Modi’s $20,000 Diamond to Jill Biden is Priciest Gift to First Lady in 2023

The most expensive gift received in 2023 by First Lady Jill Biden was presented to her by Narendra Modi. The Indian prime minister gifted her a $20,000 diamond during his official state visit, the Associated Press reported, citing an annual accounting published by the U.S. Department of State.

The “7.5-carat green lab-grown eco-friendly diamond” reflects the “chemical and optical properties of earth-mined diamonds,” NDTV reported, adding that it was placed in a box made of paper pulp, known as “kar-e-kalamdani.”

Apart from the diamond, Jill Biden also “received a brooch valued at $14,063 from the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States and a bracelet, brooch and photograph album worth $4,510 from the president and first lady of Egypt,” the AP report said.  

The $20,000 diamond was “retained for official use in the White House East Wing,” the AP said, according to a State Department document. Some of the other gifts to the president and first lady were sent to the archives.

AP notes that “federal law requires executive branch officials to declare gifts they receive from foreign leaders and counterparts that have an estimated value of more than $480.” While “many of the gifts that meet that threshold are relatively modest, and the more expensive ones are mostly transferred to the National Archives or put on official displays.”

Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, told AP that the diamond will be turned over to the archives after they leave office. She did not say what it was being used for.

Meanwhile, many blasted Modi on X for using taxpayers hard-earned money.