Earlier this year, The Atlantic published a list calculating the net worth of all 43 U.S. presidents (in 2010 dollars). By way of explanation, note the following from the article:
Because a number of presidents, particularly in the early nineteenth century, made and lost huge fortunes in a matter of a few years, the number for each man is based on his net worth at its peak.
We have taken into account hard assets like land, estimated lifetime savings based on work history, inheritance, homes, and money paid for services, which include things as diverse as their salary as collector of customs at the Port of New York to membership on Fortune 500 boards. Royalties on books have also been taken into account, along with ownership of companies and yields from family estates.
Like with the presidential rankings, take this list for what it’s worth (ordered by net worth):
- George Washington: $525 million
- Thomas Jefferson: $212 million
- Andrew Jackson: $119 million
- James Madison: $101 million
- John Tyler: $51 million
- James Monroe: $27 million
- Martin Van Buren: $26 million
- John Quincy Adams: $21 million
- John Adams: $19 million
- James Knox Polk: $10 million
- Zachary Taylor: $6 million
- William Henry Harrison: $5 million
- Millard Fillmore: $4 million
- Franklin Pierce: $2 million
- James Buchanan: Less than $1 million
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 
Ah, I misunderstood the rankings you presented. They’re not the top 10 just a sample across the era.
Still, the 5 million net worth of our current President pales in comparison to most of the rest of the list. And that’s with two best selling books to his credit.
Why the decline?
Darrell,
For which president?
and now I realized I just commented with two different names.
argh! Computers will be the death of me.
More likely, it will be brimstone that does you in!