All the Presidents' Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money - Paperback

by Megan Gorman (Author)

A USA TODAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, AND LOS ANGELES TIME BESTSELLER

A journey through the personal money stories of the US presidents and how they built wealth--or didn't.

Was Harry Truman really our poorest president or simply a man up at 2 a.m. struggling with financial anxiety? Did Calvin Coolidge get bad advice from his stockbroker to buy stocks in 1930 as the market continued to crash? Is it true George Washington enhanced his net worth by marrying up?

We often think of the US presidents as being above the fray. But the truth is, the presidents are just like us--worried about money, trying to keep a budget, and chasing the American financial dream. While some presidents like Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford became wildly successful with money, others like Thomas Jefferson and Joe Biden struggled to sustain their lifestyle. The ability to win the presidency is no guarantee of financial security, although today it's a much easier path to monetize.

In All the Presidents' Money, tax attorney and wealth manager Megan Gorman takes us on a journey to understand the different personal money stories of the presidents. Grit, education, and risk are just some of the different ways that the presidents over the last 250 years have made (or lost) money.

With lively storytelling and rigorous research, All the Presidents' Money reveals how some of the greatest leaders are the worst money managers and our least favorite presidents are good at making money.

Author Biography

Megan Gorman is the founder and managing partner of Chequers Financial Management, a female-owned high-net-worth tax and financial planning firm in San Francisco, California. Megan's clientele ranges from entrepreneurs to corporate executives to inheritors of family wealth. An attorney by training, she is passionate about the problem-solving required to work in the world of complex financial planning. Megan has been named to the Forbes 2022 and 2023 lists of America's Top Women Wealth Advisors--Best in State.

Megan spent the first twelve years of her career as a Vice President at Ayco, A Goldman Sachs Company. She was also a Vice President at BNY Mellon Wealth Management prior to launching her own firm. She has a BA in History from Bryn Mawr College and a JD from Rutgers School of Law.

She is a senior contributor at Forbes and writes on personal finance and income tax. She is frequently quoted across prominent financial media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, CNBC, and US News.

Megan is currently serving on the Board of Trustees for the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). She is chairwoman of the Investment Committee for the $200 million endowment.