Former President Joe Biden‘s son, Hunter Biden, claims he’s been left homeless—and unable to afford a new dwelling—amid ongoing money struggles after his $4 million Malibu rental property was left “unlivable” by the California wildfires.
According to new court documents filed by Hunter, 55, the luxury dwelling in which he had been living with his wife, Melissa, and their son, Beau, 4, was made “unlivable for an extended period of time” as a result of the Palisades fire, which began tearing through Los Angeles on Jan. 7.
Google Maps images of the neighborhood in which Hunter was living reveal that multiple homes in the community were obliterated by the blaze, with the artist’s reported dwelling seemingly reduced to a pile of rubble, although one property nearby is still standing.
The remaining dwelling is said to have been leased in the past by Hunter’s Secret Service detail, according to a 2023 report by DailyMail.com.
Hunter’s attorneys also shed light on his dire financial situation, revealing that the author and artist is struggling to make a living and cannot afford a new place to live, while asking a judge to end their client’s lawsuit against a former aide to President Donald Trump.
That lawsuit was originally filed in 2023 against Garrett Ziegler and centered around the publication of data from a laptop connected to Hunter, who accused the defendant of “accessing, tampering with, manipulating, [and] altering” the contents of the computer.
However, his attorneys now allege that he cannot afford to continue pursuing the legal case.
(Google Maps)
“Plaintiff has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range,” Hunter’s lawyer states in the documents, according to The Hill.
“Moreover, this lack of resources has been exacerbated after the fires in the Pacific Palisades in early January upended Plaintiff’s life by rendering his rental house unlivable for an extended period of time.
“Plaintiff must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family’s living expenses as opposed to this litigation.”
The motion, which has been reviewed by Realtor.com®, claims that Hunter has suffered a significant financial downturn in recent months as a result of dwindling sales of both his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” and his artwork, which he states were his primary sources of income.
Hunter writes in the latest filing that his income has “decreased significantly” since late 2023, when he initially launched his lawsuit, claiming that in December of that year, he “sold 27 pieces for art at an average price of $54,481.48.” However, in the 15 months since, he has only sold “one piece for $36,000.”
Meanwhile, he says that his book sales fell from 3,161 in the six month period between April 1, 2023 and Sept. 20, 2023 to 1,100 over the last six months.
Hunter adds that he had been expecting to “obtain paid speaking engagements and paid appearances” off the back of the “positive feedback and reviews” of his book and artworks, but concedes that this “has not happened.”
(Realtor.com)
(Realtor.com)
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
“Plaintiff has had difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live as well as finding it difficult to earn a living,” his attorneys add.
Hunter—who is the father to five children—did not state where he is currently living with his wife and youngest child, however he is known to have rented at least three properties in California since 2021.
The latest dwelling that he is understood to have been living in is reported to have been leased for anywhere from $15,000-a-month to $20,000-a-month.
Two of the homes that he is said to have occupied are located on the same street, where a second dwelling was also leased for his Secret Service detail, which he was afforded while his father was serving as President. However, when Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, Hunter’s government-funded protection was ended.
One of the properties, which DailyMail.com reported as being rented by Hunter in 2023, is currently estimated to be worth $4.1 million per Realtor.com, and boasts three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The other, which he was understood to have been living in from July 2021, offered four bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as an art studio inside a converted three-bedroom garage.
When the California wildfires first broke out in January, then-President Biden revealed that his son’s home may have been destroyed, telling reporters on Jan. 8: “It’s astounding what’s happening. There’s only one piece of good news. My son lives out here and his wife. They got a notification yesterday their home was probably burned to the ground. Today, it appears that may be still standing but I’m not sure.”
