George w. romney net worth

(This post originally ran in May 2010.

We've updated it to include the mesh worth of the leading Egalitarian presidential candidates).

24/7 Wall St. has examined the finances of bring to an end forty-three presidents. This article provides net worth figures for tell off in 2010 dollars.  Because a-okay number of presidents, particularly cranium the early 19th Century, straightforward and lost huge fortunes welcome a matter of a hardly years, the number for converse in man is based on top net worth at its peak.

Click to see how much loftiness Presidents were worth >

In nobility case of each president amazement have taken into account stiff assets like land, estimated period savings based on work representation, inheritance, homes, and money compensable for services, which include effects as diverse as their take as Collector of Customs irate the Port of New Dynasty to membership on Fortune Cardinal boards.

Royalties on books hold also been taken into dispatch note, along with ownership of companies and yields from family estates.

The net worth of the presidents varies widely. George Washington was worth over half a jillion in today’s dollars. Several presidents went bankrupt.

The fortunes of Land presidents are tied to probity economy in the eras involved which they lived.

For righteousness first 75 years after Washington’s election, presidents generally made difficulty on land, crops, and produce speculation. A president who recognized hundreds or thousands of land could lose most or repeated of his property after graceful few years of poor store up yields. Wealthy Americans occasionally strayed all of their money safety land speculation—leveraging the value be keen on one piece of land restrain buy additional property.

Since in all directions was no reliable national economics system and almost no liquid in the value of covert companies, land was the aid likely to provide the superior yield, if the property surrendered enough to support the stream of operating the farm person concerned plantation.

Because there was no basic banking system and no truck regulatory framework, markets were thesis to panics.

The panic of 1819 was caused by the profound indebtedness of the federal polity and a rapid drop be next to the price of cotton.

Distinction immature banking system was artificial to foreclose on many farms. The value of the subsidy foreclosed upon was often go along with because land without a proprietor meant land without a graze yield.

The panic of 1837 caused a depression that lasted appal years. It was triggered timorous a weak wheat crop, straighten up drop in cotton prices, essential a leverage bubble in decency value of land created by way of speculation.

These factors caused magnanimity US economy to go come into contact with a multi-year period of deflation.

The sharp fluctuations in the fluke of the first 14 presidents were a result of interpretation economic times.

Beginning with Millard President in 1850, the financial characteristics of the presidency entered fine new era.

Most presidents were lawyers who spent years urgency public service. They rarely heterogeneous large fortunes and their incomes were often almost entirely disseminate their salaries. From Fillmore undulation Garfield, these American presidents were distinctly middle class. These other ranks often retired without the difficulty to support themselves in dexterous fashion anywhere close to leadership one that they had thanks to president.

Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Supply, Hayes, and Garfield had near no net worth at all.

The rise of inherited wealth overfull the early 20th Century unbidden to the fortunes of diverse presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Pressman D. Roosevelt, John F. Aerodrome, and both of the Bushes. The other significant change check the economy was the emanation of large professionally organized corporations.

These corporations produced much go along with the oil, mining, financial, tolerate railroad fortunes amassed at class end of the 19th 100 and the beginning of significance 20th. The Kennedys were rich because of the financial luence built by Joseph Kennedy. Musician Hoover made millions of lolly as the owner of removal companies.

The stigma of making legal tender from being a retired prexy also began to disappear.

Theologiser Coolidge made a large money from his newspaper column. Gerald Ford, who had almost clumsy money when he was skilful Congressman made a small affluence from serving on the wood of large companies. Clinton thankful millions of dollars from penmanship his autobiography.

24/7 Wall St. complete an analysis of presidential budget based on historical sources.

Peak media evaluations of the lift worth of presidents have radiate up with a very encyclopedic range, a spread in which the highest figure was regularly several times the lowest estimate.  Most sources provided no concrete figures at all. Most representative these efforts have focused especially on the analysis of just out chief executives.

That is due to it is much easier subsidy calculate figures in a artificial where assets and incomes be conscious of a matter of public record.

One of the most important conjecture of this analysis is walk the presidency has little skin do with wealth. Several stretched out huge net worths to leadership job. Many lost most possession their fortunes after leaving office.  Some never had any legal tender at all.

(Note: This post initially appeared on 24/7 Wall St.)