How Joe Biden Made His Millions

Joe Biden used to joke about being the poorest member of Congress. Don't hold it against me that I don't own a single stock or bond. Don't hold and I have no savings account. Now he's among the richest Democrats running for president. Life after the vice presidency fattened Biden's wallet. He and his wife Jill made more than $15 million in 2017 and 2018 combined. That's easily the most out of the 2020 Democratic primary candidates who have released their taxes. And Biden's sudden explosion of wealth doesn't quite square with the image he's pitched to Americans for years. All my time in public life since I've gotten involved, I've been referred to as middle class Joe. It's not always meant as a compliment. Let me say this simply clearly, and I mean this, the country wasn't built by Wall Street bankers, CEOs and hedge fund managers. It was built by you. It was built by the great American middle class. Biden may once have been part of that middle class. He's definitely not anymore. 2016 was Biden's last year as an elected official after more than four decades. The Bidens made about $400,000. That's more than six times the US median income. But Biden really started making money after he left the Obama administration in 2017. The couple raked in more than $11 million. They made another $4.6 million last year. They now say they have between $2.2 million and $8 million in assets. They paid about a third of their adjusted gross income in federal income taxes in 2017. Last year they paid about $1.5 million in taxes. So where did all that money come from? Mostly books and speaking fees. The Bidens have two S-Corporations that get paid for their book deals and speaking gigs. Those 2017 Trump tax cuts that are a punching bag for Biden and his 2020 rivals? They gave a 20 percent tax break to owners of businesses like the Bidens have. The S-Corps made about $10 million combined in 2017. They took in about $3.2 million last year. Joe Biden's book 'Promise me Dad' came out in November 2017. It followed the 2015 death of his son Beau. Jill Biden's book 'Where the Light Enters' was released in May 2019. Joe Biden promoted his book with a tour in 2017 and 2018. He made tens of thousands of dollars for just about every stop. He raked in as much as $106,000 for one stop. And fees for nearly 20 paid speeches, mostly at universities, in those two years ranged from $66,000 to $190,000. The Bidens seem to be enjoying their new wealth. They're renting a lavish 12,000 square foot house in Virginia. They also bought a $2.7 million beach house in Delaware since Joe Biden left the Obama administration. Their charitable giving also rose along with their income. The Bidens put about $275,000 or six percent of their adjusted gross income toward charities last year. In 2017 they gave more than $1 million to charity, about 9 percent of their income. That was up from 1.5 percent in 2016. But Biden's riches could cause some headaches for him. While he has led just about every national and state polls since he jumped into the race, his lead has started to shrink. The Democratic contenders have broadly focused on helping workers and reining in companies and the wealthy. Biden has been less aggressive toward business than most of his rivals. And he is already facing heat for being too cozy with the rich Recently in remarks to a group of wealthy donors, as you were speaking about the problem of income inequality in this country, you said we shouldn't "demonize the rich." You said nobody has to be punished. No one's standard of living would change. Nothing would fundamentally change. What did you mean by that? What I meant by that is, look, Donald Trump thinks Wall Street built America. Ordinary middle class Americans built America. We reached out to the Biden campaign about whether Biden's riches clash with his campaign message. A spokesman said fighting for working families has been the defining cause of Joe Biden's life. He added that Biden is running to restore the American middle class with everybody in on the deal this time. It remains to be seen whether Biden still tries to craft an image around middle class Joe as he continues his campaign. Especially if he wins the Democratic nomination and takes on President Trump in 2020. The president is a self professed billionaire who hasn't released his tax returns. He broke with decades of precedent in refusing to release them. Ten years of Trump tax returns from the 1980s and 1990s, obtained by the New York Times, show massive losses for the president's businesses. He didn't pay federal income taxes in eight of those 10 years. And since Trump was first running for President, Biden has cast him as out of touch with everyday Americans. How can there be pleasure in saying you're fired? He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That's a bunch of malarkey.

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Keywords: CNBC, business, news, finance stock, stock market, news channel, news station, breaking news, us news, world news, cable, cable news, finance news, money, money tips, financial news, Stock market news, stocks, classic footage, retro footage, Joe Biden, Joe Biden tax return, Vice President, Obama, presidential candidate, Election 2020, democrats, Democratic presidential candidate, joe biden 2020, joe biden net worth, biden trump, biden age

Id: ddTP2rUoIwI

Length: 5min 37sec (337 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 14 2019