Roosevelt's Inheritance
TR did not receive any inheritance following his wife’s estate.
At the time of his father Theodore Roosevelt Sr. died the family estimated his estate was worth about $500,000 in 1878. At his death he gave each one of his children $60,000.
Today that $60,000 inheritance us equivalent to $2,009,880 today based on the change in purchasing power as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index from 1876 to 2026.
TR's TOTAL 1878 Inheritance was just a little over the equivalent of $2,00,000
The amount of Roosevelt’s 1884 inheritance from his mother is uncertain. On his mother's side the Bulloch Family was in financial ruin from the destruction of the Civil War. It is fairly certain there wouldn't have been anything of serious value in her name at the time of her death.
If the $500,000 estimated value of Theodore Sr.'s estate is correct or near correct Edith would have retained a family balance of somewhere in the neighborhood of around $250,000.
There is no record of how much any of the children received as inheritance after Mittie's death.
The house on 57th Street was was sold, but much of that money went to the purchase of their new residence on Madison Avenue.
There is speculation that after Mittie's death at the liquidation of marital assets and the sale of the 57th Stree home provided each of the Roosevelt children with an estimated approximation of around $65,000 or the equivalent of $2,221,804 today based on the change in purchasing power calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index from 1884 to 2026. There was no inheritance tax at the time. The amount TR spent after the death of his mother indicates he most likely received a proper inheritance, however there is no physical record of any amount.
Known Inheritance: $60,000 or the equivalent of about $2,000,000 today.
Mittie Estimate Inheritance: $65,000 or the equivalent of about $2,222,000 today
Anna Takes Over Running the Family: While he was away, his elder sister, Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt, took complete charge of the family affairs. She personally sold the 57th Street house and handled the family's transition to a new residence on Madison Avenue. Because the mansion was a shared family asset inherited from their late father, Theodore Sr. (who passed away in 1878), any proceeds from the sale would have been split into the broader Roosevelt family estate among the siblings rather than as a single documented sum paid out to any one family member.
During the “Badland Years” (1883 - 1886) Roosevelt invested $85,000 in his cattle business or the equivalent of $2,905,300 in 2026 based on the change in purchasing power calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. That amounts to over 66% of his entire inheritance.
In the winter of 1868 - 1867 the cattle drive went from “The Great Round-Up” to “The Great Die-Up.” By the time it was over the entire cattle business had been destroyed. All in all it's generally believed Roosevelt lost about $20,000 or $681,465 in 2026.
By the time the dust settled and Roosevelt was back in New York living at Sagamore Hill with Edith he had lost 16% of his inheritance.