Washington– Foreign leaders and governments gave former President Joe Biden, his wife, U.S. Cabinet members and other senior officials tens of thousands of dollars in gifts in the final year of the Biden administration, including a $19,000 painting, an $11,000 necklace, a $5,000 bracelet and in one case $15,000 in cash, according to the State Department’s most recent accounts.
The annual report, which the department’s Protocol Office published in the Federal Register on Thursday, covers the 2024 calendar year and does not include any gifts made to President Donald Trump or his administration in the United States. The first year of Trump’s second term.
Federal employees are required to report gifts they receive from foreign officials worth more than $480. Most gifts are transferred to the National Archives or the General Services Administration and are not retained by the recipient unless they choose to reimburse the Treasury for them or, in rare cases, to retain them for official use.
Biden received an acrylic painting entitled “Marimba” by the famous Angolan artist Guiseve Guilherme, valued at $19,000, and was sent to the archives.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Biden received a $7,750 sterling silver train set from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a road bike and two boxes of dates worth $7,089 from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The report says the train and bicycle set were moved to the archives while the dates were discarded by the Secret Service.
Other high-value gifts given to the former president include:
— A $3,300 sculpture of a winged woman by the Prime Minister of Iraq
– $3,300 worth of photographs and artwork of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
– $3,000 worth of sculptures, photographs, posters, and books from French President Emmanuel Macron.
– $2,512 worth of assorted gifts, including aviator sunglasses, wine, a cookbook, cufflinks and a souvenir Nutella jar from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
All of these items were sent to the archives except for the perishable items which were destroyed.
Biden’s wife, former First Lady Jill Biden, received a bottle of Ormonde Jane perfume and an 18-karat gold necklace studded with diamonds from the Emir of Qatar and his wife. The combined value of the gift was estimated at $11,165, and the report did not detail the individual value of the two items.
She kept the perfume bottle after disposing of the liquid, and the necklace went to the National Archives.
Jill Biden also reported that she received a Dior bracelet and a Sèvres vase from Macron’s wife, Brigitte, in a combined gift valued at $5,090. Biden bought the bracelet but sent the vase to the archives. The report did not mention the individual value of the two items.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris received a number of lavish gifts, but none were reported to be worth more than $2,700.
The largest was a rug, cooking utensils and a book worth $2,633 from the United Arab Emirates. It also received:
— A book and a watch from the Crown Prince of Bahrain worth $1,775
– Ceramic bowl of the First Lady of South Korea, valued at $1,440
A painting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, valued at $1,460.
All were transferred to the National Archives.
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reported receiving several high-value gifts, including a $3,700 bronze statue from his Indian counterpart, a $2,950 binoculars from his Qatari counterpart and a $1,300 watercolor painting from the Prime Minister of Iraq. All were transferred to the General Services Administration.
At the CIA, former Director William Burns stated that he received a horse saddle worth $3,000 from a senior official in Kazakhstan, and it was kept for official use.
Several of his employees, who were not asked to be named in the document, reported gifts that were also kept for “official use,” including tickets to a Formula 1 race worth $2,390 and a concert by hip-hop star Teddy Swims, as well as a box of Swedish/Cuban cigars worth $543.
Another CIA employee reported receiving $15,000 in cash from an unnamed foreign government official. The money was turned over to the Federal Reserve, according to the report.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported only a handful of gifts in 2024, and none were valued at more than $800. All of these were sent to GSA for potential use in government facilities.