America, where any boy can grow up to become president...
Here are the economic conditions of every US president. Note that once elected they live in the White House, a mansion which quickly makes any
non-upper-class person quickly forget what it's like for the average citizen.
- Washington: Great Grandfather was in Virginia's Royal Council. Father owned 10,000 acres and 49 slaves.
- Adams: Mother was a Boylston. Father practically owned the town of braintree.
- Jefferson: Descendant of a speaker of the house of Burgesses. Father owned thousands of acres of Virginia and was a member of the colonial legislature.
- Madison: Father owned 5000 acres and 100+ slaves.
- Monroe: Ancestor a member of the house of burgesses, raised by uncle, who served as the King's attorney and was a member of the state legislature.
- Adams: Family as powerful as the Kennedies.
- Jackson: inherited 300 pounds at age 15.
- Buren: Father owned 5 slaves and a tavern.
- Harrison: Father was a member of the First Families of Virginia, and a legislator in the house of burgesses, and inherited six plantations.
- Tyler: Another FFV member, he was raised on a 40 slave, 1200 acre plantation. Father was governor of Virginia.
- Polk: Father invested 40,000 dollars in a steamboat, and was a prosperous planter.
- Taylor: Mayflower descendant. Raised on a ~24 slave, 10,000 acre plantation.
- Pierce: Father was a revolutionary war general and governor of New Hampsire.
- Buchanan: raised on 300 acre estate.
- Lincoln: Father was among the richest 15% of taxpayers in his community.
- Johnson: Born poor - once in the White house he would forget fast enough
- Grant: Father was the richest man in his town
- Haynes: Uncle was a partner in the largest merchandising house in Cleveland
- Garfield: Family claimed to be poor, yet was always well fed and never took charity
- Arthur: Father graduated from college (At that time, a rare thing)
- Cleveland: Father graduated from Yale. Raised by uncle, among the richest men in Buffalo.
- Harrison: Grandson of the previous Harrison - whos father inherited 6 plantations etc.
- McKinley: Father was a successful manufacturer
- Roosevelt: Father inherited a million dollars. Member of New York aristocracy for simply being born.
- Taft: Father inherited 100,000 dollars, became attorney general.
- Wilson: Father a Princeton graduate. Raised in a brick house with stables and a garden.
- Harding: Grandfather built the largest house in his community
- Coolidge: Father was on the board of directors of a bank
- Hoover: Brought up by uncle, head of an academy.
- Roosevelt: Descendant of above Roosevelt.
- Truman: Mother inherited a 150,000 dollar farm
- Eisenhower: Father got a 160 acre farm as a wedding gift.
- Kennedy: Father was worth ~200,000$
- Johnson: Father a state legislature
- Nixon: father owned a gas station
- Ford: stepfather owned a successful paint business
- Carter: Father ran a successful farm and was a member of the state legislature. [Edward Pessen The log cabin myth (1984)]
- Reagen: Famous Hollywood Actor
- Clinton: Whitewater ain't a log cabin...
And let's not forget Forbes, who is so rich he's pays for his own election campaigns!