Hunter Biden, son of then-Vice President Joe Biden, has openly acknowledged that funds derived from his international business ventures, including his remunerative position on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, contributed to financing his extensive crack cocaine addiction. The admission came during an interview on the "Dopey" podcast, where Biden discussed the mechanisms by which he sustained his drug habit, along with expenditures on prostitutes and luxury accommodations, even amidst severe addiction. These remarks were first reported by the New York Post on Sunday.
"Even when I was a crack addict and out of my mind, I could show up for four meetings a year." Hunter Biden, Son of Joe Biden
During the podcast, Biden recounted a period of approximately two months spent at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, California, where he stated he intended to "go out with a bang." When podcast host Dave Manheim inquired about how he managed to secure sufficient funds for cocaine, sex workers, and private bungalows at the upscale hotel, Biden directly pointed to the continuous income from his business roles. "Well, I still had the residual. Like for instance, I still was on the board of Burisma," he explained.
Hunter Biden served on Burisma’s board of directors between April 2014 and 2019, reportedly earning around $50,000 per month. The New York Post indicated that his annual compensation from the Ukrainian energy company reached as much as $1 million during certain parts of his tenure. His association with Burisma became a focal point of intense political scrutiny during and after his father Joe Biden’s time as Vice President. Congressional Republicans have launched investigations into Hunter Biden’s foreign business relationships, probing allegations that members of the Biden family may have improperly leveraged Joe Biden’s political influence for financial gain.
Notably, Joe Biden was actively involved in U.S. policy towards Ukraine during the same period his son was on Burisma’s board. An abandoned laptop belonging to Hunter Biden later revealed that his father attended a dinner in Washington, D.C., with a Burisma executive in 2015, according to the Post.
Addressing longstanding criticisms regarding his qualifications for the Burisma board position, Hunter Biden defended his professional background during the podcast interview. He asserted that his extensive résumé and prior board experience made him suitable for the role. "What people don’t understand about Burisma is that I went on the board of Burisma because I had been on the board of about 14 other major national and international organizations," Biden stated. He cited his involvement with organizations such as the World Food Program USA, Amtrak, the Center for National Policy, Georgetown University, and the law firm Boies Schiller as evidence of his professional capabilities.
Biden also refuted characterizations of his foreign business dealings as criminal. He told listeners he was not "running some kind of international crime syndicate." He further elaborated on the limited workload associated with his Burisma position, noting that he was required to attend only a few meetings each year. "I took that when my dad was vice president, and then for three years after I was still on the board, and the requirement of the board would be that I would show up for four meetings a year," Hunter Biden explained. He went on to describe how his addiction impacted his capacity to fulfill these duties, stating, "Even when I was a crack addict and out of my mind, I could show up for four meetings a year."
These recent comments provide a direct and candid account from Hunter Biden regarding how he managed to maintain his income while grappling with severe addiction, a subject he has previously discussed in interviews and his memoir. His financial affairs and foreign business ties have been central to years of investigations and political disputes surrounding the Biden family. Republican members of Congress have previously examined bank records, business communications, and testimony from Hunter Biden’s former associates as part of their inquiries into alleged influence peddling. Despite the scrutiny, Hunter Biden has consistently defended his professional qualifications and disputed accusations that his business career constituted a criminal enterprise. His latest remarks primarily illuminate the intersection of his professional life and one of the most challenging periods of his personal struggle with addiction.
