Reportedly, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden used their diverse Delaware real estate assets as a personal bank account for many years, taking out several mortgages and refinancing a staggering 35 times. According to the Daily Mail, this practice began in the late 1970s, not long after Joe and Jill tied the knot. The Bidens have arranged new credit or mortgage terms almost every 17 months, prompting questions about the constant refinancing.
The Daily Mail reports that the Bidens have taken out loans totaling $6 million on their two residences over the years. Despite purchasing their current three-bedroom, four-bath Wilmington mansion over three decades ago, there is still an outstanding $541,000 mortgage on it. Given their claimed net worth of $10 million, many wonder why they need a steady stream of funding. A finance expert told the outlet, “It doesn’t make a lot of sense unless they were desperate for cash.”
The president and first lady bought their present four-acre land for $350,000 in March 1996. However, they have since burdened it with twenty separate mortgages and home credit agreements totaling $4.23 million. Their previous house, a five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom property in the same town, was bought for $185,000 in 1975 and controversially sold for $1.2 million in 1996.
Property data suggests that the Bidens have faced financial hardships, relying on the equity in their residences as their primary source of credit over time. Between 1978 and 1994, the Bidens accumulated $1.72 million in debt through 13 loans and two credit agreements, according to official documents. The couple also took out numerous mortgages and construction loans after relocating to Wilmington in the ’90s, and this borrowing spree continued until 2014.
According to The New York Post, the Bidens used various financial institutions, such as Beneficial National, Chase Manhattan, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, Commerce Bank, and TD Bank, to borrow between $350,000 and $850,000, making up their overall liabilities. This avalanche of borrowing has called the family’s financial plan into question.
Despite this extensive history of borrowing, the Bidens still have a combined income of $620,000 (reported in 2023), coming mostly from their work and assets. However, the frequent refinancing and substantial debt on their properties continue to raise eyebrows and invite scrutiny.