Jill Biden | Celebrity Net Worth 2026

Biography & Early Wealth Journey

Jill Biden spent nearly five decades working in education, beginning as an English teacher in Delaware in the 1970s and eventually becoming a longtime professor at Northern Virginia Community College. She holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in educational leadership. Biden continued teaching while her husband served as vice president under Barack Obama, and when she became First Lady in 2021, she became the first presidential spouse to maintain a full-time professional career while living in the White House. She taught her final community college class in December 2024.

As Second Lady and First Lady, Biden focused much of her public work on military families, community colleges, cancer prevention, education, and women's health research. After leaving the White House in January 2025, she became chair of the Milken Institute's Women's Health Network. She is also an author whose books include "Where the Light Enters," "Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops," "Joey: The Story of Joe Biden," and the 2026 memoir "View from the East Wing."

Salary, Income and Tax Returns

Jill Biden continued drawing a teaching salary throughout her husband's presidency. In 2023, she earned $85,985 from Northern Virginia Community College. Joe Biden earned his $400,000 presidential salary during the same year.

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

The Bidens' final publicly released presidential-era tax return covered 2023. They reported $619,976 in adjusted gross income and paid $146,629 in federal income tax, an effective federal rate of 23.7%. They also paid $30,908 in Delaware income tax, while Jill paid $3,549 in Virginia income tax because of her teaching job.

Their reported combined adjusted gross income from 2016 through 2023 was:

• 2016: $400,000
• 2017: $11 million
• 2018: $4.6 million
• 2019: $944,737
• 2020: $607,336
• 2021: $610,702
• 2022: $579,514
• 2023: $619,976

The couple earned more than $19.3 million in combined adjusted gross income over that eight-year period. The largest jump came immediately after Joe left the vice presidency, when the Bidens generated substantial income from books and speaking appearances.

Real Estate, Luxury Assets & Personal Investments

Jill herself participated in the speaking circuit. Financial disclosures covering the Bidens' post-vice-presidential years identified 18 paid speeches by Jill that generated more than $700,000, in addition to her teaching salary.

Book Deals and Writing

After leaving the Obama administration in 2017, Joe and Jill Biden entered into a three-book publishing agreement with Flatiron Books that was reported to be worth approximately $8 million. The agreement covered two books by Joe and a third book involving Jill. The amount represented the overall publishing deal and should not be interpreted as $8 million personally paid to Jill.

Jill published the memoir "Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself" in 2019. She has also written the children's books "Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops," inspired by Beau Biden's military service; "Joey: The Story of Joe Biden"; and "Willow the White House Cat."

Wealth Trajectory & Future Earnings Projections

In June 2026, she published another memoir, "View from the East Wing." The book recounts her four years as First Lady, her efforts to balance public responsibilities with teaching, and the final months of Joe Biden's presidency and 2024 reelection campaign. The financial terms of her agreement for the book were not publicly disclosed.

Early Life

Jill Tracy Jacobs was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. She grew up primarily in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, with four younger sisters. Her father, Donald Jacobs, worked in banking and had served in the U.S. Navy, while her mother, Bonny, was a homemaker.

Jill graduated from Upper Moreland High School in 1969. She briefly attended Brandywine Junior College before transferring to the University of Delaware, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1975.

Career in Education

Biden began teaching English at St. Mark's High School in Wilmington in 1976. She later worked as a reading specialist at Claymont High School while earning a master's degree in reading education from West Chester University, which she completed in 1981.

She subsequently taught English in the adolescent program at the Rockford Center psychiatric hospital while working toward a second master's degree, in English, from Villanova University. She received that degree in 1987.

In 1993, Biden joined Delaware Technical Community College, where she taught for 15 years. While working and raising her family, she pursued a doctorate at the University of Delaware. She received her Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership in 2007. Her dissertation focused on improving student retention at community colleges.

When Joe became vice president in 2009, Jill began teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College. She continued there throughout both the vice presidency and the years that followed.

Second Lady of the United States

Jill became Second Lady in January 2009 after Joe Biden was inaugurated as vice president.

Unlike most political spouses in comparable roles, she continued teaching while carrying out official duties. At Northern Virginia Community College, she taught English and writing courses and generally used the title "Dr. B" with students.

As Second Lady, Biden worked extensively on education and military-family issues. In 2011, she and First Lady Michelle Obama launched Joining Forces, an initiative designed to support service members, veterans, military spouses, caregivers, and their families.

She also promoted community colleges and workforce training and traveled extensively on behalf of the Obama administration.

Getty

First Lady of the United States

Jill became First Lady on January 20, 2021, after Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. She succeeded Melania Trump and served until January 20, 2025.

Biden continued teaching at Northern Virginia Community College during all four years, becoming the first First Lady to maintain a full-time job outside the White House. Early in the administration, she taught remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to the classroom.

She relaunched Joining Forces and continued advocating for military families. She also promoted community colleges and the teaching profession and became involved in the Biden Cancer Moonshot.

Another major focus of her later tenure was women's health research. In 2023, Joe and Jill Biden launched the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research, which sought to increase research and investment in conditions that affect women.

Biden also traveled extensively as First Lady. Her trips included visits to Ukraine following Russia's invasion, Olympic delegations, trips throughout Latin America and Africa, and a final solo international trip in late 2024 focused on military families, education, cancer, and women's health.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Biden campaigned actively for her husband. After Joe withdrew from the race in July, she supported Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee.

Post-White House Career

Biden taught her final class at Northern Virginia Community College in December 2024, bringing to a close a teaching career that had lasted nearly 50 years.

After leaving the White House, she continued concentrating on women's health. In April 2025, the Milken Institute named Biden chair of its newly launched Women's Health Network, a collaborative effort focused on increasing research, investment, innovation, and cooperation across the women's health sector.

By 2026, the network included organizations from around the world and was developing funding initiatives aimed at accelerating research and health innovation.

Biden has also remained active as an author and public speaker, with the publication of "View from the East Wing" placing renewed attention on her years in the White House.

Personal Life

In 1970, Jill married Bill Stevenson, who later became known for operating the Stone Balloon nightclub in Newark, Delaware. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975.

That year, Jill met then-Senator Joe Biden on a blind date arranged by Joe's brother Frank. Joe was a widower raising two sons, Beau and Hunter Biden, following the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi.

Jill and Joe married in June 1977 at the United Nations Chapel in New York City. Jill helped raise Beau and Hunter, and she and Joe welcomed a daughter, Ashley, in 1981.

Beau Biden later served as Delaware's attorney general and in the Delaware Army National Guard. He died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.

In May 2025, the Biden family announced that Joe had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. Jill subsequently discussed his treatment and the effect of the diagnosis on their family in her 2026 memoir and interviews.

Real Estate

Joe and Jill Biden own two homes in Delaware.

In 1996, they paid approximately $350,000 for four acres of lakefront property in Greenville, near Wilmington. They subsequently built a roughly 6,850-square-foot Colonial-style home on the land. The residence has served as their primary home for decades and became their principal residence again after leaving the White House.

During Joe's vice presidency, the Secret Service reportedly rented a cottage on the property for approximately $2,200 per month while providing protection to the family.

In 2017, following the couple's surge in publishing and speaking income, the Bidens paid $2.74 million for a roughly 4,800-square-foot vacation home near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The six-bedroom property sits near Cape Henlopen State Park and includes a swimming pool added after the purchase.

The Bidens also rented a large mansion in McLean, Virginia, after leaving the vice presidency. They reportedly paid approximately $20,000 per month before eventually making Delaware their primary base again.

Biden

Biden