She might buy a pair of shoes or, perhaps, acquire a new raincoat to paint slogans.
The question of the extra grand arises thanks to the last will and testament of Philadelphian Henry G. Freeman Jr., who died in 1917.
Freeman, a lawyer and real estate investor, wrote a will saying that after his children and other beneficiaries die, his estate would go for various good causes. And one of those causes was presidential First Ladies.
Freeman, a millionaire, believed Presidents were poorly paid. To help out, his will created the “Henry G. Freeman Pin Money Trust” for presidential spouses to spend anyway they wished.
You’d have to be an estate lawyer and know all about trusts and tricky wills to figure out the many complications in Freeman’s will. It appears that the Pin Money Fund didn’t kick-in until Barbara Bush was First Lady. Michelle Obama only received a few checks. It’s not that the trust ran dry, but there are technical difficulties.
Those few First Ladies who received the annual $12,000 stipend all donated it to charity.
We’re not sure if Melania Trump is getting her monthly pin money. But if she does get a $1,000 monthly check, it probably gives her a good laugh. A report from her trip to Africa claims Melania and her entourage spent $100,000 for one night in a Cairo hotel.