$400,000 salary, travel funds, and White House perks: How much Donald Trump will earn as US president

Former US president Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House after four years, will earn the same amount as his successor, Joe Biden. With the salary of US presidents remaining unchanged for more than 20 years, Donald Trump will be paid $400,000 a year as specified in Title 3 of the US Code. Set by Congress in 2001, this salary might sound impressive, but it’s actually modest compared to what CEOs in the private sector take home.

The Republic leader will also be entitled to some added perks, including a $50,000 non-taxable expense account, a $100,000 travel budget, and $19,000 earmarked for official entertainment.

And, of course, he’ll live in the White House, a fully staffed mansion that comes with the job.

The last time Congress adjusted presidential pay was back in 2001, doubling it from the previous $200,000 that had been in place since 1969.

When George Washington took office in 1789, he earned $25,000 a year, which was a hefty sum back then. By the late 1960s, the president’s pay had risen to $200,000, and it stayed at that level until the 2001 bump to today’s $400,000.

Former presidents don’t just step away from public life when they leave office—they also stay on the government payroll, with a pension that’s now over $200,000 a year, office space, travel funds, and more. But the big money often comes from post-White House projects. Most former presidents, from Ulysses S. Grant to Barack Obama, have penned memoirs that sell millions.

According to Barbara Perry, a historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, memoirs can be hugely lucrative, reported CBC News,

“It’s where a lot of the money comes from after they leave office,” she said.