Obama's net worth lowest for US leaders in 57 years

The last time a US president had a lower net worth than Obama was Harry Truman (1945-53) with less than $1 million, as per a list compiled by The Atlantic magazine.

“Obama is the grandson of a goat herder. He is a former constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney. Book royalties constitute most of Obama’s net worth,” the US magazine said. Till now, the US, whose GDP is $13 trillion, has seen 44 presidents and net worth for each was calculated in “2010 dollar” rate, for the list.

Obama has fortunes to the tune of $5 million. In comparison, George W Bush, who was president from 2001-08, had a net worth of $20 million while predecessor Bill Clinton’s fortune is worth $38 million.

As per the analysis, at least 14 former US presidents had net worth less than $5 million. They include Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson (both had fortunes less than $1 million) and Franklin Pierce ($2 million).

This compares to Americans accounting for 40 per cent of the world’s billionaire population.