• President Joe Biden’s net worth is $9 million.

• Biden once described himself as “the poorest man in Congress.”

• His salary as vice president was $230,700.

With decades of political experience behind him, Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States on Nov. 7, 2020. Take a look at how he made it from senator to vice president to president — and how he’s earned his wealth along the way.

Find Out: Financial Perks of Being President

Birthdate: Nov. 20, 1942
Net Worth: $9 million
Main Sources of Income: Book deals and speaking fees
Career Highlights: 46th president of the U.S.

Joe Biden Net Worth: $9 Million

President 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; he’ll be earning $400,000 as president.

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.

Joe Biden’s Political Career

Biden was elected to the Senate from the state of Delaware in 1972 when he was 29, becoming one of the youngest senators in history. His first wife and young daughter were killed in an automobile accident only weeks after his appointment, an event that influenced his decision to commute to the Senate by train.

During his time in the Senate, Biden presided over several governmental boards, serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He ran for president twice before, once for the 1988 race and again for the 2008 presidential election. Biden served as vice president under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. He started his term as president of the United States on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2021.