Joseph Biden is more famous for his partying ways, ladies and her men, and his outbursts at opponents than anything else. But some of the people closest to him see another side: that he’s a money-grubbing bastard, they said in interviews with the New York Times after Hunter and Jill Biden accused the vice president of pushing a diamond ring he had gotten from a jeweler to win over his wife.
“Money can’t buy you happiness. It can buy you a ring that is worth $3 million, but if you don’t believe that … and you allow yourself to believe that, then you have no relationship with life.” —Norman Albertson, a friend of Mrs. Biden’s and former member of the Delaware Democratic Party, told the Times.
“Joe Biden plays the crowd and shows off the diamond engagement ring he and Hunter Biden received in 2011,” the candidate said in a phone interview.
The open letter Hunter Biden wrote this week left the topic of his relationship with his father’s former chief of staff open for debate. At the close of their letter, Biden thanked him for his “generous offer” of $30 million for the jeweler’s firm. But he was also careful to note that “this is no OJ Simpson story,” calling on the Times and other news outlets to “please give this whole thing the attention it deserves.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyer Doug Kendall told the Times that his client is the victim of “the most disgusting, despicable attack on a man’s character in modern American history,” adding that Hunter Biden had done his best to save money.
The Washingon Post reported that the couple lost $1.5 million in the foreclosure sale on the house they’re staying in, though they were still able to stay in the White House.
“The financial sweeteners Hunter Biden offered were clearly cynical and showed a fundamental lack of respect for his own wife, who is a well-regarded senior public servant,” Kendall told the Post.
The nature of Hunter Biden’s wealth and his philanthropic prowess are somewhat unknown. A $1.5 million investment that he and his brother made turned into a $12 million success, according to the Baltimore Sun. For those interested in his vast businesses, make sure you read The Young Riches: Hunter Biden, Hunter Biden, Hunter Biden by George Clay, and it contains this juicy detail about Hunter’s basketball prowess:
Hunter said he knew where his shot was coming from — he won basketball courts in Washington and New York. He took other kids out for one-on-one in the halls of his best-selling schools. He had the defense. On the perimeter, his trademark stop on a pass led to the win. On the fast break, it was like taking the third left-field foul to win a baseball game.