How Much Does China’s President Earn?

January 21, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Lily Kuo took a hard look at President Xi Jinping’s income:

  • The Chinese government has announced large pay rises for civil servants.
  • This is thought to be an effort to fight corruption, as the hope is that officials will no longer use bribes to supplement their income.
  • Oddly, however, it has actually highlighted the extent of the corruption.
  • President Xi Jinping’s base salary, for example, will now be about $21,960 a year.
  • In comparison Barack Obama earns 24 times that amount – $545,000 a year.
  • Yet the Chinese leader is able to afford to send his daughter to expensive international schools.
  • Prior investigations have indicated that the President’s extended family, though not the President himself, has millions of dollars in investments stashed abroad.

Read more about why the numbers don’t add up here.

Source: Quartz