Bill Clinton’s staggering fortune after leaving White House with millions in debt

Joe Biden inauguration: Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton arrive

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Bill Clinton celebrates his 76th birthday today, more than two decades after he was US President. His latter years as leader were filled with scandal that cost him millions, and is still strongly connected to the Clinton name to this day.

Clinton ended his presidential term in 2001, and told NBC at the time that he “left the White House $16million (£13million) in debt”.

NPR reported at the time that Clinton’s presidential salary of $200,000 (£165,000) had been drowned by attorneys’ fees and the legal battles he had been caught in during his latter years as President.

Clinton’s wife Hillary, who later ran for office herself, commented they were “dead broke” in 2001.

The incredible amount of debt may seem insurmountable but barely three years later the Clinton’s had paid it off.

Following his presidency, Clinton utilised his widespread fame to create a successful career “speaking and writing”.

Despite the scandals that chased him out of the White House, Clinton booked 57 speeches in the first year after he left office.

That year Clinton reportedly earned between $125,000 (£103,000) to $350,000 (£290,000) for each speaking opportunity.

In total, Clinton earned $13.7million (£11million) from this work alone.

While this doesn’t quite make up the deficit he left the White House in, wife Hillary was also earning a decent sum for her writing talents.

Hillary reportedly received $2.9million (£2.4million) that year in an instalment from her $8million (£6.65m) advance for the book Living History.

Similarly, Clinton himself received a $10million (£8.3million) advance for his book My Life.

The autobiography would go on to become a bestseller and is reported to have received a total of $15million (£12.4million) for the book.

Finally, each president of America receives a presidential pension once they leave office.

The current rate for this pension is believed to be roughly $200,000 (£165,000) per year.

There are four former presidents currently receiving this pension, including Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Altogether, this income more than covered Clinton’s devastating debt and allowed the family to start building up their net worth and recovering from the reputational damage of Clinton’s publicised legal struggles.

The pair’s collective net worth would continue to grow, with Hillary being worth an estimated $45million (£37million) by the time she ran for office against Trump in 2016.

CNBC reported that between 2001 and 2015, just before Hillary would run for election, the pair earned over $153.7million (£127million) in speeches alone.

Currently, Clinton is believed to have an individual net worth of $90million (£74million).

Combined with Hillary’s net worth, the couple is believed to be worth $120million (£99.5million) according to Celebrity Net Worth.

CA Knowledge reported that over a third of their net worth is held in assets.

This reportedly includes 15 properties in their real estate properties, nine cars and two yachts.

The outlet also noted that Clinton currently has $26million (£21million) in cash reserves.

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