Top 10 Highest Paid Presidents In The World (2023)

The president of a country is arguably the most important person in a country, as they are responsible for making decisions that affect everyone, negatively or positively throughout the state.  So, therefore, anybody holding such a post of importance is usually handsomely paid, as they must not be easily persuaded by money into making wrong decisions. With that being said, who are the highest-paid presidents in the world and how much are they making?  Before getting to the list it is imperative to note that it covers both the highest-paid presidents and the prime ministers: the head of government in a parliamentary system.

10. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani – President of Mauritania, | Annual Salary: $300,000

The President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, with an annual earning of $300,000 is the eighth highest-paid president in the world. He was elected on 22 June 2019 following the presidential election. Ghazouani victory’s was presented as having been the country’s first peaceful transition of power since independence.

Before his election,  Ghazouani served as the former General Director of National Security and former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mauritania (2008–2018). He was also the  Defence Minister for Mauritania from October 2018 to March 2019.

9. Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson -President of Iceland | Annual Salary: $317,000

Taking ninth place among the highest-paid presidents in the world is the president of Iceland, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, with an annual income of $317,000. Guðni who is the sixth president of Iceland took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election. He was reelected in 2020 with 92.2% of the vote.

Before running for president in 2016, Guðni served as a professor and historian at the University of Iceland. His field of research is modern Icelandic history, and he has published works on the Cod Wars, the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, and the Icelandic presidency, among other topics.

8. Alexander Van der Bellen – President of Austria | Annual Salary: $378,666

With an annual salary of $378,666, the president of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, takes ninth place among the highest-paid presidents in the world. He was a member of the National Council representing the Green Party there from 1994 to 2012 and served as both leader of the party as well as its parliamentary group.

Alexander previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, was the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party. He ran and won the 2016 Austra Presidential election as a nominally independent candidate supported by the Greens, becoming the second Green president of a European Union country after Raimonds Vējonis of Latvia.

7. Joe Biden – President of The United States | Annual Salary: $400,000

The 46th and current president of the United States, Joe Biden, takes seventh place among the highest-paid president in the world. Biden who is arguably the most powerful president in the world earns an annual income of $400,000. He emerged as the president of the United States following the 2020 presidential election, becoming the oldest president in U.S. history and the first to have a female vice president.

Biden who is a member of the Democratic Party previously served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. He also represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009. Before these Biden was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history after he was elected to the United States Senate from Delaware in 1972, at age 29.

6. Michael D. Higgins – President of Ireland | Annual Salary: $401,000

Michael D. Higgins is the president of Ireland and one of the highest-paid presidents in the world, with an annual salary of $401,000. He has been serving as the ninth president of the republic since 2011. Michael venture into politics as a member of the Labour Party, he served as a senator from 1973 to 1977, was Elected in 1981 as a Teachta Dála (TD), and represented the Galway West constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1987 to 2011.

Between these terms, Higgins returned to Seanad Éireann from 1983 to 1987 as a senator for the National University. He served as Minister for Arts, Culture, and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997 and mayor of Galway from 1981 to 1982 and 1990 to 1991. He was also the president of the Labour Party from 2003 to 2011, until he resigned following his election as president of Ireland

5. Alain Berset – President of Switzerland | Annual Salary: $507,000

With an Annual salary of $507,000, the President of Switzerland, Alain Berset takes fifth place among the highest-paid presidents in the world. Berset had previously served as the President of the Swiss Confederation in 2018, he was elected again by the Federal Assembly in 2013. He has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2012, he has headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs since he took office.

From 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018, Berset served as President of the Swiss Confederation. At age 45, he was the youngest officeholder since Marcel Pilet-Golaz in 1934. Before his election to the Federal Council in 2011, he was a member of the Council of States (from the canton of Fribourg, 2003–2011), where he served as President of the Council of States for the 2008–2009 term.

4. John Lee Ka-Chiu – Chief Executive Hong Kong | Annual Salary: $568,400

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee Ka- Chiu is also one of the highest-paid presidents in the world, with an annual salary of $568,400. Lee was appointed as the administration’s Chief Executive in July 2022, as he was the sole candidate approved by China in the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election. His selection was a move by the Chinese government to further integrate Hong Kong with the mainland.

John was originally a police officer, he served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force from 2010 to 2012 and was appointed Under Secretary of Security by Leung Chun-Ying in 2012. After Carrie Lam became Chief Executive in 2017, he was promoted to Secretary for Security. In 2021, he succeeded Matthew Cheung as Chief Secretary for Administration, a post which he served appointed the Chief Executive of the administration.

3. Paul Biya – President of Cameroon | Annual Salary: $620,976

Paul Biya the president of Cameroon, has an annual salary of $620,976, making him the third highest-paid president in the world. But that is not all, he has served as the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982, making him the second-longest-ruling president in Africa.  He is also the second-longest consecutively-serving current non-royal national leader in the world and the oldest head of state in the world.

Before his ascension to the presidency, Biya served as the Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. He succeeded President Ahmadou Ahidjo as president upon the latter’s surprise resignation in 1982 and consolidated power in a 1983–1984 staged attempted coup in which he eliminated all of his major rivals.

2. Abdul Latif Rashid – President of Iraq | Annual Salary: $809,673

The president of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid takes second place among the highest-paid presidents in the world, with an annual salary of $809,673. He was elected as the ninth president of Iraq, following the 2022 Iraqi presidential election. He was previously the Minister of Water Resources under the government of Nouri al-Maliki.

Before that, he served in the same position under both the Iraqi Transitional Government and the Iraqi Interim Government. Rashid was formerly a spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of the University of Manchester.

1. Halimah Yacob – President of  Singapore | Annual Salary: $1,610,000

The President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob is the highest-paid president in the world, with an annual salary of $1.6 Million. She was inaugurated in 2017 in an uncontested election. Before her presidency, she served as the speaker of Parliament between 2013 and 2017. She was the first female president in Singapore’s history.

While serving in the parliament, she was a member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP),  representing the Bukit Batok Eastward of Jurong GRC between 2001 and 2015, and the Marsiling division of Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC between 2015 and 2017.

The 2017 presidential election in Singapore was specifically reserved for candidates from the Malay community. Halimah resigned from the PAP and became independent—one of the qualifications needed to run for the presidency—and ran for the 2017 presidential election which she won in an uncontested election after the other candidates except for her did not meet the qualifications.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief only a few presidents in the world are earning above 1 million dollars in a year. According to a Forbes report, the former president of the United States, Barrack Obama, who presently has an estimated net worth of $70 Million reported earnings of $3.1 million before taxes from his presidential salaries. He was however able to generate the remainder of his fortune from high-paid speeches and blockbuster book deals. Just like Obama, many past presidents have been able to generate their fortune aside from the earnings from the presidential office. However, here is a table detailing the highest-paid presidents in the world and their estimated annual earnings.

Read More:

• Top 10 Richest Presidents In The World (2023)
• Top 10 Youngest Presidents In The World (2022)
• Top 10 Oldest Presidents In Africa

Sources:

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2017/01/20/how-barack-obama-has-made-20-million-since-arriving-in-washington/?sh=7e5d51155bf0
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_salaries_of_heads_of_state_and_government
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Presidents_by_country