Herbert Hoover donated all of his presidential salary to charity. When he first got into politics, he decided to never accept money for performing any public service, so that no one would ever accuse him of corruption. He only took the presidential salary because he was required to do so by law.
More facts about presidential compensation:
- Since 2001, the presidential salary is $400,000 US dollars (USD) per year. This is 16 times that of the original presidential salary, which was set at $25,000 USD. When you consider the value of the dollar in 1789 as compared to the 21st century, however, the amount is actually about the same.
- In addition to the salary, the job comes with a lot of other benefits. Free lodging (at the White House), a personal doctor (the Physician to the President), and a sizeable pension.
- In addition to his or her regular salary, the President is also given multiple expense accounts, including an extra $50,000 USD for general expenses, and up to $1 million USD more for "unanticipated needs."