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Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s 52-year-old son, lives in a four-bedroom home in Malibu, Calif., and the nearest property the U.S. Secret Service could rent is a $30,000-a-month, six-bedroom mansion with ocean views, according to an ABC News report.
It’s normal practice for Secret Service agents to find housing close to where the individual they are protecting lives, according to former agent Don Mihalek, who was interviewed for the story.
It’s “the cost of doing business for the Secret Service,” Mihalek said. “Typically, wherever a protectee sets up their residence, the Secret Service is forced to find someplace to rent nearby at market value.”
“This isn’t new. The Service has had to do this in past administrations, and unfortunately, the housing market right now has driven the prices up substantially,” Mihalek continued.
Mailbu is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. — Malibu housing expenses are 626% higher than the national average, according to PayScale, a compensation data company.
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A representative from the Secret Service told ABC, “due to the need to maintain operational security, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on the means, methods, or resources used to conduct our protective operations.”
A representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment on this story.
The Secret Service agency is no stranger to over-the-top protective measures for members of the president’s family. During the Trump administration, Secret Service agents at several moments rented jet skis while members of the first family were at Mara Largo and properties in the Hamptons.
Additionally, Trump brothers Eric and Don Jr. cost taxpayers more than $230,000 in one month, mostly due to an expensive trip to the United Arab Emirates, where they were traveling to open the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai.
