File photos of Queen Elizabeth II (© Tim Graham/Getty Images) & President Barack Obama (© Robyn Beck/AFP/GettyImages)

President's family costs US 20 times what royal family costs UK

9/30/2012

U.K. newspapers are having a little chuckle about a new book reporting that Obama's family cost U.S. taxpayers $1.4 billion last year alone, whereas the royal family cost the U.K. a measly $57.8 million – more than 20 times less than the First Family. Obama's expenditures include the salaries of his staff and Secret Service, as well as the maintenance of Air Force One, which he's required to take (and has been using increasingly in this election year). The comparison is being emphasized to advertise "non-partisan" author Robert Gray's book "Presidential Perks Gone Royal." Still, before you get too hot under the collar, if you estimate the current number of taxpayers in the U.S. at around 216 million, that's roughly $6.48 per taxpayer. [Source]

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