Reply #10: Truman had only his old army pension after leaving the White House [View All]

[Shiver]

Which was about $112 a month. He and Bess lived in near-poverty for many years, managing to get by through the sale of some property his siblings and he inherited from their mother, and through his memoirs. And in the case of the latter, he only received a flat payment of $670,000 - two-thirds of which he had to pay in tax, and significant portion of the remainder was paid to his assistants, leaving him in the end with $37,000.

Truman is quoted as saying "Had it not been for the fact that I was able to sell some property that my brother, sister, and I inherited from our mother, I would practically be on relief, but with the sale of that property I am not financially embarrassed." This was said to then-Majority Leader John.... something in '57. I forget the name.

In '58, though, they passed the Former President's Act, which granted a yearly pension ($25,000 at that time; it's up to $191,000 now) to former presidents. It's believed that Truman's financial status is a large reason why the law was enacted.

Yeah, that was possibly a bit more information than anyone needed, but I'm a history geek and I like showing off :P