Curious if anyone has insight on President's that may have struggled financially post-White House. I'm sure most were rich enough to be living luxurious lifestyles but was wondering if there was an odd man out. This thought was sparked by the Clintons "struggling" relatively speaking according to Hillary. Thanks!
Currently, former presidents are paid a pension salary equal to serving cabinet members (currently $191,300 per year). It is taxable as regular income and paid monthly. But this was not always the case. The Former Presidents Act (FPA) was passed in 1958, with later amendments, to provide for former presidents:
Harry Truman, while not destitute on leaving office, did have to sell some property to maintain a modest lifestyle. The FPA was passed in response to his situation. Herbert Hoover, the only other living former president at the time, took advantage of the pension as well. I've read that it was so as not to embarrass Truman, but I'm having trouble finding a source for that.
Prior to Truman, Thomas Jefferson at the end of his life was wealthy in land, but not so much in money. He was in debt for over $100,000 when he died, which was quite a lot of money. He did sell his substantial library collection to the Library of Congress after the British burned the Capitol in 1814, but whether that was to raise funds for himself, or provide for Congress, or a little of both, who's to say? He did sell the library rather than donate it, if that means anything.
Ulysses Grant lost a lot of money in an investment near the end of his life, and was racing against his advanced throat cancer to finish his memoirs, so that his wife and family would be provided for after he died. Mark Twain actually offered to publish it for him. He finished it a few days before he died, and it ended up being a bestseller.
There may be others (especially from early on), but those are some famous examples.
Truman is the most famous example of an ex-president struggling somewhat after leaving office. That's why Congress passed the Former Presidents Act. Though after Truman sold family farm land and especially after writing his memoirs, he became financially stable. His daughter Margaret married a wealthy NYT editor and lived in a luxurious Manhattan apartment.
Carter is probably the next closest case of a former president, while not struggling, isn't terribly wealthy by ex-presidential standards. Unlike most ex-presidents, he doesn't give a lot of paid speeches, but supplements his income by writing a lot of books. He spends most of his time helping poor people through the Carter Center.
Do presidents get health insurance just based off being president? I read somewhere that president Carter didnt get gov health insurance because he hadnt worked for the federal gov long enough