TWO PRESIDENTS and THEIR PERSONAL $$$ - WINNER or ABUSE OF POWER?

By any measure, the U.S. presidency is a position of extraordinary visibility.

Less often examined, however, is how the personal wealth of those who occupy the office changes while they do. This article offers a narrow, factual comparison of estimated wealth gains associated with two recent presidents—Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Up till end of 2025.
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How we compare

We summarize widely reported, order-of-magnitude estimates of personal and family wealth change during and immediately around each presidency.
Valuations vary; exact accounting is neither possible nor required for understanding relative magnitude.

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Donald Trump: a presidency alongside large private holdings

Donald Trump entered office with extensive business interests spanning real estate, resorts, and licensing arrangements. Ownership was retained during the presidency, and valuations of such portfolios are inherently complex.

Across the presidency and its immediate aftermath, public financial journalism has placed Trump-family wealth increases in a broad range. Conservative aggregations commonly cite hundreds of millions of dollars in additional value, with some estimates reaching approximately one billion dollars, depending on assumptions about cash flow, asset revaluation, and brand-related income. The spread reflects the difficulty of pricing private enterprises rather than disagreement that gains were substantial.

Estimated wealth change (order of magnitude): ~$300 million to ~$1 billion.

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Joe Biden: modest gains typical of a career officeholder

Joe Biden entered the presidency without operating businesses and with personal wealth largely tied to real estate, pensions, savings, and prior book income. During the presidency, income consisted primarily of salary, with routine asset appreciation.

Public estimates indicate that Biden’s net worth increased by low single-digit millions of dollars over the term—figures consistent with compensation and ordinary investment gains rather than enterprise expansion.

Estimated wealth change (order of magnitude): ~$1 million to ~$3 million.

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Side-by-side, at a glance

• Trump: ~$300M–$1B
• Biden: ~$1M–$3M

Even allowing for uncertainty, the ratio difference is in hundreds of times.

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The Judgment Is Yours — Frequently to our European Surprise

Readers encountering the figures above may reach different conclusions—not because they disagree on the numbers, but because they rely on different standards of fairness and legitimacy. For European audiences in particular, the American reactions can come as a surprise.

In much of Europe, public office is understood as a role of COUNTRY SERVICE that constrains private interest. The legitimacy of a system is judged not only by elections, but by whether rules prevent the misuse of power for personal gains, as expectedly to be at the expense of the interests of regular citizens. Under this logic, large divergences in personal wealth outcomes during office tend to raise immediate questions about institutional design, conflict prevention, and trust.

In the United States, legitimacy is more commonly anchored elsewhere. The decisive test is often electoral consent: “voters knew who they were choosing”, and the outcome therefore carries democratic authorization. If conduct is lawful and openly visible, many Americans consider it legitimate even if it appears uneven or unfair by European standards.

The United States was founded on deep suspicion of state power and comparatively less suspicion of private wealth. European democracies, shaped by different historical experiences, evolved stronger norms to contain private power once it intersects with state power. As a result, Americans often just ask whether voters consented, while Europeans ask whether the system should have allowed such outcomes in the first place.

So, AMERICANS may see a WINNER and EUROPEANS an enormous ABUSE OF OFFICE and STATE POWER

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