Did the former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, see her net worth increase by $23 million in three years? No, that's not true: Public financial records don't show anything close to that kind of an increase between 2021 and 2024. Based on Lead Stories' calculations, her net worth was essentially in the same range during that time, and her combined net worth with her spouse increased by somewhere between $288,000 and $1.12 million during that period.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on February 9, 2025. The post's caption said:
🚨EX-USAID CHIEF SAMANTHA POWER'S NET WORTH SKYROCKETS--FROM $6.7M TO $30M ON A $180K SALARY
Samantha Power, Biden's ex-USAID chief, saw her wealth explode while earning just $180K per year.
Where did the extra $23.3M come from? And all of this in just 3 years! USAID oversees billions in global funding--was she cashing in?
The public deserves answers. Follow the money.
Source: vBulletin, Inside Biden's Basement
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Feb 17 17:00:23 2025 UTC)
Power's finances
Power became head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Joe Biden in May 2021 and left that position when Donald Trump started his second term as president.
Because Power was a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, her finances, and those of her husband Cass Sunstein, are a matter of public record. Officials like her must file an Office of Government Ethics Form 278e, which details assets, income and liabilities in broad ranges.
Lead Stories analyzed Power's financial disclosures from 2021 (archived here) and 2024 (archived here) and found the following estimates for the couple's net worth (rounded):
- 2021: $11.2 million to $29.8 million
- 2024: $11.5 million to $30.9 million
The net worth of the couple was within very similar ranges in both years: The disclosure reports do not demonstrate the $23.3 million increase the social media post claimed. The wide range in the estimated total net worth for each year is due to the fact that most of their income, investments, assets and liabilities are reported as a range, and not exact figures. A screenshot from the 2024 form is shown below as an example:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Feb 18 18:19:00 2025 UTC)
Our analysis also shows that, when entries relating to Sunstein are excluded, the upper range of Power's estimated net worth actually decreased between 2021 and 2024:
- 2021: $7.8 million to $21.4 million
- 2024: $7.9 million to $20.7 million
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At the time this fact check was written, PolitiFact had reviewed the same claim.
For more Lead Stories fact checks about claims involving USAID, click here.
