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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Wealth of Presidents - We Expect our Presidents to Be Successful
That's true, pretty much, although there are exceptions. Here's an illuminating look at the wealth of our past Presidents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth
All figures are normalized to 2010 Dollars, so we can compare better. Some of the results are surprising, perhaps. Others are not. We've had a number of Presidents with a low net worth, but looking at this list demonstrates that we expect our Presidents to be reasonably successful people, for the most part.
It's worth a look, I think. There were surprises there for me, to be sure. The only conclusion I draw from this is that we typically elect Presidents who have some wealth. That's not surprising, really.
I'll bet you can't guess who the wealthiest U.S. President was, though.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Seems to be a pattern since Vietnam, mostly with the GOP presidencies.
MineralMan
(146,336 posts)The Wikipedia article doesn't indicate wealth prior to and after becoming President. So, I can't say how much of their wealth was attained after serving as President. That might be more difficult to dig up, and I don't have time today.
think
(11,641 posts)is another issue....
MineralMan
(146,336 posts)research, of course. I don't have time to do that research right now, so I posted this as a starting point.
leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,477 posts)The depression era Government contracts for roads and dams were lucrative, but Brown and Root got an E ticket ride on gravy train during the second world war. Lyndon Johnson greased the ways at every turn, even when he was in the service.
Brown & Root -> Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) -> Halliburton
Wounded Bear
(58,726 posts)It doesn't seem to specify, but is that the net worth at time of first election to the office, or peak net worth in entire lifetime?
I think it is an interesting and important distinction.
MineralMan
(146,336 posts)I know that JFK came from wealth, and since he was assassinated, I'm guessing that his wealth came before his election. It would take additional research to get the answers to your question.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)MineralMan
(146,336 posts)that was what was in the Wikipedia article at the link. There are other criteria that indicate success, as you point out.
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)We are not electing them because they are wealthy.
Their wealth confers upon them the POWER to take the presidency through influence of a variety of types.
You really drew the wrong conclusion and I am surprised. It seems apparent.
MineralMan
(146,336 posts)"We" is a difficult word, since "we" are a vary diverse society. I try not to characterize the entire society in things like this. Each voter votes according to his or her own priorities.
However, I do believe that financial success is something we generally expect for people we elect. It's an indicator of someone who has been able to generate wealth in some way. Still, some were born to wealth. JFK is an example of that. People who are true leaders generally are pretty successful, financially, though. Not all, but most.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Several noteables were near pennyless at one point or another. Jefferson died owning more than he was worth. Grant wrote his memoirs so that he could provide for his family. It worked too, although basically after he died. Somewhere along the way we decided there should be pensions because it gets too embarrassing to have destitute ex-presidents.