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8 of the most luxurious perks of being the president’s child

Sasha and Malia Obama.Olivier Douliery/Getty First kids have to deal with the pressure of being in the public eye. However, they can also enjoy the luxuries that come with being a part of the first family. Presidential children have access to the White House movie theater, personal chefs, and celebrities. First kids get to live in the White House, which boasts 132 rooms, including a movie theater.The Obamas watching a 3D movie in the White House movie theater.Pete Souza/White HouseThe presidential residence is also home to a bowling alley, which Melania Trump renovated, a basketball court, a restaurant, and a chocolate shop perfect for fulfilling sweet cravings.First kids also have free rein of the White House grounds to wander the gardens or play outside with their presidential pets.First kids are also allowed to host major events like their own weddings or even their senior prom at the White House.Susan Ford and her escort, William Pifer, dance during the 1975 Holton Arms School Senior Prom, held in the East Room of the White House.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesNine children of presidents have gotten married at the White House: Maria Hester Monroe, John Adams II, Elizabeth Tyler, Nellie Grant, Alice Lee Roosevelt, Jessie Woodrow Wilson, Eleanor Randolph Wilson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Tricia Nixon.Susan Ford, then 17, even hosted her high school prom at the White House in 1975, the first – and, as of now, only – prom to be held there.They also get to ride on the luxurious Air Force One and Marine One when traveling with their parents.President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton, and Buddy the Dog aboard Marine One in 1998.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesWhile the president’s airplane and other modes of transportation are only referred to as Air Force One, Marine One, and the like when the president is on board, first ladies and kids also get to ride aboard the luxurious vehicles.As Business Insider previously reported, Air Force One has three levels and 4,000 square feet of interior floor space. That includes a conference room, dining room, and private quarters with a gym for the president. There is also a medical operating room, offices for staff, and two food-preparation galleys that can provide 100 meals.The children of sitting presidents get to meet famous people, from movie stars to other heads of state.Susan Ford and American fashion designer Halston in 1977.Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images”Sure, maybe a few times I wished my father was just a congressman,” Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of former President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, once said in an interview, according to CBS News.”But in fact, I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she continued. “The travels, the people you meet. From movie stars to heads of state. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, look who I’m meeting now!”‘A personal chef is always on hand for snacks and late-night cravings.President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump Host the prime minister of Ireland at the White House on March 14, 2019.Official White House Photo by Andrea HanksThe White House executive chef and executive pastry chef are primarily hired to serve the first family, which includes the kids, as well as serve food during official White House functions.However, while first kids have access to the five full-time chefs who work in the White House, they likely can’t order an unlimited supply of their favorite foods due to the fact that the first family actually foots the bill for their food.”They let you get whatever you want,” Michelle Obama told Jimmy Kimmel in 2018. “And then you get the bill for a peach and it’s like, ‘That was a $500 peach!’ I would tell Barack, ‘Do not express pleasure for anything until I know how much it costs.'”The children of sitting presidents can decorate their rooms however they want, within limitations.First lady Jackie Kennedy with her children Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1962.John F. Kennedy Library/John F. Kennedy Library/Getty ImagesAlthough presidential kids can make temporary decorative changes to their rooms, given the historical significance of the White House they can’t make any major structural changes to their living quarters.”Some parts are essentially historic rooms and belong to the American people, not to the families who live there,” Kate Andersen Brower, the author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies,” told ABC News in 2016.It’s possible for first children to be offered positions working in the administration … though they’re technically not supposed to.Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump worked as senior advisors to President Donald Trump.Joshua Roberts/ReutersThe Postal Revenue and Federal Salary Act of 1967, also called the Bobby Kennedy law, was intended to curb political nepotism and prevent the family members of sitting presidents from obtaining powerful positions in the executive branch.However, first children have still continued to hold positions in the White House. Most notably, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both worked as advisors to President Donald Trump, but they took no salary.”The antinepotism law apparently has an exception if you want to work in the West Wing because the president is able to appoint his own staff,” former Trump staff member Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in 2016. “Of course, this came about to stop maybe family members from serving on the Cabinet, but the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking.”First kids might even use their reputations and political connections to become president themselves.George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesTwo former first children went on to become president: John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush. While a first kid becoming president isn’t especially common, multiple first children have also entered politics in one way or another after their fathers left office.Jeb Bush, the second son of George H.W. Bush, went on to serve as the 43rd governor of Florida and launched his own presidential campaign in 2015. Chelsea Clinton also said a future for her in politics was a “definite maybe” in 2018.Read the original article on Insider
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Written by: emcdowell@businessinsider.com (Erin McDowell)