He retired late and has a mortgage not set to be paid off until just after his 100th birthday.
Some might say that’s not the best of financial planning.
And as he struggles to find his post-presidential feet there seems little prospect that Joe Biden, 82, will get any help from some of his Democratic friends.
Many of them are still seething at the octogenarian’s decision to attempt a reelection bid in 2024, and have little appetite to invite him to make lucrative speeches, or to contribute funds to his presidential library.
‘There isn’t a whole lot of goodwill for the former president in some key corridors of power, and that stems from the fact that he never should have tried to mount a reelection,’ one Democratic insider told the Daily Mail.
‘A lot of us are frustrated and even angry.
‘So, there are very few of us who are well disposed to want to support a presidential library or to provide him any other kind of financial support.
‘There are a lot of Democrats that remain really disappointed In what he did and would rather he ride off into the Rehoboth sunset.’
Joe Biden is not making the kind of money his predecessors did in their post-presidencies
Usually, the years after a presidency are when the money pours in, but for Biden the financial future looks rather bleak.
He is hardly on the breadline, but his finances seem remarkably removed from what voters might expect for a former commander in chief.
According to public records, he left office with a mortgage on his main home in Wilmington, Delaware of somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000, at an interest rate of 3.375 percent.
He took out that 30-year loan with TD Bank in 2013, when he was aged 70, and it was initially for over $500,000, so he did make some progress reducing it as president.
Meanwhile, he has also been juggling a $250,000 home equity loan taken out on his holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 2022, while he was in the White House.
It was a 10-year debt, due to be paid off when he is aged 90, and is on a variable interest rate.
If Donald Trump succeeds in his ongoing quest to get Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates then that would help out Biden on that loan.
Joe Biden gest an ice cream near his holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on August 29, 2025
President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a black-tie dinner at the White House on February 24, 2024
When he left office Biden also had an open-ended line of credit at an interest rate of five to eight percent for up to $50,000, and another bank loan of up to $15,000 due to be paid back by 2028.
CelticCapri Corp, the company he set up in 2017 to receive royalties from books and speaking engagements was dormant.
And, in their final year in office, Joe and Jill Biden received less than $3,100 in royalties for four books they wrote including ‘JOEY – The Story of Joe Biden’ and ‘Willow the White House Cat.’
Biden did have several bank accounts holding a total of between $632,000 and $1.38million, and a series of investments each worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to presidential financial disclosures. Their tax returns showed the Bidens earned to $619,976 in 2023.
At age 82, Biden is too old for a new career and he has instead been working on a book, having signed a $10million deal with publisher Hachette.
However, that is dwarfed by the $60million Barack and Michelle Obama received for theirs.
Biden has been out of the White House for eight months
While he was president he took out a home equity loan on his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Several weeks ago former President Joe Biden had surgery to remove skin cancer lesions and was seen with a scar on his head. In May, Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer and said his prognosis was good after treatments
Publishers say a tell-all from Jill Biden would be worth much more – if she was willing to stick the knife into those who had a hand in getting her husband to withdraw from the 2024 race, including the Obamas, Nancy Pelosi and George Clooney.
A former White House official told the Daily Mail such a book would be ‘explosive,’ but it seems unlikely.
Ex-presidents have often cashed in with major speeches and huge fees. Bill Clinton is believed to have made over $100million from speeches.
Biden is represented by a powerhouse Hollywood agency which does not make public his speaking fee.
But its website lists ‘cost-saving options’ including ‘virtual presentations, local/regional events, off-peak booking periods and flexible event dates.’
One Democrat told the Daily Mail: ‘He’s not a draw. He’s not someone that people, because of all of these frustrations, that people want to pay to go to an event where he’s the speaker.
‘I don’t expect donors or organizations are going to seek him out in large numbers. It’s not just because Trump is in the White House, it’s because of the decisions that Biden made when he was in the White House.’
Biden faces a backlash from Democrats angry he tried to run for a second term
Joe Biden at an Amtrak station in February 2025 after leaving office
In April, Biden spoke at the a conference in Chicago held by the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled.
In July he addressed the annual conference of the Society for Human Resource Management in San Diego.
When he flew out to that event travelers were amazed to see him in an ordinary airport lounge and boarding a commercial American Airlines flight.
A heavily tattooed passenger who grabbed a selfie with him in the Admirals Club Lounge wrote on Instagram: ‘I’m literally sitting by the bathroom on my laptop in the AA lounge and I look up. Standing right there is the President. He then asked me how much I can curl and put his head on my bicep. Surreal.’
Biden was then seen stuck in the aisle of the Airbus A321 with other passengers as they placed hand luggage in overhead bins.
One passenger posted a photograph, writing: ‘When Joe Biden casually gets on your flight from Philly to San Diego.’
His choice of plane reading was ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’ by Thomas Cahill.
Joe Biden has been flying commercial rather than by private jet after leaving office
After his speech Biden stayed on the West Coast and went to visit his son Hunter in Malibu, where he reportedly stayed in a trailer park – albeit one of the world’s most salubrious trailer parks – in a home belonging to the music star Moby.
Biden then went to a public beach where he was photographed struggling with an umbrella as other stunned beachgoers looked on.
He reportedly went to Paradise Cove Beach Cafe, a reasonably-priced restaurant popular with families.
It is well-known as the site where the main character in the 1970s TV series the Rockford Files lived in a trailer.
A pleasant spot, no doubt, but it must have seemed a long way from the luxury of the White House.
Joe Biden reportedly holidayed at Paradise Cove in California
The beach in Paradise Cove is popular with families
Hunter Biden said in court documents that his financial position had ‘significantly deteriorated’
Meanwhile, Hunter, 55, has his own ongoing financial issues.
According to a 2023 court filing, his ex-wife claimed he owed her $2.9 million.
Another court filing in March indicated he was left without a permanent home after his $4 million rented property in Malibu was damaged by wildfires.
The court filing said Hunter had ‘suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range.’
Hunter said: ‘While I was aware that my financial position had significantly deteriorated over time, it was not until the past month that I realized I had to take drastic actions to alleviate this situation.’
He told the court that, in his new career as an artist, he had sold only one painting since the end of 2023, along with only 1,100 copies of his book.
He added: ‘I was expecting to obtain paid speaking engagements and paid appearances, but that has not happened.’
