The former first son appears to be leveraging his new visibility as an addiction recovery influencer to get work
An “ultra-luxury” drug and alcohol rehab center nestled in the Hollywood Hills has hired former first son Hunter Biden as an adviser and executive director of its charitable foundation, a new gig that could help the convicted felon whittle down millions of dollars in unpaid legal bills and other debts.
Peak Path Health announced Biden’s hire this week, touting his “lived experience and professional insight” from his struggles with addiction to crack, alcohol, and other substances. “The announcement comes during a meaningful milestone in Hunter Biden’s personal journey, as he celebrates seven years of sobriety this month,” says Peak Path.
The Yale-educated attorney joins Peak Path, which launched last year, as he has positioned himself on social media and the podcast circuit as a ubiquitous recovery influencer, speaking openly about his lifelong struggle with sobriety, as well as taking pot shots at his family’s detractors.
Biden’s new job could be of interest to his many creditors. Biden has said he owes $17 million to attorneys who represented him in tax and gun felony cases, as well as various defamation lawsuits. Biden, who received a presidential pardon for the federal crimes from his father, claimed in recent legal filings that he is destitute, and unable to pay Winston & Strawn, the firm that represented him and is now suing him over unpaid bills, claiming he is “impecunious” and “does not have” enough money to conduct a professional search for emails sought in the lawsuit. In one filing, Biden’s attorney said he was living abroad, and therefore unable to respond to Winston & Strawn’s demands that he pay his bills. But Biden has been spotted in the United States multiple times in April and May—three times in wealthy areas of Southern California and once in Nashville, when he made an in-person appearance in the studio of the notorious antisemitic podcaster Candace Owens.
Biden, who lived in Malibu during much of his father’s presidential term before his pricey rental home was made unlivable in the January 2025 wildfires, suggested in recent podcast interviews that he still lives in the area. Biden told Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.) in a podcast interview last week (where he appeared from an indistinct remote location) that “I sat in my garage up in Big Rock in our home state of California and painted for four years.”
It is unclear how much Peak Path will pay Biden, and whether his job requires him to work on-location at its treatment facilities or if he can work remotely from his supposed “overseas” home. Peak Path did not respond to requests for comment, and Biden’s attorney declined to comment. Biden also says he has another Southern California gig, working as director of development at BASTA Universal, a tenants rights law firm in Los Angeles that had its nonprofit status revoked last year.
Peak Path, which formed last year, caters to a high-net worth clientele, offering drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment to “high-achieving” professionals. Its “flagship” residence, the Peak Estate, is an 11,000-square foot mansion “perched high above Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills.” The residence, which was put up for sale in 2018 for $16 million, offers “private care with luxury amenities and specialized services,” including a “full-service spa with massage and steam room, private gym, yoga studio, meditation gardens, heated pools, hot tubs, and miles of scenic hiking trails.”
A men’s residence, designed by award-winning architect Tony Ngai, offers “sweeping 180-degree views stretching from downtown Los Angeles to Catalina Island.”
Biden has frequented similar facilities during his numerous rehab stints. Biden first entered a rehab clinic in 2003, and did so again in 2010. Biden has written that he stayed sober for three years before relapsing. He was kicked out of the U.S. Navy Reserve in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.
According to Biden, he has been sober since 2019, months after he abandoned his now-infamous laptop at a repair shop in Delaware. Photos from the laptop show Biden smoking crack and cavorting with prostitutes. Emails from the laptop detail Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China while his father served as vice president.
Biden recently joined social media and has made the rounds on the podcast circuit in a bid to rehabilitate his public image. Biden was convicted by a jury in June 2024 of three felonies—including lying about his drug use to buy a gun—and in September 2024 he pleaded guilty to evading millions of dollars in income taxes. Prosecutors claimed he spent the money on prostitutes, drugs, and to fund his lavish lifestyle.
Biden was facing a potential prison sentence when his father controversially pardoned him that December.
While Biden is open about his addictions, he has been less forthcoming about some of his more unsavory personal failings. In 2015, Biden began a romantic relationship with the widow of his brother, Beau, after he died of brain cancer. She would later accuse him on the witness stand of introducing her to crack.
And Biden is largely mum about a legal fight involving a daughter he had with former Arkansas stripper Lunden Roberts. Biden initially denied that he is the father and has fought Roberts in court even after DNA tests proved he was. Joe Biden faced scrutiny in the White House for repeatedly leaving out the girl when numerating his grandchildren. Roberts is now suing Hunter Biden for not meeting the obligations of their settlement.
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