Although their salaries are far from those of CEOs of big companies, presidents, prime ministers, and other world leaders can be paid high salaries in some countries.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, ranks the top 10 highest-paid world leaders in 2024, according to various sources. Hong Kong data is as of 2022. All figures are in USD and are approximate. They can vary year to year with changes in policies, additional perks, and other compensations.
Singapore Leads the Ranking of Highest-Paid World Leaders
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is the highest-paid government leader, earning over $1.6 million per year. His annual salary package includes a 13th-month bonus and other benefits.
Second on our list is Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, with a salary of $695,000. His position was created in 1997 during the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China, replacing the office of the governor of Hong Kong, who was the representative of the British monarch during British rule.
The third place is occupied by Switzerland President Viola Amherd.
U.S. President Joe Biden is the fourth on our list, with $400,000 per year.
Interestingly, in seventh place with a salary of $364,000 is German politician Ursula von der Leyen, who is not the leader of an individual country. Instead, she is the 13th president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, appointed in December 2019.
