Jimmy Carter lived to be 100 years old. Sadly, the oldest ex-president of the United States of America ever died on Dec. 29, 2024. Carter died just a year after his wife, Rosalynn Carter, died. The world mourned after his death, but we are given the opportunity to reflect on his life, and most importantly, his net worth at the time of his death. Jimmy Carter’s net worth is $10 million, and below, we will see how he acquired his wealth.

What did Jimmy Carter do before becoming president?

Jimmy Carter was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. His father was a farmer and businessman and his mother was a registered nurse. After his education, Carter attended the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated with a B.S. degree in 1946 (the same year he married Rosalynn Smith). In the Navy, he became a submariner and rose to the rank of lieutenant.

In 1953, after his father’s death, Carter resigned from his naval commission to return to his family in Georgia and take over the family farms. He and his wife also operated Carter’s Warehouse, a general-purpose seed-and-farm-supply company. Carter later became known for running a successful peanut farm.

During his tenure in Georgia, Carter became the leader in the community, participating in county boards supervising education, the hospital authority, and the library. In 1962, he contested and successfully became a senator in the Senate of Georgia. In 1966, he lost his first attempt at running for the governorship of Georgia; however, he won his next gubernatorial campaign and became the 76th governor of Georgia on Jan. 12, 1971. In the 1974 congressional and gubernatorial elections, he was the Democratic National Committee campaign chairman.

That year, he announced his candidacy for United States President. He received the Democratic nomination and the eventual presidential election on Nov. 2, 1976. Carter served as president from Jan. 20, 1977, to Jan. 20, 1981.

What is Jimmy Carter’s net worth?

He left behind a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He had acquired this net worth primarily through working as a writer/novelist/author, politician/statesman and military officer, as well as a farmer. So Carter has only a very modest net worth by the standards of former presidents – Bill Clinton’s net worth is estimated to be $120 million, for example – but he was still worth far more than the average American.

What did Jimmy Carter do during his presidency?

During his tenure as president, Jimmy Carter proved to be a human rights champion around the world and within. On the second day as the president, all draft evaders during the Vietnam War were pardoned by Proclamation 4483. Some of the most notable achievements in his foreign policy domains were the Panama Canal treaties; the Camp David Accords, which led to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel; a SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union; and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Domestically, Carter is credited with (or faulted for, depending on who you ask) deregulation in energy, transportation, communications and finance industries; as well as major environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

He established the United States Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He worked through the former to have an overall energy program that entailed a national policy on energy concerning conservation, pricing, and focusing more on new technologies. The same administration had main programs through the latter: main educational programs.
He is actually lauded as the man of progressive policies as he espouses some things people today deem futuristic. He was the first president to put solar panels on the White House in 1979 (however, by 1986, the panels were dismantled by the Ronald Reagan administration). The Reagan administration also gutted the research and development budgets for renewable energy at the then-fledgling U.S. Department of Energy and reversed progressive energy policies, such as eliminating the tax breaks for the deployment of wind turbines and solar

Why did Jimmy Carter fight for human rights?

The moment Jimmy Carter declared his candidacy for the United States presidency, he promised significant changes in the country’s former policies. He wanted to base his diplomacy on morality and the pursuit of human rights. In his inaugural address, he said, “Because we are free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere.”. Our moral sense dictates a clear-cut preference for those societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights.

Did Jimmy Carter form Habitat for Humanity?

Jimmy and his wife Rosalynn Carter were keen volunteers and champions for Habitat for Humanity. Nevertheless, they did not initiate the non-profit. Millard and Linda Fuller established Habitat for Humanity in 1976. The two have significantly assisted in spreading wide and heightening awareness and support and coverage for Habitat for Humanity International. In response, Habitat for Humanity partnered with these philanthropists to create The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

Through these books, Jimmy Carter made his money.

Jimmy Carter was elected into the presidency in 1976 and placed his peanut farm and businesses into a blind trust. It was under such a blind trust that he had to leave a law firm in Atlanta to take full administration during his years in the White House. The Carters did this to avoid any possibility of conflicts of interest with their business affairs while in office, which would allow the Carter administration to make decisions without bias. Unfortunately, when the Carters left the White House in 1981 following the election loss, they found out that due to years of drought and changes in warehouse management, they were in more than $1 million of debt.

As a result, the Carters were also compelled to sell their business. Through this sale as well as books and paid speaking engagements, he was able to rebuild his finances over the years. (The former president wrote more than 30 books over his lifetime on a wide range of subjects.)

Back when he was president, Carter earned $200,000 a year as salary—the standard back then (now presidents earn $400,000 a year). In addition to that, having been a President, Carter received pension of $207,800 every year, also $150,000 every year for staff as his Secret Service protection.