America's 'poorest' president who also tried to buy Greenland before Donald Trump

America has boasted some of the wealthiest presidents in the world, two of them billionaires.

Top of the list is Donald Trump who is estimated to be worth a whopping £4 billion, according to Forbes in November.

His wealth was calculated based on his earnings through real estate investments and holdings, plus his stake in the Trump Media & Technology Group.

The current US President is followed in the rich list rankings by the former Democrat John F Kennedy, whose personal fortune came to some £1 billion.

Most of his wealth, though, was inherited from his father, the presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told CBS MoneyWatch.

While many former US leaders can boast bank balances running into tens of millions of dollars, others have not been so fortunate.

According to Investopedia, the poorest US president to enter office was Harry S. Truman, who had America's top job for eight years between 1945-1953.

America's 33rd president had by his own accounts significant financial problems both before and following his presidency.

He was born into a Missouri farming family and served in the US Army, before embarking on a business career.

Truman ran a men's clothing company, which failed and almost ruined him, whereafter he entered the realm of public service, initially as a county judge.

He became a Senator and a Vice President to Franklin D. Roosevelt, before succeeding him to the Oval Office after he unexpectedly died.

Truman is perhaps best known for being the US President who authorised the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945.

But his administration also attempted to buy Greenland in 1946 from Denmark, offering the Danish government US$100 million in gold and the rights to a patch of Alaskan oil.

Truman's advisers prized the geographic advantage Greenland could afford to defend against Soviet strategic bombers that might fly over the Arctic Circle toward targets in North America.

The offer of purchase reportedly shocked the Danes, according to National Archive documents that recorded the secret talks.

Truman eventually hit the jackpot and secured himself and his family financial prosperity, after selling rights to his memoirs to Life magazine in 1954 for over US$500,000 (about £5 million in 2025 money).