Samantha Power, the former head of USAID, is under scrutiny after reports revealed that her wealth skyrocketed from $6.7 million to over $30 million between 2021 and 2025. Elon Musk has publicly questioned how Power, who earned a modest salary during her tenure, managed to amass such a fortune, particularly after reports revealed that her wealth increased “100 times” her after-tax salary.
USAID’s top salaries, which range between $180,000 and $212,000 per year, total $720,000 to $848,000 over a four-year term. However, reports from organizations like InsideBidensBasement.org and TheRevolvingDoorProject.org suggest that Power’s net worth ranged between $10.1 million and $30.3 million.
According to these reports, Power’s income sources appear varied and substantial. Following her time as Obama’s UN Ambassador, she reportedly earned $471,000 in income from her work as a Harvard professor. She also garnered $351,000 from speaking engagements with major firms such as Nestlé, Google, and UBS, plus over $1 million in book royalties.
Perhaps most notably, Power reportedly accumulated up to $11.73 million in investment holdings, including stakes in companies like BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, and Tesla. Interestingly, Power’s 2021 certificate of divestiture shows that she sold off her shares in J&J, alongside holdings in the venture capital firm Social Capital, netting her over $1 million in capital gains.
Further scrutiny of Power’s finances, revealed in a 2024 OGE Form 278e Public Financial Disclosure Report, shows hundreds of thousands in investments, including money market and retirement accounts, plus shares in a range of funds and S&P 500 holdings. Notably, the disclosure did not detail her salary, but her spouse, Cass Sunstein, reported an $840,000 salary from Harvard, millions in retirement savings, and income from consulting and speaking engagements.
