Harry Truman: Fact vs. Fiction

To the Editor:

I continue to receive repeats of Harry Truman historical fiction in my email, it’s repeated exponentially over Facebook for at least a decade and occasionally makes it to the pages of the Record. In this creative telling, “Noble Harry Truman” left office at age 68 and lived in poverty on a $112.56/month military pension, refusing to profit from his time in office. The feeders of this are primarily Democratic Party oriented people, but also a healthy share of Republicans, interested in curbing investment activities by legislators.

If you feel compelled to spread information about the finances of Harry Truman, please send out the following: When Harry Truman left office, his net worth was approximately $750,000 ($10 MILLION in 2026 money).

His salary as President was $100,000 a year plus $50,000 expense allowance ($1,356,000 plus $678,000 per annum in 2026 dollars). Presidents were paid much more in real terms in those days.

In 1950, the median family income in the USAwas $3,300 and a 90th percentile earner made in the range of $7,400 to $8,000.

Starting in early 1935, when he was sworn in as a Senator, Harry Truman earned $10,000/year ($230,000 in today’s money). He was living high on the hog during the Great Depression, especially for a failed haberdasher.

Truman’s income by year: 1952 $100,539.06 (last full year as President) 1953 $34,176.70 (68 years old when left office on January 20, 1953) 1954 $13,564.74 1955 $112,195.99 1956 $105,744.53 1957 $111,268.42 Truman sold his memoirs to LIFE magazine for $600,000 ($7.3 million in 2026 dollars). In addition to this healthy income, in 1958 Truman started receiving a $25,000 a year government pension (in addition to his $112.56/month Army Pension and $35/month Social Security benefits) plus funds for office space and administrative support.

Truman had various offers to serve on corporate boards of directors, which he declined. This has been represented as “noble Harry refusing to profit from his time in office.” In reality, he simply did not need the money. As noted, he sold his memoirs for a huge sum, which was profiting from his time in office.

Truman bitterly groused about the high income tax rates that he paid in retirement, in the range of 35 to 50%, particularly on the huge income on his memoirs spread over several years, but this was his own fault for the “soak the rich” tax policies that he and fellow Democrats pursued. Impaled by his own sword.