President Joe Biden spent nearly 40% of his presidency on vacation, so it seems fitting that he is ending his failed term at a billionaire’s home on St. Croix.
He and his family arrived Thursday in St. Croix for what may be the final unpaid vacation of his presidency at the home of wealthy businesspeople — after consistent freebies as commander-in-chief drew ethics questions and an outcry over his failure to report the gifts.
Biden, 82, first lady Jill Biden and fist daughter Ashley Biden landed aboard Air Force One on the afternoon following Christmas and motorcaded straight to the beachfront villa of Bill and Connie Neville.
The president hosted the couple at his first state dinner in 2022 and typically grants them an audience on the tarmac while leaving the island after the new year.
Unlike President-elect Donald Trump, who regularly stayed at his own properties during his first term, drawing different ethics issues, Biden as president has sought out unpaid stays with prominent supporters, in many cases generating concern about the homeowners securing access and influence.
The Nevilles operate the US Viking software company, which makes an online content platform called ENPS marketed by The Associated Press and used by news outlets.
The couple scored coveted tickets to Biden’s first state dinner, featuring French President Emmanuel Macron and a select group of the two countries’ business elite, 26 days before the Bidens’ first presidential trip to the Nevilles’ home.
This August, Biden’s family spent five days for free at the sprawling California ranch of medical technology billionaire Joe Kiani, whose substantial government contracts during the Biden administration and appointment by Biden to an advisory board drew Republican outcry.
Last August, the Biden family spent nine days at billionaire climate investor Tom Steyer’s waterfront Lake Tahoe retreat in Nevada.
The White House initially claimed the Bidens would pay for the stay, prompting a short-lived local investigation of Steyer’s lack of a rental permit, which was called off without explanation.
