The Clintons left the White House dead broke
| The Clintons left the White House dead broke | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "Hillary Clinton said she and Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001 "not only dead broke, but in debt."" | |
| Domain | Economy & Labor |
| Tactic | False Context |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2014 |
| Origin | Hillary Clinton's interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, June 9, 2014 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Economy & Labor | |
Promoting her memoir in June 2014, Hillary Clinton told ABC News that she and Bill Clinton "came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt." The remark was widely criticized as out of touch, and she later called it "inartful."
The Clintons did owe millions in legal bills when they left office in January 2001. They also had very large earnings already lined up.
What the evidence shows
- Real debts. Their 2000 financial disclosure listed legal liabilities of between $2.28 million and $10.6 million, mostly from the Whitewater and Lewinsky investigations and the Paula Jones lawsuit.
- Real assets. The same disclosure listed assets of $781,000 to $1.8 million. In December 2000, Hillary Clinton signed a book contract with Simon & Schuster with a reported advance of about $8 million.
- Homes. Before leaving office they bought a house in Chappaqua, New York, for $1.7 million in 1999 and one in Washington, D.C., for $2.85 million in December 2000, both with mortgages.
- Quick turnaround. Bill Clinton earned more than $9 million in speaking fees in 2001 alone, and the debts were paid off within a few years.
Why it matters
Technically negative net worth is not the same as being broke when multimillion-dollar contracts are already signed. The phrase fed criticism that she misjudged ordinary Americans' finances.
Sources
- ABC News, Diane Sawyer interview with Hillary Clinton, June 9, 2014.
- The Washington Post Fact Checker, "Hillary Clinton's claim that she and Bill were 'dead broke,'" June 2014.
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senate financial disclosure report for calendar year 2000.