fact-checking Joe Biden’s claim about his own income, Sept. 10, 2020
PolitiFact, Yes, Joe Biden has released 22 years of tax returns online, Oct. 31, 2020
Forbes, Here's How Much 2020 Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Is Worth, Aug. 28, 2019
Legal Information Institute, 3 U.S. Code § 102 - Compensation of the President, accessed Dec.18, 2023
USA Today, How much does the president make? A breakdown of salary, pension and perks, Mar. 20, 2023
Forbes, The Net Worth Of Every 2020 Presidential Candidate, August 14, 2019.
