Unlike some presidents, Joe did however spend a stint in this rather upscale four-bedroom gambrel Dutch colonial house in Waban, a leafy suburb of Newton, Massachusetts. According to historian Andy Bass, the future POTUS lived in the picture-perfect home for nine months in 1945 while his father managed the Boston office of his uncle's Sheen Armor Company, though other sources imply the family lived there for longer.
Demand for the Sheen Armor Company's products waned after the Second World War and the Bidens fell on hard times after Joe Sr was conned out of a large sum of money by a so-called friend, prompting their return to Scranton. Joe is pictured here on the living room sofa in his grandparents' house with his mother Jean and younger siblings Valerie, Frank and Jim.
The complex was located opposite Archmere Academy, the Catholic prep school Joe would go on to graduate from in 1961. In his autobiography Promises to Keep, Joe writes that the school's main building, the Patio at Archmere, was the first mansion he'd ever seen. In awe of the edifice at the end of “the yellow-brick road”, it no doubt inspired his passion for property and ambition to live in a grand home. In fact, he also writes that at high school he was “seduced by real estate.”
The following year, the Bidens relocated to this new-build split-level three-bedroom house in the Wilmington neighbourhood of Mayfield and were the fourth family to set up home in the recently constructed area. Joe went on to buy the property from his father in 1969 and rent it out to a doctor, eventually selling up in 1971.
During his time at college, Joe lived in the university's Harter Hall, which was built from 1915 to 1917 and partly inspired by Yale's 18th-century Connecticut Hall. It was during a spring break vacay in the Bahamas in 1964 that Joe met his future wife Neilia Hunter, bragging to friends that he'd “got the blonde.” Having been smitten from the get-go, the couple tied the knot in 1966.
Neilia was studying at Syracuse University, while Joe had enrolled at the institution's College of Law, so the couple rented a house in the Strathmore neighbourhood of New York City from 1966 to 1968. Following his swearing in as vice president in 2009, Joe paid an emotional visit to his first marital home.
After graduating law school, Joe and Neilia moved to his beloved Wilmington and rented this house, not far from what was then his parents' home in Mayfield. The rental pad was demolished in 2019. The couple's son Beau was born in 1969 and it was around this time that they made the decision to buy their first home. That same year, Joe was admitted to the Delaware Bar and started work as a lawyer.
Joe made his first foray into the property game by borrowing money from Neilia's father to buy a “little house” in Newark, Delaware, but rather than live in the home, the couple opted to rent it out instead. The idea was to flip the pad and make a tidy profit on the sale in order to boost the family's finances.
Biden got the real estate bug bad, writing in his autobiography that his “idea of Saturday fun was to jump in the Corvette with Neilia and drive around the Wilmington area scouting open houses, houses for sale, land where we could build.” The pair found their dream home in the Faulkland area. But with money tight, they asked Joe's parents to buy it.
While not the Tudor-style property they craved, the house ticked pretty much every box. Joe's parents did indeed buy the expensive home, while Joe purchased their more affordable place in Mayfield. The plan was that he'd live there with Neilia and Beau until the couple had saved enough money to buy the four-bedroom Faulkland home from his folks.
Just before they were slated to move to the Mayfield house however, Joe was offered a tantalising deal, which he readily accepted: a cottage on the grounds of Wilmington's Country Swimming Club that came rent-free in exchange for managing the property and lifeguarding at the pool at weekends. As we've mentioned, the Mayfield property was rented out to a local physician.
After their second son Hunter was born in 1970, the couple invested in some land, parting with $55,000 (£48k), around $392,000 (£340k) in today's money, to buy an 85-acre farm just outside Elkton, Maryland, around a 25-minute drive from the Country Swimming Club in Wilmington, taking out a hefty mortgage to close the deal.
The property included a half-acre pond and old stone house, which was rented out to college students. It has since been razed. Joe sold off approximately 30 acres to a high school friend who wanted to create a Christmas tree plantation and planned to plant the farm's drive with trees so as to create an overhanging canopy, mimicking the one at Archmere. Judging by this recent pic of the entryway, it looks like someone eventually did just that.
Joe started his political career in 1970 when he was elected to the New Castle County Council, and assumed office the following year when he and Neilia bought this gorgeous 1723 colonial manse in North Star, Newark. There was just one catch: Joe didn't feel comfortable living outside his county district, so ended up moving into the Faulkland house his parents owned, while his folks relocated to the newly-bought mansion.
Mortgaged up to their eyeballs, Joe and Neilia found buyers for the houses in Newark and Mayfield as well as the Elkton farm so as to afford the down payment for the North Star mansion, which cost a pretty penny. Easily outclassing the Faulkand house, it wowed the young politician and his family with five bedrooms, elegant reception rooms and best of all, a stunning pool.
This recent shot of the living room goes a long way towards explaining why Joe and Neilia bent over backwards to acquire the property. The 18th-century manse seriously impresses with beautiful original features, from the beamed ceiling to the ornate fireplace and original sash windows.
Joe spent his first bumper pay cheque—$5,000 (£4.3k), which is over $34,000 (£30k) today—kitting out the home with fine furniture befitting of its grandeur. The couple together with their sons and daughter Naomi, who was born in 1971, eventually moved in after Joe was elected junior senator for Delaware in November 1972. Then heartbreaking tragedy struck.
On 18 December 1972, around a month after they'd moved into the North Star mansion, Neilia and Naomi were killed in a catastrophic car accident, while Beau and Hunter sustained serious injuries. The surviving members of the family didn't remain in the property for very much longer after the tragedy, with Joe ending up buying this former du Pont family mansion in 1975, which he dubbed 'the Station'.
Even grander than the North star house, the five-bedroom mansion is located in the affluent Wilmington suburb of Greenville. Be that as it may, the young widower did manage to get the rundown property, which was earmarked for demolition, at a knockdown price, paying $185,000 (£160k), which works out at $951,000 (£826k) when adjusted for inflation, but nevertheless well in excess of his senator's salary.
Joe met future wife Jill Jacobs in March 1975 on a blind date set up by his brother Frank. They are pictured here in the Greenville mansion's very fancy formal living room just after they got together. Note the fabulously ornate stone fireplace and large French windows. After dating for over two years, the couple walked down the aisle on 17 June 1977.
In contrast to the living room, the kitchen was far more down to earth, with homely farmhouse-style wood cabinets, bentwood chairs and mismatching tables. Joe and Jill's daughter Ashley was born in 1981 and she is pictured here with her father in the kitchen in the late 1980s. The property proved to be something of a money pit with Joe sinking much of what he earned into it. One journalist wrote that “whatever he gets, the house eats for breakfast.”
The investment eventually paid off though when Joe sold it in 1996 for $1.2 million (£1m), around $2.1 million (£1.8m) in today's money, meaning he made over a million in real terms on it. The buyer was MBNA executive John Cochran, which did lead to some speculation he'd bought it at an overinflated price with a view to influencing or rewarding the politician, who was once nicknamed 'the Senator from MBNA'. Yet several investigations have found nothing untoward occurred. Records show the house was valued at $1.2 million (£1m) in 1992, meaning Cochrane actually bagged a bargain several years later.
Eyebrows were raised yet again when Biden used some of the proceeds from the sale to buy land from real estate developer Keith Stoltz, on which he'd eventually build a custom home. He paid $350,000 (£304k) in 1996 for the Greenville lakeside plot, and after taking out a large mortgage, the senator built a beautiful 6,850-square-foot colonial-style house, which was completed in 1998.
According to public records, the primary property boasts three bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. In 2005, the Bidens upgraded their estate by building a 1,900-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage on the grounds set back from the lake, which is also colonial in style, to house Joe's mother Jean. After her death in 2010, it was rented out to the Secret Service for $2,000 (£1.7k) a month, as reported by The Washington Post.
The property is now worth over $2 million (£1.7m) according to The Wall Street Journal. A number of news outlets including The Boston Globe reported that Joe ran much of his 2020 presidential campaign from a studio set up in the mansion's basement recreation room, as this image shows.
The presidential candidate often appeared in Zoom videos with the soon-to-be FLOTUS from the house in Delaware. Here they are sitting on a leather Chesterfield sofa in what looks like the living room or the basement space. Fittingly, the walls are painted Democrat or "Biden" blue, which is said to be one of the couple's go-to colours, for obvious reasons.
The home's very handsome-looking library is pictured here. The couple have rather traditional tastes when it comes to furniture, as you can see from the well-worn Chesterfield leather sofas, antique-style wooden bookcases and wall panels. Ultra-contemporary looks are clearly not their bag.
Jill posted this picture on Instagram of herself dyeing eggs for Easter back in April 2019, giving us serious kitchen envy in the process. The room's Shaker-style cabinets and central island are simply divine, as are the marble countertops, stainless steel range cooker, vintage-style tap and toaster, and pale blue tiles.
Offering another glimpse inside the primary house, Jill is shown here in the covered patio, which features a lived-in brown leather sofa, cream armchair and sisal rug. Joe actually contemplated selling the property after Beau was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013 in order to fund his treatment, but was talked out of it by President Obama, who offered to loan him the money instead. Sadly, Beau passed away two years later.
Following his swearing in as vice president in January 2009, Joe together with Jill moved into the official vice president's residence, One Observatory Circle, which is located on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. The 33-room Queen Anne-style mansion was built in 1893 at a cost of $20,000 (£17k)—around $579,000 (£503k) in today's money—to accommodate the observatory's superintendent and was subsequently the home of several admirals.
The 9,150-square-foot mansion became the official vice president's residence in 1974—previously, veeps lived in private homes or hotels—but the first VP to reside at the property full-time, Walter Mondale, didn't move in until 1977. While very well-appointed, One Observatory Circle has a cosy feel as you can see from this shot of the entry foyer captured during an event in 2010.
Assisted by interior designer Victoria Hagan, the Bidens put their own stamp on the property, eschewing the neutral colour scheme chosen by their predecessors the Cheneys in favour of bright, cheery hues. The living room was painted daffodil yellow and decorated with vibrant artworks borrowed from the National Gallery and other eminent institutions.
The Bidens plumped for their go-to sapphire blue for the dining room and punctuated the space with eye-catching artworks. Hagan was careful to ensure the drapes, upholstery fabrics and other furnishings were sourced from American firms. Joe and Jill also commissioned a Lenox fine china set in blue, white and gold featuring the vice-presidential seal.
The library on the other hand was decorated with striped forest green wallpaper and an aged brown leather sofa was added, along with a number of chairs, including several upholstered in green plaid. Fiercely proud of his Irish roots, Joe is shown here in 2011 hosting a Saint Patrick's Day breakfast for the country's Taoiseach in the suitably emerald-hued room, sitting under a portrait of Irish-American POTUS John F Kennedy.
The solarium is said to have been the Bidens' favourite room. Hagan refreshed the calming space with a cream sofa dotted with apple green cushions, along with a round dining table and chairs, fig tree and sisal rug. The Bidens are pictured here after the 2016 election with the Pences, who they treated to a house tour and lunch of pan-seared sea bass. The Pences ended up removing the green cushions but kept the rest of the décor.
A keen swimmer, Joe no doubt made good use of the residence's pool, which was installed by Dan Quayle. In terms of permanent changes to the property, the Bidens created the Family Heritage Garden, which consists of a fountain surrounded by paving stones inscribed with the names of children and pets of past veeps.
After leaving One Observatory Circle in January 2017, Joe and Jill rented this 12,000-square-foot Georgian-style manse in the exceedingly posh DC suburb of McLean just outside the district in Virginia. The couple had to stay in the area to be near Jill's teaching job at Northern Virginia Community College.
Valued at over $5 million (£4.3m), the lavish five-bedroom, nine-bathroom property was rented by the Bidens for a whopping $20,000 (£17k) per month. Not that the pair had problems paying the hefty rent for the mansion, which looks like the White House only in brick rather than painted sandstone. Joe pulled in big bucks that year thanks to lucrative book deals and speaking engagements.
The manse once belonged to former Secretary of State Alexander Haig and was rented out by venture capitalist Mark Ein, who bought it in 2016 for just under $4.3 million (£3.7m). Wowing with an impeccable finish, it features a number of elegant reception rooms, including this beauty, which has a lovely fireplace and dual-aspect French doors.
Just as impressive is the capacious chef's kitchen. A gourmet cook's delight, its highlights include the solid hardwood flooring, pristine white custom cabinetry, marble countertops and supersized catering-style refrigerator and freezer. Ein certainly didn't scrimp when it came to outfitting the space.
Like the kitchen and reception rooms, the master suite is wonderfully luxe. It features the same quality hardwood flooring and has a grey marble fireplace. Furniture-wise, a rather contemporary-looking four-poster bed takes pride of place in the room and there's a sophisticated seating area too, graced with a sofa and chaise lounge.
Other enticing draws include a well-equipped gym and an in-house sauna. Plus, the garden, which can be accessed from the front of the mansion via a brick staircase, is absolutely ravishing. The Bidens are said to have stopped renting the property by February 2020 according to The Wall Street Journal, returning full-time to their Greenville property to ride out the pandemic lockdown and focus on Joe's presidential campaign.
Presumably flush with cash from Joe's book deals and speaking gigs, the Bidens fulfilled a long-held aspiration to snap up a vacation property by the ocean, settling on this charming 4,786-square-foot house in Rehoboth Beach on the Delaware Shore, which has a total of six bedrooms and five-and-half bathrooms. They paid just over $2.7 million (£2.3m) in the summer of 2017 for the second home.
Joe released a statement at the time gushing about the purchase, which will probably be dubbed the Summer White House by the press. “Throughout our careers, Jill and I have dreamed of being able to buy a place at the beach where we can bring the whole family. We feel very lucky that we're now able to make that happen and are looking forward to spending time with our family in the place that matters most to us in the world,” he wrote.
Indeed, the Bidens had been regular visitors to Rehoboth Beach well before they invested in a property there and Joe was often spotted strolling along the resort's main drag. Built in 2007, the house, which funnily enough is painted in the couple's favourite blue hue, is relaxed and unpretentious as you can see from this pic of the living room.
The space is very much in tune with the Bidens' tastes: think comfy cream sofas peppered with colourful cushions, nice custom cabinetry and a large sisal rug. The property has an airy, effortless coastal vibe that no doubt drew the couple to the residence.
That said, the dining room chandelier might be a tad fussy for the pair, but the rest of the space is in keeping with their aesthetic. There's also a good-sized chef's kitchen in the house, and three of the six bedrooms are masters, providing ample space for the couple, their kids and grandchildren too.
Outside, the pair and their extended family have several porches and multiple decks to choose from, not to mention an outdoor kitchen with a stone patio and fireplace that make alfresco dining a breeze. Other amenities include a security system, which is obviously a must, a golf cart, outdoor showers and a doggy wash for the clan's much-cherished pooches.
However, climate change is threatening the president's vacation retreat. Biden is pictured here in June 2022 taking a stroll on Rehoboth Beach, a popular tourist spot that's increasingly affected by rising sea levels. According to research from the non-profit organisation First Street Foundation, Biden’s $2 million (£1.7m) home nearby faces an ‘extreme’ flood risk. Flanked by wetlands, the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal, and the Atlantic Ocean, the property is in a highly vulnerable position and it's only likely to get worse.
Within the next year, the likelihood of flood water reaching the Biden home was put at 50%, rising to 98% within the next five years. A low-likelihood storm leading to severe flooding (also known as a 1-in-500-year flood event) could result in over 10 feet of water overwhelming the property. Despite the house being elevated, encroaching water could still wreak serious havoc. Even if less than six inches of water were to reach the home’s ground floor, it could cause over $65,000 (£57k) worth of damage, according to the data.
The region has suffered from severe flooding in the past too. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy left streets in Rehoboth Beach underwater (pictured), while in 2015, strong storms battered this stretch of the Atlantic coastline, eroding the sand dunes that used to protect waterfront properties. The US President has visited his beach home on numerous occasions during his time in office for some downtime by the ocean, but it seems the property's coastal outlook could be its downfall too.
Following his inauguration on 20 January 2021 as America's 46th president, the Bidens walked part of the way from the Capitol to the nation's iconic neo-classical executive mansion to officially take up residence in their new home, a tradition that originated in 1977 with Jimmy Carter.
In readiness for the new president and first lady's arrival, the White House was given a scrupulous deep clean, with $127,000 (£110k) spent disinfecting the mansion, and an additional $44,000 (£38k) went on sanitising the carpets. Joe wasted no time adapting the Oval Office to his taste, swapping Trump's glitzy sunburst rug for a deep blue carpet that graced the room in the Clinton years.
Other changes included ditching a bust of Winston Churchill for one depicting labour activist Cesar Chavez and another of Civil Rights movement heroine Rosa Parks, while a portrait of controversial president Andrew Jackson was removed with a picture of Benjamin Franklin put in its place. A fan of blazing log fires, Joe arranges for the room's fireplace to be lit regularly during the cold winter months.
The Bidens would have overseen the redecoration of their private quarters on the second floor, but the revamp, which is likely to have toned down the Trumps' more exuberant taste, has been mostly kept under wraps, though the tweaked East Sitting Hall was revealed in the August 2021 issue of US Vogue, and this photo of the first lady enjoying tea with Queen Rania of Jordan in July shows the second-floor Yellow Oval Room, which appears more or less unchanged.
Whereas Joe is said to have struggled to settle in, Jill appears to be super-comfortable living in the executive mansion and is making the most of the White House's elegant rooms to host VIPs. Here she is in the ground-floor Vermeil Room in March having a meeting with Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen.
As well as welcoming visitors, Jill, who has kept her teaching job, is overseeing a renovation of the East Wing. But while campaigners urged the first lady to restore the Jackie Kennedy-designed Rose Garden, which was overhauled by Melania Trump in a move that was lambasted by critics, Jill appears to have resisted pleas to return it to its former glory. She posted this pic of the garden on Twitter back in May 2021.
The president and first lady are pictured here in the Library Room, which is located on the ground floor of the executive mansion. Along with the aforementioned Vermeil Room, the ground floor also contains the Diplomatic Reception Room, Map Room and China Room, as well as the kitchen and North Lawn extension, which includes a chocolate shop of all things and the White House bowling alley.
Among the rooms on the State Floor that the president and first lady frequent is the Red Room, which is named for obvious reasons. This photo shows Joe and Jill having a tete-a-tete with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, First Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Other rooms on the State Floor range from the State Dining Room to the Green and Blue Rooms.
Author Michael Wolff wrote in his bombshell book on President Trump's last days in office that the outgoing POTUS had never taken the stairs to the second floor. President Biden however, who is considerably more active than his predecessor, climbs the staircase that leads to the private quarters each evening after he's finished work for the day.
The president's other official residence is Camp David, a fairly modest retreat for the country's leader situated at an undisclosed location in Maryland's Catoctin Mountain Park. Camp David was constructed in the 1930s as a vacation camp for federal agents and their families and converted into a rural residence by President Roosevelt in 1942. The Aspen Lodge serves as the president's cabin. Pictured here in 1961, it hasn't changed much over the years but now features a pool in the backyard.
The accommodation is famously no-frills and while some presidents—including Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama—loved roughing it at the folksy retreat, others were not so enamoured. President Trump rarely visited. “Camp David is very rustic; it’s nice; you’d like it,” he is said to have remarked. “You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.” Biden, however, is a fan and has spent many a weekend there.
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