A $20,000 lab diamond from India, and so much art: The gifts foreign leaders gave the Bidens

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President Joe Biden welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House in June 2023 as part of an effort to deepen ties with the world’s most populous nation. It was Modi’s first state visit to the United States, and Biden touted the U.S.-India relationship: “Two great nations, two great friends, two great powers that can define the course of the 21st century.”

The Modi visit included a mix of showmanship and substantive agreements on technology, diplomacy and defense.

It also involved a number of gifts, including one with a big price tag.

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The White House said at the time that Modi would receive a handmade, antique American book galley from the early 20th century as an official gift. He was also gifted a vintage American camera and a signed copy of “Collected Poems of Robert Frost,” among other items.

Modi, in turn, gave first lady Jill Biden the most expensive gift either of the Bidens received from a government or head of state in 2023, according to a report released Thursday (Jan. 2, 2025) by the State Department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol.

He presented the first lady a lab-grown 7.5 carat diamond with an estimated value of $20,000 in the presence of the president. The gift put on display India’s efforts to become a global leader in producing man-made diamonds – a synthetic alternative with a much smaller carbon footprint than mined diamonds.

Where is it now? It has been retained for official use in the East Wing, the report said.

The State Department’s annual report provides a glimpse into the practice of gift-giving in diplomatic settings.

All federal employees are required by law to report gifts from foreign government sources valued at $480 or more. The president, first lady and Vice President Kamala Harris were the most frequent recipients of foreign gifts, given their positions. Certain officials, such as national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, also received several gifts.

Gifts of state are meant to be “enduring emblems of international cooperation and friendship,” according to the National Archives, one of the federal agencies responsible for keeping presidential gifts.

In September 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave Biden a collage with an estimated value of $2,400 during his second visit to Washington since Russia launched an assault on Ukraine. The collage was titled “Qirim. Return” – an apparent reference to Crimea, which is derived from the Turkish word qirim. Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory, although it is occupied by Russia.

Months earlier, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, gifted Jill Biden a forget-me-not flower brooch worth more than $14,000. The flower symbolizes true love and respect. The brooch was retained for official use in the East Wing.

In modern times, a president might receive 15,000 gifts a year, according to the National Archives. The gifts from foreign governments are almost always accepted because, in the words of the State Department report: “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”

The majority of gifts received by the Bidens were transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration, including the collage from Zelensky. Biden also received a wooden bench valued at $1,170 from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a jewelry box worth $480 from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and a gemstones portrait valued at $2,100 from Nguyen Phu Trong, former leader of Vietnam’s Communist Party. All were transferred.

Had Biden kept some, he would have his pick of books – gifts from King Charles III and Kais Saied, the president of Tunisia, among others – waiting for him when he finishes his term on Jan. 20. The Bidens would also have their choice of bowls, vases, boxes and statues from foreign leaders around the world.

Some of the gifts are officially displayed, such as a Ujamaa wood carving that Harris was given by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan during her visit to the African country in March 2023.

And a couple dozen gifts listed in the report that were given to William J. Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and other CIA employees were “destroyed.” That includes an Omega watch worth $11,000 that was given to Burns and a $30,000 women’s jewelry set gifted to another CIA employee.

The report did not disclose who gave the gifts that were destroyed. It cited the U.S. Code, which states that the head of an agency within the intelligence community can request the exclusion of certain information “if the publication of such information could adversely affect United States intelligence sources or methods.”

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