President Obama is one of the few presidents entering the White House requiring the salary he receives. It’s not too shabby either: How Much Does the President of the United States Get Paid? —- $400,000. It’s more than enough for almost anything imaginable that is above and beyond the free stuff he doesn’t get (note: I think the pay should be about double that, but that discussion for another time).Because the First Family really doesn’t have a lot of other income (he gets some residuals from authorship of publications, about $100,000 on a typical year), it’s a certainty he uses his presidential salary. While he does live above the shop and gets a LOT of perks and benefits, the salary is important.