The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Protocol published in the Federal Register an annual accounting of foreign gifts reported by former President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, and other senior U.S. officials for calendar year 2024, describing gifts that ranged from artwork and jewelry to other items including cash. The report says foreign leaders and governments presented tens of thousands of dollars in gifts during the last year of the Biden administration and that the accounting does not include gifts given to President Donald Trump or his administration in the first year of Trump’s second term.
The disclosure reflects rules that require federal employees to report gifts they receive from foreign officials when the gifts are worth more than $480, according to the Bureau of Protocol’s annual report. The report says most reported gifts are transferred to the National Archives or the General Services Administration, and that recipients may keep certain items only by reimbursing the Treasury or, in rare cases, by keeping them for official use.
The report lists Biden’s most expensive gift as a $19,000 acrylic painting titled “Marimba,” sent to the archives. It says the painting was given by Angola’s president and estimated at $19,000, and it identifies Guizef Guilherme as the artist.
The accounting also describes gifts that were unusual in form and included items other than artwork. It says Biden received a sterling silver train set worth $7,750 from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that the train set was transferred to the archives. The report also says Biden received a road bike and two crates of dates worth a combined $7,089 from United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the report stating the bike went to the archives and that the dates were disposed of by the Secret Service.
Among other high-dollar items listed for Biden, the report says Iraq’s prime minister provided a $3,300 sculpture of a winged woman, and that the item was transferred to the archives. It also says the prime minister of the Czech Republic gave $3,300 in photographs and artwork, and that President Emmanuel Macron of France gave $3,000 in sculpture, photographs, posters and books. In addition, the report says Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni provided $2,512 worth of assorted gifts, including aviator sunglasses, wine, a cookbook, cufflinks and a commemorative Nutella jar, with the items sent to the archives except for perishables that were destroyed.
For Jill Biden, the report says her most expensive gift was a combined package estimated at $11,165 from the emir of Qatar, consisting of an Ormonde Jayne perfume bottle and an 18-carat gold diamond necklace. It says the report did not break down individual values for those two items, and it states that Jill Biden kept the perfume after the liquid was disposed of while the necklace went to the National Archives.
The report also says Jill Biden received a Dior bracelet and a Sevres vase from Macron’s wife, Brigitte, in a combined gift valued at $5,090. It says Jill Biden purchased the bracelet but sent the vase to the archives, and it again notes that the report did not assign separate values to each item.
The accounting says Kamala Harris received several pricey gifts but none valued at more than $2,700. It identifies her biggest gift as a rug, cooking utensils and a book valued at $2,633 from the United Arab Emirates, and it says those items were transferred to the National Archives. The report says Harris also received a book and clock from Bahrain’s crown prince valued at $1,775, and a ceramic bowl from South Korea’s first lady valued at $1,440, plus a painting from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy worth $1,460; all were transferred to the National Archives.
The report describes gift disclosures involving other senior officials, including the defense and intelligence leadership. It says former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reported receiving a $3,700 bronze statue from India’s counterpart, binoculars worth $2,950 from his Qatari counterpart, and a $1,300 watercolor painting from the prime minister of Iraq, and it says the items were to be transferred to the General Services Administration. The report says former CIA director William Burns reported receiving a $3,000 horse saddle from a senior Kazakh official that was retained for official use.
At the CIA, the report says several employees—who it says are not required to be named in the document—reported gifts that were also kept for “official use.” It lists examples including $2,390 in tickets for a Formula One race and a concert by hip-hop star Teddy Swims, along with a $543 box of Swedish/Cuban cigars. It also says another CIA employee reported receiving $15,000 in cash from an unnamed foreign government official, adding that the money was given to the Federal Reserve.
For Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the report says he reported only a handful of gifts in 2024 and that none were valued at more than $800, with those items sent to the General Services Administration for potential use in government facilities.