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How Joe Biden Made His Millions - YouTube
Channel: CNBC
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Joe Biden used to joke about
being the poorest member of Congress.
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Don't hold it against me that I
don't own a single stock or bond.
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Don't hold and I
have no savings account.
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Now he's among the richest
Democrats running for president.
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Life after the vice
presidency fattened Biden's wallet.
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He and his wife Jill made more
than $15 million in 2017 and 2018
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combined.
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That's easily the most out of
the 2020 Democratic primary candidates
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who have released their taxes.
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And Biden's sudden explosion of wealth
doesn't quite square with the
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image he's pitched to
Americans for years.
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All my time in public life
since I've gotten involved, I've been
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referred to as middle class Joe.
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It's not always meant
as a compliment.
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Let me say this simply clearly, and
I mean this, the country wasn't
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built by Wall Street bankers,
CEOs and hedge fund managers.
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It was built by you.
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It was built by the
great American middle class.
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Biden may once have been
part of that middle class.
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He's definitely not anymore.
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2016 was Biden's last year as an
elected official after more than four
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decades. The Bidens
made about $400,000.
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That's more than six times
the US median income.
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But Biden really started making money
after he left the Obama
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administration in 2017.
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The couple raked in
more than $11 million.
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They made another $4.6 million
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last year.
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They now say they have between $2.2
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million and $8 million in assets.
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They paid about a third of
their adjusted gross income in federal
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income taxes in 2017.
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Last year they paid about $1.5
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million in taxes.
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So where did all
that money come from?
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Mostly books and speaking fees.
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The Bidens have two S-Corporations that
get paid for their book deals
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and speaking gigs.
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Those 2017 Trump tax cuts that are
a punching bag for Biden and his
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2020 rivals?
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They gave a 20 percent tax break
to owners of businesses like the
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Bidens have.
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The S-Corps made about $10
million combined in 2017.
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They took in about $3.2
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million last year.
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Joe Biden's book 'Promise me Dad'
came out in November 2017.
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It followed the 2015 death
of his son Beau.
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Jill Biden's book 'Where the Light
Enters' was released in May 2019.
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Joe Biden promoted his book with
a tour in 2017 and 2018.
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He made tens of thousands of
dollars for just about every stop.
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He raked in as much
as $106,000 for one stop.
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And fees for nearly 20
paid speeches, mostly at universities,
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in those two years ranged
from $66,000 to $190,000.
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The Bidens seem to be
enjoying their new wealth.
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They're renting a lavish 12,000
square foot house in Virginia.
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They also bought a $2.7
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million beach house in Delaware since
Joe Biden left the Obama
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administration. Their charitable giving also
rose along with their
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income. The Bidens put about $275,000
or six percent of their
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adjusted gross income toward
charities last year.
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In 2017 they gave more than $1
million to charity, about 9 percent of
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their income.
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That was up from 1.5
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percent in 2016.
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But Biden's riches could cause
some headaches for him.
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While he has led just about every
national and state polls since he
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jumped into the race, his
lead has started to shrink.
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The Democratic contenders have broadly
focused on helping workers and
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reining in companies
and the wealthy.
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Biden has been less aggressive toward
business than most of his
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rivals. And he is already facing heat
for being too cozy with the rich
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Recently in remarks to a group of
wealthy donors, as you were speaking
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about the problem of income inequality
in this country, you said
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we shouldn't "demonize the rich."
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You said nobody has to be punished.
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No one's standard of
living would change.
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Nothing would fundamentally change.
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What did you mean by that?
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What I meant by that is, look,
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Donald Trump thinks Wall
Street built America.
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Ordinary middle class
Americans built America.
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We reached out to the Biden
campaign about whether Biden's riches
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clash with his campaign message.
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A spokesman said fighting for working
families has been the defining
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cause of Joe Biden's life.
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He added that Biden is running
to restore the American middle class
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with everybody in on
the deal this time.
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It remains to be seen whether Biden
still tries to craft an image
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around middle class Joe as
he continues his campaign.
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Especially if he wins the
Democratic nomination and takes on
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President Trump in 2020.
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The president is a self professed
billionaire who hasn't released his
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tax returns.
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He broke with decades of precedent
in refusing to release them.
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Ten years of Trump tax returns from
the 1980s and 1990s, obtained by
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the New York Times, show
massive losses for the president's
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businesses. He didn't pay federal income
taxes in eight of those 10
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years. And since Trump was first
running for President, Biden has
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cast him as out of
touch with everyday Americans.
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How can there be pleasure
in saying you're fired?
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He's trying to tell us he
cares about the middle class.
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Give me a break.
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That's a bunch of malarkey.
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