James Earl Carter Jr. was born in Plains, Georgia on October 1, 1924. His father, James Earl Carter Sr was a successful businessman and investor in farmland. His mother, Bessie Lilian worked as a nurse at the Wise Sanitarium, where Carter was born. From 1937 to 1941 carter attended a local high school. In1943 he got into the Naval academy as he always dreamed of joining the military just like his father who served in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps during WWI.He said in Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas’ book What Makes a Marriage Last, according to People, “I just felt compatible with her.” After carter graduated from the naval academy they tied the knot in 1946. After retiring from the Navy to focus on his wife, four kids, and the family business he built his family a ranch-style house in 1961 as they were in dire need of a home. According to Zillow, the house is valued at $209,996. It also served as a home for him when he left the White House. “He returned to his roots because he didn’t want to “capitalize financially on being in the White House,” According to the Washington Post. Many of his predecessors and successors always take advantage f post-presidential popularity, but Carter knew it wasn’t for him. I don’t see anything wrong with it; I don’t blame other people for doing it,” he said. “It just never had been my ambition to be rich.” He was able to live a comfortable life even after selling off the peanut business as they were in so much debt. He resorted to writing the $217,000 annual pension to make life easier for them.

According to the 2019 fiscal year budget from General Services Administration, Carter cost taxpayers $456,000 compared to the $952,000 that was budgeted for former president George H. W. Bush. Barrack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush cost $1 million.