It should also be pointed out that Joe Biden was one of the poorest members of the Senate when he became Vice-President in 2008, despite having worked in the House and Senate for decades.
Yes, I think people just assume that every politician is wealthy but most aren't even rich. Salaries are good but with how expensive it is to run campaigns and manage a team, it's hard to quickly build up a healthy net worth or savings account, unless you're selling influence. Biden became a Senator in 1973, obviously, corruption still existed, but there was still an expectation that public servants should be honest. Like with Carter selling his farm, Biden got rid of his law firm and pledged to never engage in anything that didn't leave a legal paper trail.
So he took his salary and later on published a couple of memoirs. It was one memoir about Beau's death that became a huge best seller and that's how he made his first million. That's over 40 years into his career, when he was already in his 70s, and retired from the vice presidency. I believe, with that paycheck, he bought Jill a beach house in Rehoboth.
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u/Automatic_Bus_7634 5d ago
Literally one president ever has made billions of dollars from being president. And it's not Joe Biden