When is the last time America had a non-millionaire President?

BlooInBloo

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:14 PM
Original message

When is the last time America had a non-millionaire President?

(a) according to today's value of money, and
(b) according to the value of money at the time the person was President?

A link would be appreciated, if anyone has one.

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madrchsod

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:16 PM
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1. truman or ike

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etherealtruth

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:17 PM
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2. Truman?

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Missy M

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:19 PM
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3. Bill Clinton

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BOSSHOG

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:19 PM
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4. Clinton?

I do not believe Bill Clinton was anywhere near a millionaire (personal wealth) in November 1992.

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:20 PM
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5. I would guess Bill

Clinton. His money came after he was President.

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Catherine Vincent

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:21 PM
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6. Big Dog.

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MADem

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:22 PM
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7. Jimmy Carter.

http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/personoftheyear/archive/stories/1976.html

...The former Navy officer and nuclear engineer is an efficiency expert who values long-range planning and prides himself on his managerial ability ("I like to run things"). He also considers himself to be a fiscal conservative, a businessman who has had to meet a payroll, and he pledges to produce a balanced budget by the end of his first term. (Carter plans to place his holdings in the family farm, warehousing and land business in a trust, though its nature has not yet been decided. In 1975 the firm grossed $2.5 million, and Carter said his net worth was $811,982.09.)

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fryguy

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:37 PM
Response to Reply #7

23. in today's dollars, his net worth would have been $3,101,530.10

a millionaire three times over

here's a handy calculator for figuring out the CPI (Consumer Price Index), or what the value of the dollar is/was as compared to other years.

http://woodrow.mpls.frb.fed.us/research/data/us/calc/

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MADem

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:59 PM
Response to Reply #23

26. Eh, too hard! I wasn't about to look THAT up!!!

Still, he wasn't a rich guy. He was a businessman-farmer who did well enough, but he wasn't a limo and largesse kind of guy.

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rock

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:24 PM
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8. I'm pretty sure Bill Clinton is the answer

as the above posts indicate. Whew! Hasn't it been a long, long time!

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Sgent

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:25 PM
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9. Your kidding right?

Bill may not have been a millionaire -- but Hillary certainly was. Partner at Rose law firm (400-1,000 salary / year), director of Wal-Mart (probably 300k / yr), etc.

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sinkingfeeling

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:33 PM
Response to Reply #9

12. Don't think Hilary was either. I did find these numbers from their income

taxes:

Clinton made $35,000 a year as Governor of Arkansas, the lowest salary of any U.S. Governor.

The Clintons reported a gross income of $268,646 on their 1990 federal income tax return, up from $197,651 in 1989. Most of the income came from Hillary's law practice. ($105,771 in 1990, $92,444 in 1989.)

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BlooInBloo

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #12

15. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but 105 is less than 1/2 of 268.

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sinkingfeeling

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:41 PM
Response to Reply #15

24. Like most couples, they had some investments, but Hilary reported

$105K as income and Bill had $35K. They did not own a home in Arkansas, so I'm guessing the rest came from investments and maybe speaking fees?

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TheDebbieDee

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #9

16. "Director of Wal-Mart"........

This was a ceremonial appointment as are all First Ladies of the State of Arkansas are appointed to the Board of Walmart. I doubt that she made any money from this....

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Cerridwen

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:26 PM
Response to Original message

10. Do you mean was not a millionaire when they went into politics?

Or by the time they actually ran for president? Many who went into politics were not millionaires but became such after some time in the political sphere.

It might change the answer a bit. These days, I don't know if a non-millionaire can afford to run an effective campaign for President. I don't agree it should be this way, but I do believe it is this way.

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chelsea0011

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:32 PM
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11. A more interesting question would be how many Congressman/women

entered Congress with little money and left millionaires on salaries slightly over $140,000 presently. Bob Dole made himself a millionaire while in Congress. How? With the cost of living in the DC area it kills me how much they beg, borrow, and steal.

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fryguy

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:39 PM
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13. a millionaire in assets (total worth) or income? - n/t

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BlooInBloo

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Wed Feb-28-07 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #13

14. Net worth.

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fryguy

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #14

17. Adjusted for inflation and in today's dollars

Edited on Wed Feb-28-07 04:22 PM by fryguy

I would be surprised if we have had one president in the last 100 years whose net worth wasn't over a million. It might be somewhat anecdotal, but when you factor in the value of people's homes in many parts of the county, etc., having a net worth of over $1 million isn't so uncommon; consider that Mississippi, which ranks 50th in average household income, still has a bit over 39,000 of them, or 21.5 millionaires per 1,000 households. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/almanacamericanwealth/2007/flash/index.html?cnn=yes)

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leftofthedial

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:22 PM
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18. Or Senator

for that matter

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Mr. Ected

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:22 PM
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19. Does Bush's Moral Bankruptcy Exempt Him?

Apples and oranges, I guess.

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BlooInBloo

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:27 PM
Response to Reply #19

21. (snarfle!)

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Tierra_y_Libertad

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:25 PM
Response to Original message

20. I don't know. But, U.S. Grant had to write his memoirs, while dying of cancer,

to provide for the needs of his family.

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question everything

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:37 PM
Response to Original message

22. Clinton. I think that as a governor he was paid 37K

or something. And Hillary was not a milionnaire, certainly.

The only president who did not even own a home when he moved to the White House.

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WI_DEM

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Wed Feb-28-07 04:44 PM
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25. I'm pretty sure Bill Clinton wasn't.

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WorldResident

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Wed Feb-28-07 05:26 PM
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27. Carter was a millionaire from the peanut farming business

http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Presidents/Carter,Jimmy.html

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