How Much Are the Members of the Past 2 Presidential Administrations Worth?

Generally speaking, people don’t go into public service to get rich, but plenty of rich people go into public service — and they tend to land the big gigs near the top of the totem pole. A lot of times, their stints are brief as they move through the so-called “revolving door” between politics and industry. 

So when you’re at the top of the political ladder in a presidential administration, it seems you’re never far away from people of extraordinary wealth.

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Over the last half-decade or so, some of the richest people in the country and the world have served in the administrations of President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump — mostly President Trump. 

As this lopsided list reveals, the collective riches of the current president’s crew would get lost in the shadow of that of the former. 

Here’s a look at the fortunes amassed by the richest members of the past two presidents’ administrations, but it’s important to note that this list includes only those for whom reliable net worth information is available. 

In December 2016, CBS reported that President Trump had assembled the wealthiest Cabinet in American history, and Trump himself is the richest president ever to hold the office.

• Net worth: $2 billion
• Position, years held: 45th President of the United States, 2017-2021

America’s first billionaire president, Donald Trump came into office with a sprawling portfolio of income-generating properties from golf courses to skyscrapers, as well as licensing and royalties contracts from his eponymous brand. 

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• Net worth: $2 billion
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Education, 2017-2021

When she married Dick DeVos, Betsy DeVos joined one of America’s richest families, whose fortune comes from Dick DeVos’ father, Richard DeVos, who co-founded the Amway company in 1959.

• Net worth: $1.6 billion
• Position, years held: Administrator of the Small Business Administration of the United States, 2017-2019

Along with her husband, Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon founded Titan Sports and grew it into WWE, a multinational corporation and the most successful wrestling promotional company in the world.

• Net worth: $860 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Commerce, 2017-2021

A former bankruptcy specialist at the investment firm Rothschild & Co., Wilbur Ross created his own private equity firm and then sold it for $100 million upfront and hundreds of millions more in future earnings.

• Net worth: $400 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of the Treasury, 2017-2021

Steven Mnuchin worked for 17 years at the Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs before he branched out into private investments in film, finance, art and real estate.

• Net worth: $300 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of State, 2017-2018

A powerful Texas oilman, Rex Tillerson joined Exxon Mobil in 1975 and became the company’s CEO in 2006.

• Net worth: $50 million
• Position, years held: United States Attorney General, 2019-2020

After a long legal career that included a previous stint as attorney general two decades earlier, Barr earned his fortune when he moved from government work to corporate law for companies like Verizon.

• Net worth: $30 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2017-2021

Ben Carson developed pioneering new techniques and conducted groundbreaking procedures during his career as a neurosurgeon and director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

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• Net worth: $30 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Transportation, 2017-2021

The wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao is the daughter of James Chao, who founded a shipping company called Foremost Maritime Group, which he grew into a multinational giant.

• Net worth: $6 million
• Position, years held: White House Press Secretary, 2017

Before he joined the Trump administration, Sean Spicer parlayed his early political career and government appointments into Endeavor Global Strategies, a public relations firm he co-founded that gave foreign businesses access to the U.S. government.

• Net worth: $5 million
• Position, years held: United States Attorney General, 2017-2018

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was a U.S. senator before his appointment to attorney general, but his long legal and political career went national back in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

• Net worth: $3 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Energy, 2017-2019

Rick Perry’s state and local political career began in the 1980s, but he became a nationally prominent figure when he succeeded George W. Bush as the governor of Texas when Bush became president.

• Net worth: $1.5 million
• Position, years held: White House Press Secretary, 2017-2019

The daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sarah Huckabee worked on her father’s campaigns and then leveraged that experience as a political strategist, political analyst and politician — she’s currently campaigning to be governor of Arkansas, herself.

• Net worth: $1 million
• Position, years held: 48th Vice President of the United States, 2017-2021

Like many career politicians who are just plain rich and not truly wealthy, Vice President Mike Pence’s fortune can be traced almost entirely to his state and federal pensions, according to Forbes.

• Net worth: $800,000
• Position, years held: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2017-2018; United States Secretary of State, 2018-2021

A West Point valedictorian and Harvard Law graduate, Mike Pompeo — like so many others on this list — earned his net worth through a long career in law, business and public office.

• Net worth: $500,000
• Position, years held: White House Press Secretary, 2020-2021

Kayleigh McEnany worked as a political strategist, author and on-air contributor to several news outlets before joining the White House, and she has since joined Fox News.

• Net worth: $400,000 
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Homeland Security, 2017; Chief of Staff of the White House, 2017-2019

John Kelly left the military as a four-star general, but before he joined the Trump administration, he served on the board of advisors for an investment firm called DC Capital Partners.

Only five members of the Biden administration had verifiably high net worths — the Trump administration has more than three times that number. 

• Net worth: $9 million
• Position, years held: 46th President of the United States, 2021-present

President Biden was one of the youngest U.S. senators in history when he was elected to the Senate in 1972 at the age of 29 and remained in the chamber for more than 36 years before becoming vice president in 2009. 

• Net worth: $16 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of the Treasury, 2021-present

A longtime economist with an accomplished academic career, Janet Yellen was the chair of the Federal Reserve and the Council of Economic Advisors, but she made her money on the speaking circuit before becoming Treasury secretary, according to Forbes.

• Net worth: $5 million
• Position, years held: 49th Vice President of the United States, 2021-present

The first woman vice president in history, Kamala Harris earned hefty salaries as district attorney in San Francisco and attorney general of California, but her family’s fortune is mostly from her husband Doug Emhoff and his income as a high-powered private-sector attorney, according to Forbes.

• Net worth: $1 million
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Energy, 2021-present

A two-term governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm went on to work as a law professor and serve on boards of major corporations like the Dow Chemical Company.

• Net worth: $250,000
• Position, years held: United States Secretary of Transportation, 2021-present

A former mayor of South Bend Indiana, Pete Buttigieg also worked as a corporate consultant and a political and policy strategist.

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Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the following positions for each of the past two presidential administrations; (1) elected official (President and Vice President); (2) Press Secretary & Chief of Staff; and (3) cabinet level positions that were confirmed by the Senate (no “acting” secretaries were included). With these parameters set, GOBankingRates found the name, position held, year(s) the position was held, and the person’s net worth as of April 25, 2022, as sourced from CelebrityNetWorth.com.