Ex-President Barack Obama will be the costliest former commander-in-chief, with taxpayers shelling out $1,153,000 for his expenses in 2018, according to the Congressional Research Service.
His budget request is more than $100,000 higher than George W. Bush’s for next year and nearly $200,000 more than Bill Clinton’s expected budget.
George H.W. Bush is slated to get $942,000, while Jimmy Carter will get less than half that, at just $456,000, according to a memo prepared by the service, which was first reported by the Washington Times.
All living former presidents get an office, expenses and, in some cases, an annual pension payment, because of a 1950s-era law enacted after President Harry Truman turned out to be broke after leaving the White House.
The biggest expense for ex-presidents is renting office space.
Obama’s office — 8,198 square feet in Washington — will cost taxpayers $536,000 next year, the most of any ex-president, the paper reported.
Clinton’s Harlem office cost $518,000 and is bigger, at 8,300 square feet. W’s office in Dallas cost $497,000, while his dad’s place in Houston is $286,000. Carter’s Atlanta office costs just $115,000.
Obama’s pension payment is also the fattest, at $236,000, while Clinton comes in second with $231,000. Bush the younger pockets $225,000.
Read the rest at: Obama
