President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will not accept the annual $450,000 presidential salary. The same decision was made during his first term.
Speaking to NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump said, “I’m not going to accept a salary, no.”
“I’m giving up a lot of money. You know? You know, it amazed me that, and maybe this isn’t right, but other than George Washington — and they’re not sure about that — every President has accepted their salary, except me,” Trump said.
When asked if he accepted the pension, Trump said, “I don’t think I accepted anything.”
“The President gets about $450,000 a year, and I didn’t take it,” he said, adding, “By the way, I got no credit for that. That’s ok.”
Welker said she finds it “notable” that Trump will not take a salary.
“I didn’t, and I’m not going to,” he said. “I don’t believe I got any credit for that, but I just feel for me, it’s a nice thing to do.”
“I was surprised, not one president has done that,” Trump added. “I would have assumed Roosevelt would not accept the salary or Kennedy — you know, the Kennedy family is rich.”
Instead of keeping the salary, Trump opted to donate it to various agencies, such as the National Park Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Education.
Newsweek assessed the net worth of U.S. presidents before and after their time in office, finding that Bill Clinton increased his wealth by about 9,000%. While he entered the White House with a net worth of $1.3 million, he left office with around $120 million.
Trump’s net worth, however, went down about $700 million between 2017 and 2021.
