Donald Trump v Kamala Harris: Their net worth compared

Donald Trump is the only president of the modern era to give up the US President’s paycheck. Kamala Harris is not as wealthy but is still no pauper. See how their wealth stacks up.

When Donald Trump announced he would be the first president to forgo a salary since George Washington, he was as characteristically braggadocios as he was historically inaccurate.

Republican Herbert Hoover and Democrat John F Kennedy Jr both gave their earnings away before #45 accepted a token $1 to occupy the White House.

While Mr Trump may have over-egged the pudding, he is still the only president of the modern era who has given up the constitutionally mandated paycheck.

Middle-class Californian Kamala Harris is not as independently wealthy but still no pauper, has not indicated whether she would join the altruistic ranks of cashed-up commanders-in-chief.

How much are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris worth?

If she doesn’t, it’s likely because the match-up between the businesses of politics versus property leaves Ms Harris’ net worth dwarfed by the war chest of Mr Trump; who this year returned to the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest people in the world.

NET WORTH

Mr Trump, 78, made his bones in New York and has amassed an estimated net worth of $US4.3 billion ($A6.35b), making him the 319th wealthiest person on Earth.

He had fallen off the Forbes 400 list in previous years, but one of the most lucrative post-presidencies saw Mr Trump’s net worth skyrocket with the sale of crypto-schemes, NFTs, sneakers, trading cards, coffee-table books, and the public listing of Truth Social’s parent company on the New York Stock Exchange.

That’s on top of his career in real estate and miscellaneous ventures and misadventures, from wildly successful money-printers like The Apprentice, to the tough-to-swallow oddities, like Trump Steaks.

Ms Harris has an estimated net worth of $US8 million ($A11.8m), mostly from the home she shares with her wealthy lawyer husband Doug Emhoff.

Thankfully for her, a personal war chest isn’t key to Ms Harris plan to beat Mr Trump, as Democrats out raised Republicans in campaign donations by more than double in the past three months.

SALARY

While Mr Trump’s money was made in investments, Ms Harris spent her career earning a salary as a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, US senator and vice president.

She earned between $US140,000 ($A207,000) and $US200,000 ($A300,000) annually in those roles from 2004 to 2020.

As vice president, Ms Harris will earn a paycheck of $US284,600 ($A420,000) in 2024.

Mr Trump doesn’t receive a salary as much as he does a passive income from various investments. He reported at least $US635 million ($A944m) in 2023, according to his most recent financial disclosure.

As a former president, Mr Trump also receives a pension which is set as being equal to the salary of a Cabinet secretary, currently $USD226,300 ($A335,000) per year.

REAL ESTATE

Donald Trump’s massive real estate portfolio, under the Trump Organization, includes dozens of golf courses, hotels, office buildings, resorts, and the unmistakeable Mar-a-Lago.

In total, he is estimated to hold about $US1.1 billion ($A1.6b) net value in property, with some of the largest holdings in big city buildings –1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6 East 57th Street, 555 California Street, Trump Park Avenue, Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, Trump Winery and, of course, Trump Tower, among many others.

The Trump Tower skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in New York. Picture: Andrea Franceschini/Corbis News via Getty Images

He also owns four homes in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as a home in St Martin, in the Caribbean, and two homes in Virginia next to one of his golf clubs.

He owns 10 golf courses in six US states, as well as the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort and three European golf properties – two in Scotland and one in Ireland.

Ms Harris, and her husband, own a Los Angeles home with an estimated value of $US4.4 million ($A6.5m).

LIABILITIES

More than half of Ms Harris’s net worth is tied up in her valuable California property, and so is most of her liability. She has a mortgage of $US2 million ($A3m), according to her most recent financial disclosure form.

The home of Kamala Harris and her husband, Dougl Emhoff (red roof) in Brentwood, California. Picture: Google Earth

It’s a drop in the ocean compared to Mr Trump’s web of real estate debt, to say nothing of the legal settlements he’s been court-ordered to pay.

Mr Trump owes more than $US50 million ($A74m) to both the New York attorney general and writer E. Jean Carroll. A federal court ordered Mr Trump to pay Ms Carroll another $US83.3 million ($A124m) in a defamation payout.

In a separate civil fraud case, a New York judge ordered Mr Trump to pay at least $US454 million ($A675m) for submitting false data to financial institutions about the value of properties like Mar-a-Lago.

CASH, INVESTMENTS AND ASSETS

If Mr Trump does have to pay those rulings, he’s just shy of covering the cost with the $US413 million ($A614m) in cash he has on hand. He’d have to take out a loan or liquidate some of his investments to cover the difference.

By far the biggest jewel in Mr Trump’s crown is his 57 per cent ownership stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which went public in March. While down from its dizzying heights of $US66 ($A98) per share, Mr Trump still owns 114.75 million shares that are currently trading at $US19 ($A28). That math values his “DJT” stock at over $US2 billion ($A2.9b).

Donald Trump owns his own Boeing 757 nicknamed Trump Force One. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP

Trump also owns assorted assets, including a 1991 Boeing 757 nicknamed Trump Force One, as well as between $US1 million ($A1.5m) and $US5 million ($A7.4m) in the cryptocurrency Ethereum, and $US250,000 ($A371,000) in gold bars.

Ms Harris sold a San Francisco apartment in 2021 for $US860,000 ($A1.27m) and a DC apartment for $US1.85 million ($A2.75m), and in 2023 reported cash holdings between $US850,000 ($A1.25m) and $US1.7 million ($A2.5m).

Her investment income that year totalled between $US31,200 ($A46,000) and $US103,500 ($A153,000) across several bank accounts, while she and her husband had between $US2 million ($A3m) and $US5 million ($A7.5m) of investments in retirement accounts.

With Republicans lagging Democrats in fundraising, Mr Trump’s personal resources are being elveraged in his plans to beat Ms Harris.

PUBLISHING AND ROYALTIES

Ms Harris also earned a big chunk of change from book publishing and royalties. She received more than $US500,000 ($A750,000) in advances for three books before taking office, including: The Truths We Hold, Superheroes Are Everywhere, and Smart on Crime.

Kamala Harris memoir, The Truths We Hold.

She earned the most royalties on her books in 2021, when she collected $US450,000 ($A669,000); up from $US350,000 ($A520,000) the previous year. But sales dried up since she entered the White House, with only $US80,000 ($A119,000) in 2022 and $US8,500 ($A12,600) in 2023.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, earned between $US100,000 ($A150,000) and $1 million ($A1.5m) in royalties for The Art of the Deal, published in 1987.

It was among the least lucrative books in the former president’s library, which includes $US5.75 million ($A8.5m) he received in royalties over 18 months for a $US75 ($A110) coffee-table book of photos from his presidency, Our Journey Together (signed copies fetched $US230/$A340).

He also made $US4.4 million ($A6.5m) from Letters to Trump, and $US300,000 ($A445,000) from The Greenwood Bible, essentially a copy of the Bible that includes a handwritten chorus to the song God Bless the USA by singer Lee Greenwood. It was made in China.

DOUG AND MELANIA

The “second gentleman” Doug Emhoff earned about $US1 million ($A1.5m) a year working as an entertainment lawyer, but after Ms Harris was elected vice president he quit his day job to take a teaching job at Georgetown University’s law school, earning around $US200,000 ($A297,000) per year.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Picture: Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP

While the net worth of Ms Harris is entwined with that of Mr Emhoff, the former president has a prenup to shield his $US4.3bn ($A6.3b) from a potential future ex-Mrs Trump.

Melania Trump renegotiated her prenup with Mr Trump in late 2023. But instead of trying to secure a bigger bag for herself, Mrs Trump reportedly negotiated a larger trust for their son, Barron.

Ms Trump is herself wealthy from a career in modelling and successful business ventures, with her memoir released this month expected to increase her independent bank account.

Her top source of income was about $US330,000 ($A490,000), which came from a licensing agreement for the sale of collectable NFTs. It was followed by a speech given to the Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ Republican group, that earned $US237,500 ($A352,000).

She also has her own property portfolio in New York valued between $US500,000 ($A742,000) and $1 million ($A1.5m), while she also receives between $US15,001 and $US50,000 in rent from residential real estate she owns in her home country of Slovenia.

Sure, George Washington saying he did not want or need the 1789 presidential salary of $US25,000 ($A37,000) sounds quaint by today’s standard of $US400,000 ($A595,000) but, adjusted for 235 years of inflation, that $US25,000 ($A37,000) is the equivalent of $900,000 ($A1.34m) in 2024.

At that rate, maybe even Mr Trump would pocket the $US3.6 million ($A5.35m) he would earn for another four years in the White House.