Note from President Abraham Lincoln to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase describing a“ confused mass” of Lincoln’ s personal bonds, notes, cash and gold he brought to Chase’ s office in the Treasury Department to be converted into bonds on June 11, 1864. The inventory consisted of $ 16,200 in seven-thirty notes, $ 26,181.40 in temporary loan certificates, $ 8,000 in five-twenty bonds, $ 4,044.67 in uncashed Treasury salary warrants and $ 89 in greenbacks. To this inventory he added at the last minute a bag of gold coins worth $ 883.30, resulting in a collection of assets worth $ 55,398.37.
in 2021 and the Federal Reserve attributed it to the increase in the Child Tax Credit.
Financial fragility has been a constant for a majority of the US population since before the founding of the country. The United States started as an agrarian nation subject to the whims of nature. Most of the population teetered on fragility, and this fragility has not lessened with time.
Researchers noted certain patterns when tracking fragility. Fragility occurs typically in situations where there is lower income, lower education levels and lower financial literacy. While it impacts all genders and races, it is no surprise to learn that women and minorities have a greater struggle.
In fact, women have a 42 % chance of being financially fragile versus men at 30 %. Financial resiliency is the bookend of financial fragility. It is the“ ability to withstand life events that impact one’ s income and / or assets.” Researchers typically point to a variety of factors that create such resiliency, including being positive, flexible, focused, organized and proactive. Resiliency allows one to navigate the ups and downs of personal finance without forcing an individual into fragility. It is a learned skill, but those with access to higher incomes have an easier, more direct path to achieving resiliency.
The Presidential Financial Journey
The American presidents are a complex group. While they live in a mud-slinging reality on the way to and through their presidency, the moment their term ends, they become historical figures carved in stone.
But they started out as ordinary men, and their early money stories put them on a financial path that allowed them to climb the American political system. Many of them made the journey from fragility to resilience. Financially, they failed at times— and at other times thrived. For most, the journey was not linear, and the real lessons were in the peaks and troughs.
In many of the presidents’ stories, financial fragility is a common theme. However, what is different today is that, for previous generations, there were ways to overcome fragility, especially through access to education, by either college or apprenticeship, in fields such as law. This access required financial decision-making, but it did not come with the same steep financial consequences seen today, as evidenced by the student loan crisis.
For presidents like Ronald Reagan, Herbert Hoover and Bill Clinton, access to education became their springboard to achieve a higher financial level in society and break the bonds of financial fragility. What kept them there was the ability to utilize skills they had developed early due to their money stories.
But not all presidents started out financially fragile. For example, Thomas Jefferson came from a wealthy and educated background, yet financial stability remained elusive— even on his deathbed. Thus, it is evident that sometimes education and wealth cannot override outside and family influences. In such cases, financial fragility ends up as a destination instead of a starting point.
The ability to be resilient was developed by some presidents and not by others; resiliency is a skill that is sometimes learned by watching what not to do.
Ultimately, financial strength is a function of experience coupled with personality and determination. The stories of how presidents handled their personal finances can help people gain an appreciation of the context for their own financial journeys.
Megan Gorman is the founder and managing partner of Chequers Financial Management, a female-owned high-networth tax and financial planning firm. She is the author of All the Presidents’ Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed their Money( Regalo Press, 2025), from which this article has been adapted. Reprinted with the permission of Regalo Press.
www. MoAF. org | Fall 2026 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 33