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DOGE chief Elon Musk has questions for ex-USAID boss Samantha Power about how she managed to “accumulate wealth that is 100 times her after tax salary” amid reports that her net worth soared from $6.7M to $30M+ during her tenure. Here’s everything we know about Power’s finances.
USAID salaries top out at $212k per year. That means that even over four years, the time Power served as the agency’s administrator, her total income would have been roughly $850k.
InsideBidensBasement.org, a nonprofit spending watchdog compiling disclosures of officials involved in Washington’s ‘revolving door’ of politics, special interest groups and business, estimates Powers’ net worth to range from $10.1-$30.3M, far above what her government salary could explain.
Power began amassing millions after her 2013-2017 tenure as Obama’s UN ambassador, with a 2021 analysis by TheRevolvingDoorProject.org (another watchdog) reporting $471k in income from her Harvard professorships.
Power also earned $351k from speaking engagements for companies like Nestle, Google and UBS, and over $1M in book royalties, during this period.
Perhaps most interestingly, the nonprofit reported up to $11.73M in “assorted investment vehicles” belonging to Power, including BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson and Tesla.
A 2021 Office of Government Ethics certificate of divestiture showed Power dumping her J&J stocks, as well as shares of Social Capital, a venture capital firm in which Power also held the job of outside advisor, and got $1M+ in capital gains income.
A 2024 OGE Form 278e Public Financial Disclosure Report offers a snapshot of Power’s income after her return to government, showing:
hundreds of thousands in Vanguard money market and retirement investments
interest on 22 (!) bank accounts ranging from $1,001-$2,500 each, and American Washington Mutual Investors Fund, American Growth Fund of America, Delaware Value Fund, HSBC, S&P 500 holdings
curiously, no info on her USAID administrator salary
Power’s spouse, Cass Sustein, listed a $840k Harvard salary, millions in retirement fund savings and stocks, book royalties, and $112k+ in consulting and speaking fees for the Boston Consulting Group, Carnegie Mellon, the European Patent Office, and other entities.
