Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977, following the resignation of Richard Nixon. Prior to this he served eight months as the 40th Vice President of the United States, following the resignation of Spiro Agnew. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and subsequently the only person to date to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to executive office. Before his appointment to the vice presidency, Ford served 25 years as U.S. Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district, the final nine of them as the House Minority Leader.
As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his most controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford’s presidency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In the Republican presidential primary campaign of 1976, Ford defeated former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination. He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, making him the first President who succeeded to office as a result of a mid-term vacancy since Chester A. Arthur not to be elected in his own right.
Following his years as President, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. After experiencing health problems, he died at home on December 26, 2006. Ford lived longer than any other U.S. president – 93 years and 165 days – while his 895-day presidency was the shortest of all presidents who did not die in office.
Gerald J. Ford Net Worth: Gerald J. Ford is an American entrepreneur who has a net worth of $2.1 billion. Gerald J. Ford was born in 1944. The son of Texas farmer, Gerald his fortune by buying and selling banks. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University. He purchased his first bank in 1975 for only $1.2 million. He eventually sold that bank for $80 million. Ford served as the Chairman and CEO of the fourth largest bank in California, Golden State Bancorp, Inc based in San Francisco. He sold this bank to Citigroup in 2002 for $6 billion with his partner, Ron Perelman. Currently, Gerald serves as the Chairman of Hilltop Holdings, an insurance company and bank, and the Managing Director of Ford Financial Fund. He also sits on the Board of Freeport-McMoRan, the world’s leading extractor of gold and copper. In addition to his massive fortune, Ford also has interests in various corporations, including Pacific Capital Bancorp, Rio Hondo Land & Cattle Company, Golden State Bancorp, Diamond Ford Dallas, First Acceptance Corporation, AmeriCredit, American Residential Cmnts LLC, Scientific Games Corp and SWS Group. Lately. He sold his 76% stake in Pacific Capital Bancorp to Mitsubishi UFJ, the largest bank in Japan, for $1.15 billion. Ford is a great philanthropist sitting on many trustees and committee boards. The Ford family has residential properties in Manhattan, Dallas and the Hamptons, and they also own a thoroughbred farm in Kentucky.
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