What Is Hunter Biden's Net Worth? Viral Claim Alleges It's $230 Million. But Is it?
An unverified claim about Hunter Biden's alleged net worth has been circulating on social media, courtesy conservative figures, including Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The claim suggests that Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has a net worth of $230 million and he earns over $20 million annually.
Despite gaining significant traction, the specific sources for these figures have not been cited, leading to speculation and misinformation surrounding the true extent of Hunter Biden's wealth, per Newsweek.
The viral claim and lack of evidence
The claim emerged at a time when the finances of the Biden family were under intense public scrutiny with House Oversight Committee Republicans releasing a memo about the Bidens' financial dealings. However, the documents have not provided any evidence of Joe Biden's direct involvement in the alleged schemes or the impact of certain payments on US policy. While some financial transactions involving Hunter Biden were mentioned in the memo, no estimate of his total earnings or net worth was provided.
Hunter Biden's denial and legal response
Hunter Biden has dismissed allegations of impropriety and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, termed the recent claims as "repackaged misstatements" and "chasing conspiracies". Despite these denials, the debate surrounding his wealth continued to be fueled by speculative and misleading claims on social media, particularly from the President's opponents.
Unverifiable Sources and backdated content
Upon investigation, Newsweek's Misinformation Watch found earlier iterations of the claim on Twitter posts with fewer engagements. Some posts referenced an article from ABC Action News, which appeared to match the graphic used in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's tweet. However, the ABC Action News page was sponsored content and lacked verifiable sourcing for the figures it published. Various unverified "celebrity net worth" assessment websites also presented the same $230 million figure without credible sourcing, adding to the spread of misinformation.
Difficulty in verifying Hunter Biden's net worth
Hunter Biden's net worth has been a subject of speculation and inquiry for years but no definitive figure has emerged. Previous assessments from different sources have varied widely with estimates ranging from $1 million to $20 million. Net worth monitoring websites are often speculative and unreliable, lacking comprehensive sourcing for their claims. Despite this, such pages tend to rank high in search engine results, further perpetuating uncertain figures.
Impressive.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 9, 2023
Normally I’d ask how a crack and sex addict, who has dozens of LLCs that never have produced a product to sell or proof of services for profit, made all that money.
But serving on the Oversight Committee, I now know..
All roads lead to Joe. pic.twitter.com/imXWDBraTP
Income and salary
Biden earned $833,000 in 2013; $847,000 in 2014 and $2.5 million in 2016 but he parted with $320,000 of his fortune in 2019 to cover unpaid federal taxes, per Celebrity Net Worth. He may also have earned money from selling his paper and canvas paintings through a New York gallery for $75,000 to $500,000 each, NPR.org reported in 2021, per Yahoo!Finance. However, the gallery did not confirm if any of his art has sold.
Dead beat daddy Hunter Biden, the “smartest guy Joe Biden knows”, tells the court he’s too broke to pay child support.
— Tosca Austen (@ToscaAusten) May 2, 2023
Right.
Per ABC Action News—Mar 2023, it is estimated that the First Son has a net worth of $230 million and makes more than $18 million yearly. pic.twitter.com/TwiHu6Eotf
Real estate and other properties
In addition to his income, Hunter Biden's real estate holdings and other properties have also come under scrutiny. One notable property is his former residence in Washington, DC, which he reportedly purchased for approximately $2.5 million in 2017. Apart from this, there have been allegations and investigations into his dealings in foreign countries, particularly Ukraine and China but concrete evidence regarding his assets in these countries remains elusive.
Other sources of income
Apart from business ventures and corporate board positions, Hunter Biden has authored a book, "Beautiful Things," which was published in April 2021. While book deals can be lucrative, the exact financial details of the deal have not been made public. He reportedly received a $2 million advance from Simon & Schuster. “Beautiful Things” sold only 10,600 copies in its first week, per Yahoo!Finance. Biden has been involved in speaking engagements which likely contribute to his income.