Former Vice President Joe Biden became the official Democratic presidential candidate on Aug. 18, and he’s been campaigning hard ever since. Biden’s campaign centers on rebuilding the middle class, demonstrating leadership on the world stage and making America’s democracy more inclusive.
As of an Oct. 15-18 voter poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College, Biden leads President Trump 50% to 41% — but as you’ve seen with the 2016 election, polls are not infallible. While America eagerly awaits the outcome of Election Day, take a look at how Biden made it from senator to vice president to presidential nominee — and how he’s earned his wealth along the way.
Birthdate: Nov. 20, 1942
Net Worth: $9 million
Main Sources of Income: Vice presidential salary
Career Highlights: Helped lead the country for eight years under the Obama administration
Joe Biden Net Worth: $9 Million
Joe Biden’s net worth is $9 million, according to Forbes. Along with his wife, Jill, the Bidens’ wealth includes two Delaware homes valued at $4 million combined, cash and investments worth an additional $4 million and a federal pension worth over $1 million.
Although Biden has made a steady income as a politician, the majority of his wealth has come from book deals and speaking fees. Biden’s starting salary in the Senate was $42,500 a year in 1979; when he left the Senate in 2009, he was making $169,300. As vice president, his salary shot up to $230,700.
Biden’s first memoir, “Promises to Keep,” earned him $71,000 in royalties and $9,500 for audiobook rights around the time of its publication in 2008. But that’s chump change compared to what he has earned since leaving the White House. From 2017 to 2019, the Bidens earned more than $15 million, according to tax filings reviewed by Forbes. That includes a reportedly $8 million book deal, $1.8 million from book tour events, $2.4 million in speaking fees and $775,000 from the University of Pennsylvania to lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement as the Benjamin Franklin presidential professor of practice.
Related: States Where Biden Is Outspending Trump (and Vice Versa)
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1990: Introduced the bill that became the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which addressed domestic abuse and violence.
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2002: Voted to authorize military intervention in Iraq, but later criticized the conflict.
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2010: Assisted in the passing of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
