Politics | Joe Biden Biden's No Average Joe Poor by Senate standards, VP candidate lives large By Kevin Spak Posted Oct 2, 2008 2:46 PM CDT Copied Joe Biden speaks at a train station in Delaware, Aug 25, 2008. Biden has long commuted by railroad, and has pushed for increased funding for Amtrak. His son is on Amtrak's board of directors. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower, file) On the campaign trail, Joe Biden gives the impression that he’s a normal, middle-class guy taking the train to and from work each day. But the home he’s commuting to happens to be a four-acre estate worth almost $3 million, the New York Times reports. Biden isn’t precisely wealthy—especially by Senate standards—but his high profile has given him access to resources and relationships beyond the grasp of most Americans. He owes his current home, for example, to a variety of businessmen and bankers, some with Senate business, who in turn purchased his old home for $1.2 million, sold him the lakefront acres at cost, and lent him $500,000. “He was a VIP, so he was treated accordingly by the bank,” said the man who handled the mortgage. Read These Next Hall of Famer Dave Parker dies That 'buy now, pay later' loan may soon hit your credit score. Cops: Arizona 5th graders drew up plot to 'end' a classmate. There's a problem with America's crash test dummies. Report an error