The past four presidents elected to office—Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and George W. Bush—have all made $400,000 a year in salary. Presidents also get an expense allowance every year of $50,000 “to assist in defraying expenses relating to or resulting from the discharge of his official duties,” but they have to return any unused funds at the end of their term. A $100,000 travel account and a $19,000 entertainment budget are bonus benefits. Combined, that’s $569,000 annually.
There have been five pay raises since George Washington took office in 1789, most recently in 2001, when the president’s salary was doubled, going from $200,000 to $400,000. It might seem like past presidents didn’t make that much, but if you take inflation into account, our earlier presidents earned far more than POTUS does today.
- 1789: $25,000 (worth roughly $896,000 in 2025)
- 1873: $50,000 (worth roughly $1.3 million in 2025)
- 1909: $75,000 (worth roughly $2.6 million in 2025)
- 1949: $100,000 (worth roughly $1.3 million in 2025)
- 1969: $200,000 (worth roughly $1.7 million in 2025)
- 2001: $400,000 (worth roughly $712,000 in 2025)
The fact of the matter is: Rotary Club Presidents earn as much today as they did in 1968. Even when adjusted for inflation = $0.00!