Billionaire U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday he does not want the $400,000 annual salary that comes with the White House job and would turn it down if elected.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2016 race despite having no political experience, was asked at a town hall-style meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, if, as president, he would roll back generous pension and healthcare benefits given to members of Congress.
“The first thing I’m going to do is tell you that if I’m elected president, I’m accepting no salary, OK?” Trump said. “That’s no big deal for me.”
Trump, who built his fortune as a developer, real estate mogul and reality television personality, was listed on Thursday at No. 405 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires, with a fortune of $4.1 billion. Shortly after announcing his candidacy in June, Trump said his net worth was more than $10 billion.
Herbert Hoover, who made millions of dollars in mining before becoming president in 1921, and John F. Kennedy, who came from a wealthy family, both donated their presidential salaries to charity.
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