President Bill Clinton is worth around 80 million dollars, although some sources put this at 90 million dollars or much higher.
He made the vast majority of his money after his presidency, even though that was the peak of his career. He entered the White House with relatively little money and left in debt. However, he made money quickly after leaving office.
Bill Clinton amassed a great deal of wealth between 2001 and 2005. His income during that time was more than twenty times his income over the previous five years. Since then, his income has remained high.
Bill Clinton’s Income Over Time
President Clinton’s yearly earnings are vastly higher than in the 1990s.
Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s combined income by year in the early 1990s to mid-2010s:
1991 – $200,000
1995 – $316,000
1996 – $1,065,000
2000 – $416,000
2001 – $16,000,000
2002 – $9,000,000
2005 – $18,000,000
2010 – $13,000,000
2013 – $27,000,000
2014 – $28,000,000
2015 – $11,000,000
From Relatively Low to Very High Income
Bill Clinton’s household income can be divided into two periods, a relatively low-income period that lasted until 2000 and a high-income period that started in 2001.
The most successful year of the relatively low-income period was 1996, when President Clinton and Hillary earned more than a million dollars. Hillary Clinton’s book “It Takes a Village” was successful enough to temporarily boost their household income to over a million.
In 1997, their income fell to $569,000, then to $416,000 in 2000. The Clintons earned 38 times more money in 2001 than in 2000. The least successful year of the very high-income period was 2008, when the Clintons earned $5 million, still close to five times what they earned in 1996.
Increasing Net Worth
Clinton’s household income has increased each half-decade since the early 90s. While the 2000s were a much bigger increase than the 2010s, Bill Clinton’s net worth kept increasing.
1991 to 1995: $1,362,000
1996 to 2000: $3,123,000
2001 to 2005: $71,000,000
2006 to 2010: $83,000,000
2011 to 2015: $101,000,000
How Did Bill Clinton Make Money Before His Presidency?
Before Clinton was elected president, he was the State Governor of Arkansas. Before that, he was a law professor.
His net worth before the presidency was between $350,000 and $1,000,000, according to the papers he filed for the Federal Election Commission.
Source of Wealth After the Presidency?
Like many other former presidents, Clinton made a fortune as a public speaker. He could command anywhere from $150,000 to $700,000 per speech.
Clinton also made a killing by selling the rights to his memoir for $15,000,000.
Varying Estimates of Bill Clinton’s Net Worth
One source estimates Bill Clinton is worth $190 million. However, that is so far above other estimates that it seems unlikely. The best guess is $80 million for Bill and $120 million for Bill and Hillary combined.
Hillary Clinton earned much of her wealth from very lucrative speaking engagements.
| Year | Approximate Net Worth |
|---|---|
| 1975 | -$40,000 |
| 1980 | -$180,000 |
| 1985 | -$300,000 |
| 1990 | $700,000 |
| 1995 | $1.3 million |
| 2000 | $9 million |
| 2005 | $40 million |
| 2010 | $80 million |
| 2015 | $100 million |
| 2020 | $120 million |
| 2021 | $120 million |
| 2022 | $120 million |
| 2023 | $123 million |
Chelsea Clinton’s Net Worth
Bill and Hillary have one daughter, Chelsea. Chelsea Clinton’s net worth is already $49 million at 42 years old.
She is a TV personality, author, and important member of the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation (renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013). Most of her net worth may have come from working for McKinsey and Avenue Capital.
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About $18 million of her fortune is in assets, and another $8 million is in investments. Chelsea is married with two children.
Was Bill Clinton Poor When He Became President?
Bill Clinton claimed he entered the White House with a lower net worth than any other United States President in the 20th century. The Clintons listed their net worth as $418,692 at the end of 1989 and $700,000 a little later.
Bill Clinton’s Property and Investments
| Asset | Estimated Value |
|---|---|
| Speaking Engagements | $106 million |
| Books | $40 million |
| Political Campaigns | $17 million |
| Real Estate | $4 million |
| Investments | $1.8 million |
| Other Income | $8.3 million |
Cars
Bill and Hillary Clinton are under secret service protection. This means they don’t drive their cars and have designated drivers instead. Bill Clinton says he misses driving but doesn’t want to give up secret service protection.
Clinton used to own an El Camino and a 1967 Mustang Convertible, which was his favorite car. He does not own expensive cars that are a significant part of his net worth.
Homes
The Clintons have owned many different homes over the years. They bought their primary home in Washington in 2001 for $1.7 million.
When they bought the house, they were broke and in debt, but a friend was generous with a loan. Soon, they could afford to pay off the property and improve it.
They also bought another property in 2000 for $2.85 million, called the Whitehaven House. The Whitehaven House was valued at $3.5 million in 2016.
Is Bill Clinton Retired?
Bill Clinton is still too active to be considered retired. He co-wrote a novel, The President’s Daughter, which was published in 2021 and became a bestseller.
Bill Clinton’s Wealth Compared to Other US Presidents
Donald Trump is by far the richest former United States president. His net worth is in the region of 3 billion dollars. There are no other billionaire presidents.
The second richest after Trump was probably George Washington, who might have had close to a billion if you adjust for inflation. His estimated net worth was 707 million 2022 dollars.
George Washington initially became wealthy by marrying a rich widow. He and his wife did a great deal to increase the value of the property he inherited. By the time he died, his Mount Vernon estate was worth hundreds of millions in today’s dollars.
Other Wealthy Presidents
All of the founding fathers became wealthy at some point. Thomas Jefferson had 284 million in today’s dollars. James Madison had a net worth of $136 million.
Other presidents with more than a hundred million in 2022 dollars include:
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) – $168 million
- Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) – $159 million
- Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) – $131 million
- Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) – $100 million
While Bill Clinton doesn’t have nearly as much money as the richest two presidents, he is still the ninth wealthiest president. The next richest after him was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had $79 million.
Many Presidents Were Not Wealthy
While the earliest presidents made a lot of money, many later presidents did not. Many mid-19th to mid-20th century presidents had less than a million dollars. The nine presidents with less than a million were:
- Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
- Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
- James Buchanan (1857-1861)
- Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
- Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
- Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
William McKinley and Warren G.Harding were both relatively poor presidents, each with less than two million. Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes, and William Howard Taft had only two or three million dollars.
All other American presidents had at least five million. Most presidents had more than ten million dollars. Bill Clinton is richer than four-fifths of American presidents.
How Much Money Do Presidents Make?
Presidents earn a high salary, but not enough to get rich from their salary alone. A president makes $400,000 a year. That puts them in the top 1% of personal and the top 2% of household income, but it is still not enough to earn elite wealth status.
What Was Clinton’s Salary in the 1990s?
In the 1990s, Bill Clinton earned $200,000 per year as the 42nd president of the United States. Presidents earned $200,000 annually from 1969 to the end of Bill Clinton’s time in the White House.
$200,000 in 1969 is equal to about $1.4 million today. Clinton’s $200,000 was far less than a president’s $200,000 in 1970.
Presidential Salaries Over the Years
Originally, United States presidents made $25,000 per year. This was about $729,429 in today’s dollars, more than Joe Biden’s current salary of $400,000 and more than twice Clinton’s salary in 2000.
$729,429 per year is especially high if you consider how much less money people had in the 18th century.
The first 18 presidents, from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant, were all paid $25,000. This increased to $50,000 beginning in 1873. Since there was not very much inflation between the 1700s and 1873, $50,000 was worth 1.07 million dollars.
Ulysses S.Grant was paid $25,000 for his first term and $50,000 (more than Clinton) for his second. Everyone from Grant to Roosevelt made $50,000 per year.
From $75,000 to $400,000
Beginning in 1909, the pay increased to $75,000. It then increased to $100,000 per year in 1949 (starting with Truman), $200,000 per year in 1969 (starting with Nixon), and $400,000 per year in 2001 (starting with Bush).
Bill Clinton was one of the lowest-paid presidents. However, he still became wealthy because of the presidency. A former president has huge advantages over other people. They can use their notoriety and connections to powerful people to greatly increase their earning potential.
Do Former Presidents Get Paid?
Yes, former presidents receive a $200,000 per year pension.
However, a $200,000 per year pension is only a small part of Bill Clinton’s income. His net worth mostly comes from speaking engagements and book deals.
What About Post Presidency Benefits?
Former presidents have other tax-funded benefits besides their pensions. They receive hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to pay for an office and a small staff.
Post-presidency benefits come from the Former Presidents Act of 1958.
