# Which president had the thinnest wallet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829 "2011-04-10T02:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/21 "2011-04-11T01:45:19Z")
> [@pinklintango](#): > > Clinton or Obama would be my guess. Your guess would be wrong. Obama and Carter were both millionaires, Obama from his books and Carter from his peanut farms. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/22 "2011-04-11T01:57:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Your guess would be wrong. Obama and Carter were both millionaires, Obama from his books and Carter from his peanut farms. > > Regards, > Shodan How do you spell Carter again? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/23 "2011-04-11T04:27:05Z")
Lincoln’s widow was horribly in debt after his assassination. Partly her own fault because she insisted on living way beyond her means. She also had known mental issues. Had Lincoln survived his Presidency I suspect they still would have been quite poor. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/24 "2011-04-11T07:05:08Z")
There’s no point in continuing to discuss this matter until Donfield, who asked the question, tells us whether he/she means the wealth of the President’s family at his birth, the wealth at his election, or the wealth at his death. These are three different questions with three different answers. We’re not even attempting to answer any of these questions anymore but just throwing out random facts (like the wealth after the President’s death of his widow, which isn’t really anything to do with the President himself). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/25 "2011-04-11T15:04:08Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Lincoln’s widow was horribly in debt after his assassination. Partly her own fault because she insisted on living way beyond her means. She also had known mental issues. Had Lincoln survived his Presidency I suspect they still would have been quite poor. Lincoln did quite well as a trial lawyer in Illinois, including handling some very lucrative cases for railroads. He had an account at Tiffany & Co. and was able to pay for the First Lady’s excess White House-redecoration spending out of his own pocket. He’d already told his partner, William Herndon, that he expected to return to his law practice in Springfield once he left the White House. I don’t think they would have been starved for cash. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/26 "2011-04-11T15:31:17Z")
The OP seems reasonably clear: > [@](#): > > has any president come to office from the middle or lower class (adjusted for inflation)? So lowest net worth at time he took office. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/27 "2011-04-11T15:36:27Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > In 1952 my HS history teacher claimed that Truman didn’t have enough money to run the White House properly. I don’t know if he got an allowance for the purpose. But he certainly didn’t profit from politics. I believe that assertion is supported in David McCullough biography “Truman”. Been a few years since I read it, but I think I remember a section explaining that he and Bess were worried about the social obligations of being the first couple. Apparently, some of those expenses were the personal responsibility of the president. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/28 "2011-04-11T15:59:03Z")
At the end of 2005 ,Obama reported income of 200,000 to 400,000 . After best sellers the next year it rose to 455.000 to 1 mill. Yet somehow he paid 2 million to cover up his birth certificate. He used his money wisely. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/29 "2011-04-11T16:27:46Z")
My post about Mary Toff Lincoln was directly on point. IIRC she was the first person to receive a presidential pension. Lincoln himself came from a log cabin and very poor childhood conditions. > [@](#): > > In an act approved July 14, 1870, the United States Congress granted Mrs. Lincoln a life pension for being the widow of President Lincoln, in the amount of $3,000 a year.[24] Mary Lincoln had lobbied hard for such a pension, writing numerous letters to Congress and relying on patrons such as Simon Cameron to work on her behalf. Almost crazed on the subject of money, she insisted that as the wife of the leading figure in the land, she deserved a pension just as much as the widows of soldiers. > **[Mary Todd Lincoln](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Todd_Lincoln)** > > Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818 – July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. > Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy slave-owning family in Kentucky, although Mary never owned slaves and in her adulthood came to oppose slavery. Well educated, after finishing-school in her late teens, she moved to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. She lived there with her married sister Elizabeth Tod... > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > There’s no point in continuing to discuss this matter until Donfield, who asked the question, tells us whether he/she means the wealth of the President’s family at his birth, the wealth at his election, or the wealth at his death. These are three different questions with three different answers. We’re not even attempting to answer any of these questions anymore but just throwing out random facts (like the wealth after the President’s death of his widow, which isn’t really anything to do with the President himself). ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/30 "2011-04-11T16:45:42Z")
Even if Bill Clinton didn’t make much money as a governor, his wife was a successful lawyer, so at a minimum they were upper-middle-class when he was elected president. That’s assuming Bill didn’t get anything under the table (pun intended) by people trying to curry favor with the governor. The Obama’s certainly don’t seem to be hurting for money, seeing as they can afford to send their daughters to a very exclusive private school. Plus, Michele and one of the girls (I don’t remember which) were able to fly to Europe on vacation recently, supposedly at their own expense. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/31 "2011-04-11T17:36:57Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Much more recently, Reagan, Nixon, Ford, Clinton and Obama all came from low-income families. (Although of course Obama does have that Kenyan-MauMau-Islmacist secret trust fund to fall back on. 😛 ) Clinton’s stepfather was a succesful car dealer. Clinton’s family had an upper middle class life after his mother got married when he was four. ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/32 "2011-04-11T18:57:44Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > in a world where the 100 members of the senate are pretty much international stars Not sure what you mean by this, but you’d struggle to find **anyone** outside of the US who could name a single US senator. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/33 "2011-04-11T23:13:54Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > At the end of 2005 ,Obama reported income of 200,000 to 400,000 . After best sellers the next year it rose to 455.000 to 1 mill. Yet somehow he paid 2 million to cover up his birth certificate. He used his money wisely. **gonzomax**. This is an extraneous comment and useless in this thread. No warning, but try to keep the comments on topic. **samclem** , Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/34 "2011-04-11T23:28:35Z")
The point of gaining the presidency, or premiership in other countries, is, aside from the power thing, to make friends. Both during the candidacy and in office. If you are good friends to them, they will be good friends to you. So regardless of social position, remember friendship is more important than money ( but that it’s easier to make friends if one has money ). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/35 "2011-04-12T00:13:07Z")
puddleglum writes: \> Clinton’s stepfather was a succesful car dealer. Clinton’s family had an upper \> middle class life after his mother got married when he was four. Well, no, actually. Clinton’s stepfather ran the parts department in his brother’s (i.e., the stepfather’s brother’s) car dealership. Clinton’s mother was a nurse with a master’s degree, so they still should have had a reasonably comfortable middle-class life. Unfortunately, the stepfather was an alcoholic. His mother and his stepfather got divorced at one point and then later remarried. Because of this they weren’t as well off as they might have been. They were middle class, but not upper-middle class. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/36 "2011-04-12T23:55:09Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [American Heritage](http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1966/6/1966_6_4.shtml) article on the wealth of the Presidents. O/T: does American Heritage have online editors? I couldn’t get past the first paragraph. “At least one President was a multi-millionaire. Another had gone hroke…Soon after he became President, John Adams wrote forlornly from Philadelphia to his beloved Abigail about the exorbitant tost of maintaining his position… he had just received a gigantic cheese as a gilt from the state of Rhode Island. Perhaps, he mused, when his money was gone he could live oil the cheese.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/37 "2011-04-13T01:32:18Z")
It appears that the back issues were OCR’d on the theory that it was better to have the material available than to wait until it was perfect. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/38 "2011-04-13T14:35:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > puddleglum writes: > > \> Clinton’s stepfather was a succesful car dealer. Clinton’s family had an upper > \> middle class life after his mother got married when he was four. > > Well, no, actually. Clinton’s stepfather ran the parts department in his brother’s (i.e., the stepfather’s brother’s) car dealership. Clinton’s mother was a nurse with a master’s degree, so they still should have had a reasonably comfortable middle-class life. Unfortunately, the stepfather was an alcoholic. His mother and his stepfather got divorced at one point and then later remarried. Because of this they weren’t as well off as they might have been. They were middle class, but not upper-middle class. It is my understanding that Roger Clinton had his own dealership which he sold after marrying Clinton’s mother. He then purchased a 400 acre farm. They lived there for a few years before he sold it and ran the service department for his brother’s dealership. He had a very good job and the money from selling a large farm. This combined with the fact that they had a two income family at a time where that was less common, would have probably put them into the upper part of the middle class. The average household income during the late fifties was around $5,000 a year. Both of Clinton’s parent’s probably would have made more than that which would put them in the top 10% of families nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829/39 "2011-04-13T15:04:44Z")
Neither farming, nor running the service department of a car dealership, nor nursing are usually considered upper-middle-class jobs. Just being barely within the top 10% isn’t usually considered quite enough to put them into the upper-middle-class either, if one were to go by income. It’s my impression that they wouldn’t have been in the top 10% anyway, since Roger Clinton’s alcoholism and the divorce both messed up their financial situation. Has anyone read a really detailed biography of Clinton that carefully addresses this issue? I don’t think we’re really so far apart on this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-president-had-the-thinnest-wallet/577829.md?page=1)