Australia

PM is the fifth highest paid leader in the world

June 7, 2019 2:03 pm

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is the fifth highest paid leader in the world, ahead of other high-profile figures like German Chancellor Theresa May and Vladimir Putin.

The Australian leader hauls in around AUD$538,000 dollars a year, seven times the average national wage.

Broken down, Mr Morrison earns around AUD$44,800 a month or a little over AUD$11,000 a week.

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According to the Bureau of Statistics, the average weekly earnings for a full-time worker is AUD$1,600.

While Mr Morrison earns substantially more than the average worker, he is not the richest leader in the world.

That honour belongs to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long, who rakes in around AUD$2,328,000 a year.

Mr Morrison follows closely behind US President Donald Trump, who brings in around AUD$578,000 a year.

Though Trump has donated his salary to numerous government agencies and not kept a cent for himself.

Agencies such as the Department of Education and Department of Veteran Affairs have each received a share of the president’s paycheck.

While Mr Morrison sits closely behind the American president, his salary places him ahead of other world leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Ms Merkel is placed sixth on the list and brings in marginally less with about AUD$534,000.

Ms Ardern follows close on her heels and comes in at number seven with around AUD$491,000.

British Prime Minister Theresa May doesn’t even make it onto the top 10 rich list, with a salary of only AUD$272,000.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is even further down with a measly salary of AUD$194,000.

Though despite not making the rich list, Putin is said to have a net worth in the billions, making him one of the richest people in the world.

According to political analyst and Putin critic Stansislav Belkovsky, the Russian leader could be worth as much as US$70 billion.

Putin was estimated to be worth about US$40 billion in 2007, though Belkovsky believes that sum has jumped significantly.

He links the sum to Putin’s shares in a number of oil and gas companies.

According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, he has a 4.5 per cent share in national gas giant Gazprom, 37 per cent share in Surgutneftegas and owns a major stake in a company that cannot be named for legal reasons.