Hunter Biden has discreetly relocated overseas while reportedly grappling with $17 million in debt and unresolved legal bills, as revealed by the Daily Mail. This disclosure emerged from a new legal filing submitted by his attorney Barry Coburn on April 6 in Washington DC, where the first son is being sued by his former legal representatives at Winston & Strawn.
Legal Filing Confirms Overseas Residence
The court document explicitly states that "Mr Biden lives abroad" and argues that the former First Son "cannot afford" to settle his outstanding legal fees. The law firm defended Hunter Biden, aged 56, in his tax and gun crimes cases along with other legal disputes, but alleges he failed to pay bills "substantially in excess of $50,000."
Debt Acknowledgment and International Movements
During a podcast appearance last year, Hunter Biden himself claimed he was in "$17 million of debt." Attorney Barry Coburn declined to comment to the Daily Mail and did not specify Hunter's current location, only confirming it is outside the United States. However, last year Hunter was observed spending time in South Africa, the birthplace of his wife Melissa, aged 39, who is the mother of his youngest child.
The couple were seen on a trip to Cape Town in May 2025, which prompted President Donald Trump to revoke Hunter's Secret Service detail due to the expenses associated with foreign travel. Hunter was photographed in the affluent Sea Point neighborhood, parking a rented Toyota hatchback—a stark contrast to the chauffeured, armored SUVs he used as a member of the First Family.
Family Connections and Financial Struggles
"There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!" Trump posted on Truth Social, announcing he had recalled Hunter's federal protection team. Hunter hinted at establishing a new home during an interview with South African podcaster Joshua Rubin in November, stating, "We're trying to be between Cape Town and the States. We go back and forth."
He expressed admiration for Cape Town, calling it "the most beautiful city in the world." This South Africa trip coincided with May 2025, when his father Joe Biden, aged 83, revealed he is battling "aggressive" prostate cancer. A spokesman noted the cancer had spread to the bone with a Gleason score of nine, the most aggressive type, though Joe Biden maintained his "prognosis is good."
Recent Family Gatherings and Financial Claims
Despite his professed foreign residency, Hunter Biden has spent time in the US, including an Easter meal with his family this month. His half-sister Ashley posted an Instagram photo showing Hunter seated next to his father and opposite stepmother Jill, with his son Beau on his lap, surrounded by other young family members in Santa Ynez, California.
It remains unclear who funded the 10,000-mile journey from Cape Town to California, as Hunter's attorney claims he is financially destitute. In the April 6 filing, Coburn described Hunter as "impecunious," meaning penniless, and noted he lacked funds to pay for experts to review emails and electronic devices for the lawsuit's discovery process.
Contradictions in Lifestyle and Debt
"We have not engaged a billing consultant or forensic accountant to review the bills, just as we have not engaged an e-discovery vendor," Coburn wrote. "We cannot afford it." However, in his November podcast interview, Hunter indicated he had been enjoying "super fine dining" in the South African capital, praising the food from "the corner burger place to the super fine dining."
He acknowledged the "privilege" of being a Biden but added, "You want accountability? Look at the past six years of my life and the $17 million of debt that I'm in, as it relates to my legal fees."
Legal Representation and Financial Support
Hotshot Winston & Strawn attorney Abbe Lowell represented Hunter in courtroom confrontations with the Justice Department in Delaware and California over gun and tax crimes. The law firm filed a complaint in DC Superior Court in June last year, claiming Hunter owed "substantially in excess of $50,000 in fees and interest" after nearly three years of representation.
The disgraced Biden son had relied on "sugar brother" Kevin Morris, a top Hollywood attorney, to cover his expenses. Morris loaned Hunter more than $6.5 million at 5% interest, according to a letter from his lawyer to the House Oversight Committee, including at least $2.2 million for his IRS debts. The interest alone on this sum would amount to $325,000 annually.
Art Career and Additional Financial Pressures
Morris, who earned a significant portion of his wealth representing the creators of TV show South Park in a $935 million deal with ViacomCBS, flew Hunter to his criminal case hearings in Delaware on his private jet. Hunter attempted to recover financially through a burgeoning art career, selling paintings for a total of $1.5 million between 2021 and 2024 to Democrat donors and family friends.
However, demand for his works declined after his father left the White House. "I have only sold 1 piece of art for $36,000," since December 2023, he wrote in a March 2025 court filing. Hunter had promised to give some of his artworks to his seven-year-old daughter Navy, conceived with former employee and stripper Lunden Roberts, but has failed to deliver any, as claimed in Arkansas court filings in January.
He is reportedly obligated to pay $5,000 monthly in child support for Navy. Last year, he requested a Los Angeles federal judge to dismiss his lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, alleging laptop hacking, citing insufficient funds to pursue the case. Ziegler, who runs right-wing nonprofit Marco Polo, denied the claims, noting Hunter abandoned his laptop at a Delaware computer store with passwords accessible.
Marco Polo published an extensive report on alleged evidence of crimes from Hunter's laptop and was the first to identify the April 6 filing confirming Hunter's departure from the US.
