By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

Megan Gorman, tax attorney, wealth manager and author, will be discussing the financial feats and faux pas of U.S. presidents at both the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor (Feb. 19) and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids (Feb. 20).

During these free events, attendees will have the opportunity to learn the many ways presidents have made – or lost – money as disclosed in Gorman’s book, All the Presidents’ Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money.

“We are fortunate to be able to bring Megan Gorman to both of our locations as a guest speaker,” said Brooke Clement, Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum.

“Her expertise as a wealth advisor will help guide the audience through the various financial identities of our nation’s leaders.”

The American Dream

“There’s something unique in the course of American history where we’re all dealing with these same problems under the context of everybody wanting to achieve the American financial dream,” said Gorman.

Though Gorman is founder and managing partner of Chequers Financial Management, a female-owned high-net-worth tax and financial planning firm in California, and a senior contributor at Forbes, she is no stranger to financial woes.

“I grew up very middle class in southern New Jersey, and the idea of being able to understand money and how to use it really appealed to me,” Gorman said.

When entering law school, Gorman knew she wanted to work with people – and that she didn’t want to practice law in the traditional sense. It was during her first tax class that Gorman realized she enjoyed problem solving and puzzles, and “it all clicked together for me.”

Fascinated by wealth and the journey to achieving it, Gorman embarked upon a path that opened up a new understanding of the psychology of money.

“Money is emotion”

“Over the years I have learned that the psychology of money – and the ability to understand our individual money stories no matter how much money we may have – is the key to making better financial decisions,” said Gorman. “I enjoy exploring financial issues through the lens of psychology, pop culture and history.

“Money touches every area of life, and money is emotion,” Gorman continued. “We all wake up at two in the morning at some point in our life worried about money.”

Gorman found that many prominent individuals – whether presidents, rock stars or actors – have faced financial struggles.

“Once you start to scratch at the surface, you realize that everybody’s struggling. Everybody makes good financial decisions, and everybody makes bad financial decisions.”

Making our own way

Gorman has loved reading about U.S. presidents since she was a young girl.

“I connected a lot as a child to their stories because a lot of the presidents grow up in small towns and eventually make their way out in the world,” said Gorman.

Realizing deep studies into the personal finances of the presidents did not exist, Gorman began her own research. She found that, regardless of the time period in American history, everybody has the same financial issues.

Anxiety about paying bills, affording college or buying a house is a unique human experience affecting all demographics.

Grand Rapids’ very own Gerald R. Ford was no exception.

“Ford lived paycheck to paycheck even when he was in the White House,” said Gorman. “It’s something you don’t think about the president worrying about, but of course he was worrying.”

What made Ford unique, Gorman continued, was his fearlessness when encountering a challenging financial moment.

“He was willing to make decisions with his money that might have run contrary to what would be the normal path,” said Gorman. “I think that is why he ended up being so successful with money.”

Ford was one of the presidents Gorman enjoyed learning about most – and she is excited to share what she has learned with residents of his home state.

“Speaking at both the Library and the Museum is so exciting because [Ford] really transformed how presidents deal with money,” said Gorman. “He was a fascinating man, an incredible patriot, and he hated debt. He wanted to have no mortgages, and he worked very hard after the presidency to make sure that happened.”

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Along with Ford’s financial legacy, Gorman will discuss various other presidents and how timing and individual personalities impacted their presidency and financial situations. 

“One of the best people with money in the course of the American presidency was actually Herbert Hoover,” said Gorman, adding that most people associate Hoover with the Great Depression. “He just had the misfortune of being president when it happened. And it was a pretty hard challenge to take that on. When you actually look at [Hoover], those four years were the worst four years of his life.”

However, the Quaker system taught Hoover how to budget money at a very young age, and he was known for giving back to the community.

In contrast, Thomas Jefferson was a founding father, wrote the Declaration of Independence, was a great thinker – but struggled with finance management.

“As talented as he was with all those other areas, he was not good with managing his own money,” said Gorman. “At the end of his life, Jefferson was about to lose Monticello, his debt was that bad.”

Even wealthy presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy faced financial challenges.

Learning more about the U.S. presidents, Gorman said, reminded her of their humanity. “Some of them were really interesting people, just not great presidents.”

A solid…maybe

While Gorman says she would love to write another book, All the Presidents’ Money was a labor of love spanning four and a half years.

“Trust me, anyone who’s written a book will say you want to give up constantly,” Gorman said with a laugh, adding that the answer to whether another book is forthcoming is a solid…maybe.

“Maybe I’ll do this again,” said Gorman. “But I can tell you [All the Presidents’ Money] is one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I’m excited about it.”

Event details

Scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Library and Feb. 20 at the Museum, these programs are free and open to the public.

Registration is encouraged. A Zoom option on Feb. 19 will be available for those who cannot attend in-person.

Both programs will conclude with a book sale and signing.

These events were made possible by the collaboration of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, Barack Obama Presidential Library and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.