Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s second son, has lived a life worthy of a soap opera, filled with tragedy, pathos, and melodrama.

Hunter’s mother and sister died in a car crash two months before his third birthday. Hunter, who was in the car, experienced severe injuries and later identified the crash as the original trauma that gave rise to his various addictions. Hunter’s brother Beau, Joe’s heir apparent, passed away at age forty-six from brain cancer. Soon thereafter, Hunter split from his wife and began an affair with Beau’s widow. In 2019 Hunter was hit with a paternity lawsuit, which resulted in a judge ordering him to pay child support to the mother. As the lawsuit unfolded, Hunter’s wife Melissa gave birth to their first child — and Hunter’s fifth. This summer, it was reported that Hunter and Melissa’s marriage is on the rocks due to pressure from a federal investigation into him.

The drama of his personal life aside, Hunter has long been a beneficiary of the patronage networks that support our nation’s top failsons. His career trajectory is proof that some people are just too connected to fail, no matter how hard they try.