Obama-era officials return to White House under Biden after getting very rich in the interim

Several former Obama staffers return to White House as multimillionaires and with closer ties to corporate interests

Several White House officials who worked in the Obama administration have returned to public service after gaining massive wealth since leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Some officials also return with deeper connections to corporate interests.

Financial disclosure reports analysed by ABC News show that many on Mr Biden's staff have added millions to their coffers since they last stepped foot in the White House. Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients all have multiplied their wealth over just the last few years.

Ms Rice reported three to four times more in various assets in 2021 than she did when she entered the Obama White House in 2009. She holds between $36m and $149m in various assets, according to her financial disclosure report that was released on Saturday.

In 2009 when she became the ambassador to the United Nations, she reported having assets worth between $13.6m and $40.4m. The most recent filing shows that she holds shares worth between $250,000 and $5m in companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Apple and Microsoft.

She also reported making more than $300,000 from exercising Netflix stock options, where she was a board member. She disclosed holding between $1m to $5m of shares in oil and gas companies, like the Canadian natural gas company Enbridge Inc. She earned $620,000 from speaking engagements in just the last year, and $250,000 in book royalties, her total income being between $2m and $6.7m. She has said that she will divest from her Netflix stock options.

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A White House spokesperson told ABC News: "These White House officials are experienced government leaders whose past private sector experience is part of a broad and diverse skill set they bring to government service.

“They have returned to government because of their deep commitment to public service, their desire to help bring our nation out of this time of crisis, and their strong belief that government can work for the American people."

Mr Klain has tripled his wealth since entering the Obama administration as Mr Biden's chief of staff for the then-Vice President. Mr Klain reported owning assets worth between $4.4m and $12.2m now compared to between $1.4m and $3.5m in 2009.

He received a salary of almost $2m in 2020 from the venture capital firm Revolution LLC where he served as general counsel and executive vice president. In 2009, he reported earning a salary of $1m, according to ABC News.

Mr Zients is the wealthiest member of the Biden administration with between $89.3m and $442.8m in assets, passing Mr Biden's pick for associate attorney general Vanita Gupta, whose earlier filings showed her holding assets worth between $42m and $187m.

The wealth of Mr Zients comes from investment funds, real estate and cash shares. He has divested his shares in the Cranemere Group, his private investment firm. He was a board member at Facebook and has divested shares in the company worth $1m.

He reported making between $10.4m and $28m in 2020. He was the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget when he entered the Obama administration in 2009 when he reported holding assets worth between $45.2m and $205.7m.

Mr Deese joined the Obama White House in 2009 as a special assistant for economic policy. By 2015, he was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and reported owning assets valued between $81,000 and $215,000.

He now reported having assets worth between $2m and $7.2m. Before becoming a public official in the Biden administration, Mr Deese was the Global Head of Sustainable Investing at investment firm BlackRock, where his salary was $2.3m compared to the $175,000 salary he earned as the deputy OMB director.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reported that together with his wife Margaret Goodlander, they hold assets worth between $7.5m and $27.5m. A lot of the wealth of Mr Sullivan comes from real estate in Florida and New Hampshire, ABC News reported.

Insider reported in November of last year that Mr Biden himself along with his wife Jill Biden have a net worth of $9m and that most of that wealth was earned recently. The Bidens made $16.7m between 2017 and 2019 from book sales and speaking fees, according to Forbes.

The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.