- Full name: Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr
- Born: November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Field of activity: lawyer, politician, philanthropist, public figure.
- Education: Graduated from Syracuse and Delaware Universities. He holds a doctorate in law and a bachelor’s degree in art history.
- Joe Biden’s fortune: estimated in 2019 at $ 9 million
- Marital status: married twice, has four children.
Joe Biden (born Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Delaware as a Senator. Joe Biden’s life story will clearly show what factors influenced the formation of the values, worldview, and character of the future President of the United States. The Biden family tree is replete with a variety of different ethnic groups. For example, the politician has French, English, and Irish roots. His ancestors were very wealthy, but Joseph’s father suffered several major financial setbacks, losing almost all of his fortune.
A short biography of Joe Biden should start with the fact that he is the family’s first child. He was born in Scranton, a working-class town in Pennsylvania. The future politician grew up with his sister and two brothers. Parents instilled in their children the Catholic faith. Initially, Biden Sr. had an extreme financial condition, but he lost most of his funds in the 50s due to unsuccessful investments. Despite all his efforts, he never fully restored his previous financial situation.
Education is a backbone link in the biography of Joe Biden. The future politician was a St. Helena’s School student in Wilmington, where his family moved. After graduation, Biden Jr. managed to enroll in Archmere Academy. He was fond of study and sports, played in the local football team, and showed great promise.
Baseball was also Joe’s passion. Classmates of the politician recall that Biden was a mediocre student, but he did not occupy himself with leadership qualities. He actively participated in student life. Fellow students elected him President of the class.
Joe Biden’s history as a lawyer began in the late 60s. He first spent several months working for a law firm, and then he worked as a public defender. In 1970 he founded his own business – Biden and Walsh’s law firm. His firm specialized in criminal and corporate law. The company also actively managed the property of its clients.
Joe Biden’s legal career turned bright and dynamic but short-lived. Back in the late 60s, he began to move towards politics, running for the council of the 4th district of Newcastle from the Democratic Party. The electorate believed the young and ambitious politician. Therefore, Joe won a landslide victory. The electorate also liked his electoral program, as it was based on support for the poor and public housing construction development.
Initially, Biden combined work in his law firm and the district council. However, he soon concentrated exclusively on politics since a new challenge appeared in his professional activity – elections to the Senate.
In November 1973, it announced that Biden Jr. was elected to Senator from Delaware. He entered the history of the United States as the youngest member of the Senate. Joe was only 30 years old at the time of his election. The Prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. Political scientists were skeptical about the program of the young Democrat, who promised to end U.S. participation in the Vietnam War, to protect civil rights, and develop a health care system.
After this victory, Joe Biden’s life story changed dramatically. In 1974, the Times named the youngest senator in U.S. history “one of the key figures of the future.” However, the notes of conservatism also slipped through. For example, Biden Jr. was categorically negative about abortion.
By 2008, Joe Biden was perhaps the most experienced senator, having served in this position for 35 years. Before the presidential election, he promoted his candidacy for the post of head of the United States, but on January 3 announced the withdrawal of the Democratic party from the primaries. An experienced politician decided to concentrate on the next Senate elections from Delaware.
The politician ran for the post of head of state three times. He first entered the presidential race back in 1988. Political scientists called him the new Kennedy and believed in the victory of the young politician. However, expectations were not met, at one of the speeches of the Democratic presidential candidate made a speech that was suspected of plagiarism. It sounded too much like the speech of U.K. Labor Party Neil Kinnock.
The politician met his first wife in the mid-60s. They were both students at Syracuse University. Joe and Nelia Hunter were soon married. In the marriage, they had three children: daughter Naomi and sons Hunter and Bo. On Christmas Eve 1972, almost immediately after winning the Senate elections, an absolute disaster occurs in Joe Biden’s personal life. His little daughter and wife died in an accident. His sons were also seriously injured, but they still managed to survive.
Having become a widower and left with two sons, Joe seriously thought about going politics to concentrate on raising his sons. However, in 1975 he met a young teacher, Jill Jacobs. Biden said in many interviews that it was she who returned interest in political activity. In 1977, Joe and Jill got married, and four years later, she gave him a daughter named Ashley.