Update 21 Apr 2020
Ho Ching, please stop dissembling and tell us how much you earn as a Gov employee
Thirdly and most importantly why is Ho Ching talking about her husband’s salary while she ignores the elephant in the room, which is what she is paid and which she refuses to disclose. If Piyush Gupta is paid $12 million p.a. while the head of SingTel earns over $20 million (including share options), then she must be paid several times that. We cannot just be stonewalled in Parliament by the fiction that Temasek is a private company. I have said many times over the years that it is extremely likely that she is paid more than $100 million a year and has earned more than a billion dollars while she has been at Temasek. Yet her remuneration is treated like a state secret and guarded as closely as the size of our reserves. And when she talks about a “clean” salary without any perks she and her husband need to explain why they are using the Gulfstream owned by Temasek’s subsidiary, ST Aerospace, and whether it is available for her to use for private trips as CEO. Neither does she reveal whether her family money is invested alongside Temasek’s making use of inside information and getting cut in early on special deals.
It is clear that Ho Ching occupies much the same role as Kwa Geok Choo did for LKY. While LKY was paid an obscene salary by the standards of other world leaders, the real money was being scooped up by his wife in her role as head of Lee & Lee. My father was able to establish that Lee & Lee were the preferred lawyer for the HDB’s conveyancing though at the expense of losing our family home. It was probably her that LKY was referring to when he said in 1994 that lawyers were able to make $4 million p.a. Like LHL’s mother, Ho Ching is able to make the real money while her husband is paid a meagre pittance of only $2.2 million p.a.
I wonder who is really richer: the Najib and Rosmah Show or our very own first couple. I guess we will never know.
HO Ching 12 hrs
I have no view one way or other about who deserves what.
I have however, one view about tables of comparison like the one given in the article.
One big difference is the clean wage system in SG - ie no other perks in kind during office, and no pensions or other benefits after leaving office in SG.
In most, if not all, other countries, they would have many other perks during term of office, like butlers and hairdressers, free flights on national airlines, even family holidays, etc; and quite a number like the USA would include perks after end of term of office.
I do have one more view about pay for public service, whether for political office or “do good” areas like social services.
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Why Is The Salary Of Singapore’s Prime Minister So High?
Is Singapore’s Prime Minister Really Overpaid?
National Day has just passed. And considering that it is our Bicentennial Year, we thought it might be interesting to revisit the growth we’ve accomplished since achieving Independence in 1965 and to address a commonly debated topic by most Singaporeans as well.
In this article, we’ll be presenting the facts, figures, and statistics of Singapore, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies vs the economies of five other countries.
Using that data, we’ll also be comparing the compensation package of Singapore’s leader vs. that of the leaders from the five selected countries to find out if Singapore’s Prime Minister is really overpaid or not.
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Secrecy around the reserves, salaries of Temasek heads and high ministerial pay among the “burning questions”
Reddit user u/marvinisarobot69 sparked a discussion on the Singapore subreddit when he listed six "burning questions" for the government
Kicking off the discussion, u/marvinisarobot69 listed six “burning questions” he has for the Government. He asked:
- “what is our reserves and why is it a secret?;
- “what are the salaries of the key appointment holders of sovereign funds management companies like Temasek?
- “why does the People’s Association’s activities seem so much like an extension of the PAP
- “why did we have a selected President and why the restrictions on race?
- “why do we select non qualified people with ex military background to lead commercial enterprises like SMRT, NOL etc when there are far more qualified people in the world we can select?
- “Why are Ministers’ salaries peg to the top percentage of salaries earners? Why not peg them to a multiple of the median salary ? Why not peg it to performance of the economy and jobs?”
related:
Ho Ching shares an article that supposedly answers why her husband’s salary is so high – but it misses the mark completely
Prime Minister’s wife Ho Ching shared an article on her Facebook page today (21 August) titled “Why is the salary of Singapore’s Prime Minister so high?”
The accompanying caption to her post noted Singapore’s ‘clean wage system’.
She wrote, “One big difference is the clean wage system in SG – ie no other perks in kind, while most if not all other countries would have many other perks, like butlers and hairdressers, free flights on national airlines, even family holidays, etc; and quite a number like the USA would include perks after end of term of office.”
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Ho Ching shares article justifying PM Lee’s high salary : “we must not take advantage of them to underpay”
Ho Ching, CEO of Temasek Holdings, shared an article on her Facebook page with the following title, ‘Why Is The Salary Of Singapore’s Prime Minister So High?’.
Taken from finance website Seedly, the article explains, “A Top-Performing CEO Should Command Top-Dollar For His Or Her Work”. Ho, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong added a caption saying, “I have no view one way or other about who deserves what”.
However, she wrote that “One big difference is the clean wage system in SG – ie no other perks in kind, and no pensions or other benefits after leaving office in SG, while most if not all other countries would have many other perks during term of office, like butlers and hairdressers, free flights on national airlines, even family holidays, etc; and quite a number like the USA would include perks after end of term of office”.
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Lee Hsien Yang 10 Jul
Temasek announced its results yesterday. No surprise that it still didn’t disclose Ho Ching’s salary. Why is it such a big secret?
http://theindependent.sg/the-secret-that-is-ho-chings-salary-will-we-ever-know/?fbclid=IwAR1B1-WxN52q254CttQuNQBIYM3206fHcNikDugPsZ0yLHQvaf-LDsRr-OU
'Salaries is not our starting point in looking for ministers': Goh Chok Tong responds to criticism of comments on pay
“But you did not. You said cut from defence, 1 per cent is enough. And on top of that, you said cut ministers’ salaries. That is very populist.”
“I am telling you the ministers are not paid enough, and down the road, we are going to get a problem with getting people to join the Government, because civil servants now earn more than ministers. Are you aware of that?" Mr Goh added.
He asked where Singaporeans would want to get office holders from.
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Transcript of Remarks by ESM Goh Chok Tong During the Southeast CDC District Conference on 2nd August 2018
"You said cut from defence, 1 per cent is enough. And on top of that, you said cut Ministers’ salaries. That is very populist. I am telling you the Ministers are not paid enough, and down the road, we are going to get a problem with getting people to join the government, because civil servants now earn more than Ministers. Are you aware of that? And where do we get our future office holders from? From the private sector? I have tried for the last election. Two of them, earning $5 million per month, $10 million per month (sic – ESM meant per year). To be a Minister for $1 million? No, no, my family is not happy with (unclear). Those approached say money is not the issue. But if you earn $5 million, $10 million, and you pay at least $1 million, many people would come, but not from the private sector. But maybe some you can get. Edwin Tong, he is a Senior Counsel, he earns more than $2 million. PM asked him to be a Minister of State – one quarter (salary). He came to see me. He said, at this stage of his life, he has got a house, he has got a mother-in-law to support, a father-in-law to support, his own parents and so on, what should he do? So I asked him, Edwin, what were you in politics for? (He said) Here to serve. So I said you’ve got to serve, well, you know between $2 million and perhaps half a million, later on you hopefully become a full Minister, $1 million, you have to decide which is more important. So Edwin told me his job in politics is to serve. He said yes, I will take on, and he felt very strongly that he could do the job. But now we dare not pay Ministers a good wage. To anyone of us here, $1 million is a lot of money. So where do you want to get your Ministers from? From people who earn only $500,000 a year, whose capacity is $500,000 a year? So (when) I look for Ministers, anybody who wants to be paid more than half a million, I won’t take him. You are going to end up with very very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our Minister. Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?"
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PM Lee is paid over 40 times the salary an average Singaporean earns
According to official figures released by the Ministry of Manpower, Singaporeans working full-time earned an average of S$4,232 a month or $50,784 for 12 months in 2017. PM Lee, in contrast, earned a S$2.2 million base salary in 2017.
This means that the Prime Minister earns just over 43.4 times the salary an average Singaporean working full-time was paid last year.
A look at the 34 countries that are a part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – an international group that aims to “promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world” – shows that the heads of government in these countries do not have an over 40x salary difference with their citizens. The top ten nations with the highest disparity between the pay of heads of governments and average citizen salary only show a 10-6x difference:
- Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico – earns 10x the average salary in Mexico
- Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia – earns 10x average salary in Australia
- Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand – earns 8x average salary in NZ
- Alain Berset, President of Switzerland – earns 8x average salary in Switzerland
- Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany – earns 8x average salary in Germany
- Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria – earns 7x average salary in Austria
- Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile – earns 7x average salary in Chile
- Donald Trump, President of the US – earns 6x average salary in the US
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , President of Turkey – earns 6x average salary in Turkey
- Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden – earns 6x average salary in Sweden
Ministers should accept pay sacrifice as job is 'form of NS': Blackbox survey
Nearly seven in ten Singaporeans (67 per cent) feel that ministers should be “willing to make a sacrifice” and accept a lower pay than what they may earn in the private sector as their job is a “form of national service”, a recent Blackbox Research survey showed. Nearly two in five, or 36 per cent, also disagreed that an important criterion for ministers should be “the likelihood that they would earn a high salary if they were working in the private sector” while 27 per cent agreed with the statement and 37 per cent expressed neutral views, according to the survey conducted between 17 and 24 August.
Last month, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong sparked a heated debate on ministerial salary after a dialogue he had with South East District residents. During the dialogue, he said that ministers are not paid enough and also spoke about the difficulties in attracting top talent to join the government. He had said, “You are going to end up with very very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister. Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?”
Currently, the annual salary of an MR4 grade (entry level) minister stands at $1.1 million, while the Prime Minister earns $2.2 million. This is based on the assumption of an Annual Variable Component of one month, good individual performance and the national bonus indicators being met.
Join the majority of Singaporeans to be “mediocre”
The open letter which has has over 3,300 shares on Facebook
A post by Facebook user Eugene Wee expressing dismay at the disconnect of the Government Ministers towards the general public has gone viral.
Mr Wee is the Founder and Executive Director of RADION International, a Christian relief and development agency.
In faulting the government’s response for consistently telling Singaporeans to “right-size” or downgrade whenever the public expresses concerns about the cost of living and for calling carelessly suggesting that people who earn less than half a million are “mediocre”, Mr Wee said that it may be about time Ministers joined the rest of Singaporeans “in being “mediocre”, and maybe “right-size” a little.”
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Eugene Wee 23 August at 00:59
And definitely not people who are so accustomed to the high life, so disconnected with the ground that one can - so carelessly - suggest that people who earn less than half a million, are "mediocre".
It's good to be reminded that the "mediocre" Singaporeans are the ones who have opted to go without a minimum wage. It's the "mediocre" that have kept the country attractive to investors. And these "mediocre" Singaporean form 95% of the population that built the foundational blocks of our country.
If "mediocre" meant a generation of Singaporeans who love, bleed and gave sacrificially for the country, maybe its also time the leaders joined us in being "mediocre", and maybe "right-size" a little.
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“What are you doing with our country?” – Young Singaporean implores PAP leaders to step down
In this latest letter, that was posted to Facebook group United Singaporean, young local Zorrow Chan opines that she feels PAP leaders are treating the country like a business empire instead of a nation and asks the Government to “stop dragging the rest of the nation down together with you.”
Claiming that she is “not a hardcore PAP hater,” Chan continued: “Let us have a go at running this country. You are free to pursue your own interests, and if you were really able to do as well in the private sector as you claimed you could, go ahead and make as much money as you can there. The public sector however, is about serving the people.”
Chan’s post has garnered over 400 shares and over 430 reactions on United Singaporean, as well as an additional 240 reactions and over 170 reactions on another Facebook page where it was re-posted.
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Zorrow Chan 23 August at 00:14
Let us make Singapore into a better place that all of us can be proud of. Let us all work together to bring Singapore to greater heights and restore its former glory. However, people must be willing to accept their new places as not everyone can be a leader. Sometimes, leadership can be a burden, but we are young and we are willing to bear the burden as it is part and parcel of advancing and growing. Most of the PAP cadres are old uncles and aunties who seriously should be retired, not struggling to fight with the outside world which you guys have proven you are not adept or capable of doing.
It is a big and complicated world out there. We face many challenges. It is a very diverse environment where people may have conflicting values and they may not mean what they say or say what they mean. But we know how to handle such people as we've been there and done that. Let us have a go at running this country. You are free to pursue your own interests, and if you were really able to do as well in the private sector as you claimed you could, go ahead and make as much money as you can there. The public sector however, is about serving the people. This is why when you look at the best Presidents in the world, they do not work for money. Money works for them. Look at people like Donald Trump, Dr Mahathir and Rodrigo Duterte. They have smashed your argument that you need to be paid handsomely in order to attract good and capable people.
Please, if you know what's good for you and the nation, please, step down and stop dragging this country deeper into hell.
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Cut pay for ministers? Singapore will pay price: ESM Goh
Doing so would be popular, but will make it harder for Government to attract good people
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has sounded a warning that Cabinet ministers are not paid enough and that down the road, Singapore will be confronted with the problem of getting competent people to join the Government.
Speaking at a dialogue with South East District residents last week, he disclosed that MP Edwin Tong, a lawyer, took a 75 per cent pay cut when he became a senior minister of state on July 1. Mr Tong previously earned more than $2 million a year as senior counsel and now makes about $500,000, Mr Goh said.
He made the point last Thursday in response to Braddell Heights resident Abdul Aziz, 70, who asked if ministerial salaries could be cut to fund pensions for elderly people.
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Daughter of one of Singapore’s founding fathers “deeply offended” by Goh Chok Tong’s remark regarding ministerial salaries
Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong's statement at a public forum regarding ministerial pay has sparked an uproar amongst members of the public, with netizens taking to social media platform to express their shock and dissatisfaction against the former Prime Minister's remarks.
In response to a suggestion by 70-year-old Braddell Heights resident Mr Abdul Aziz to reduce the "million-dollar" salaries of ministers "by 10 per cent" in order to make room for a retirement fund for the elderly, Mr Goh reportedly said:
"I am telling you the ministers are not paid enough, and down the road, we are going to get a problem with getting people to join the government, because civil servants now earn more than ministers. "To any one of us here, S$1 million is a lot of money. So where do you want to get your ministers from? From people who earn only S$500,000 a year, whose capacity is S$500,000 a year? So (when) I look for ministers, anybody who wants to be paid more than half a million, I won’t take him. You are going to end up with very very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister." Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?Speaking at a dialogue with South East District residents last Thursday (2 Aug), Mr Goh cited the case of MP Edwin Tong, who purportedly took a 75 per cent pay cut upon his appointment as senior minister of state last month.
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Goh Chok Tong clarifies ‘mediocre people as Ministers’ remark, name drops TOC
As a former Prime Minister not involved with the day-to-day running of the government, Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong is one of the few local politicians in the position to tell it like it is.
In his explanation on the need for competitive ministerial salaries, ESM Goh said the following, which triggered some Singaporeans online:
“So I look for Ministers, anybody who wants to be paid more than half a million, I won’t take him. You are going to end up with very very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister. Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?”The “very very mediocre people who can’t earn a million dollars” is so soundbite-worthy that it was bound to create all sorts of misconceptions about Goh and how politicians think.
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ESM Goh needs a reality check
“Ministers are not paid enough!”, protested Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, apparently at a public forum in his constituency earlier this week. “And down the road, we’re going to have a problem getting people to join the Government,” he added. “Because civil servants now earn more than ministers.”
ESM Goh was responding to a suggestion from an audience member that the government introduced an “elderly pension fund”, which the member said can be funded by cutting the Defence budget, or shaving off ministers’ salaries. ESM Goh, who was Singapore’s Prime MInister from 1992 to 2004, said to cut ministers’ pay would make it hard for the government to recruit talents to become ministers. He said that he had difficulty getting people to join government when he was PM because the salary being offered to them was way below what these potential ministers were earning in the private sector. He said that he still faced the same problem when he tried to recruit these talents in the last election.
“I tried for the last election,” Mr Goh said. “Two of them – one earning $5 million and one earning $10 million a month. To be minister for $1 million?” Then he asked:
“So where do you want to get your ministers from? From people who earn only $500,000 a year? You’re going to end up with very mediocre people who can’t even earn a million dollars outside. Is it good for you or is it worse for us?”read more
MParader shared their note 8 August at 02:12
There is a silver lining behind the heated reactions to my comments at the SECDC conference on getting the best Singaporeans to serve the country. It shows Singaporeans care deeply and hold leaders to account for their words and performance.
The audio clip of my reply at the panel discussion being circulated distorted my message by omitting the full discussion.
Please take time to read the attached transcript which was first posted on The Online Citizen website.
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Goh Chok Tong’s speech defending high ministerial pay and defence budget at grassroots event
On Friday, local news platform MustShareNews shared an audio recording of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong who turned down a suggestion to lower ministerial salaries or to lower the defence budget in order to better support elderly in Singapore.
In the conversation, 70-year-old Abdul Aziz shared his concerns about issues about elderly being forced to work just to survive and asked if Singapore could have some sort of an elderly pension fund and suggested that the defence budget to be cut a bit and also perhaps 10 per cent on the ministerial pay.
When queried if the recording was indeed true, ESM Goh had his staff to clarify that the recording was taken during a dialogue at the South-East District conference on Thursday (2 Aug) at NTUC Centre and provided the transcript of the conversation. When compared with the recording shared on Facebook, it is shown to be truncated.
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Higher pay will attract most talented team, so country can prosper
In his own words
In debating the motion to change the formula to calculate ministerial pay, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then Senior Minister, put up a robust argument for paying ministers good salaries. He said that the private sector had taken away many good men and women from the Government, and without good people, the country would suffer.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces 12-month pay freeze for MPs
PHOTO: New Zealand's cabinet has denied themselves an $8,000 pay rise. (Reuters: Charlotte Greenfield)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a 12-month pay freeze for the country's politicians, saying they are already paid well enough.
"We do not believe, given that we are on the upper end of the salary scale, that we should be receiving that kind of salary increase." MPs were due to receive a 3 per cent pay rise during September, backdated to July 1, in line with recommendations from the independent Remuneration Authority, but Ms Ardern said she would be introducing legislation to block this going through.
It would have seen Ms Ardern pocket an extra $NZ14,131.47 ($AU12,810) per year on top of her current salary of $427,072. The pay increase would also have seen Ms Ardern's cabinet colleagues earn $8,046 more, as well as a $4,456 bump for the average backbencher.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denies HERSELF and the rest of the country’s politicians a pay rise as she cancels a 3% salary hike
As recommended by the independent Remuneration Authority politicians would be given a three per cent pay rise in September dating back to July 1
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she will introduce legislation blocking a pay rise to the country's politicians - including herself.
Politicians in New Zealand were due a three per cent pay rise starting in September, as recommended by the Independent Remuneration Authority.
This would have seen Ms Ardern take home an extra NZ$14,131.47, which is roughly AU$12,810 or £7325.12. She already earns NZ$427,072 a year.
Denmark’s PM paid 6x less than PM Lee, still the least corrupt country in the world
The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark. Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s 25th Prime Minister has been in office since June 2015, previously holding the position from 2009 to 2011, and as Leader of the centre-right liberal Venstre party since 2009.
Denmark PM’s salary relative to PM Lee’s - PM Rasmussen’s annual salary amounts to approximately 1.458 million Danish Krone (~SGD 306,000). This puts his salary at one-sixth that of Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong (SGD 2.2 million). The average gross salary in Denmark is Kr 522,657 per annum (Average Salary Survey, 2017/18). Denmark’s PM earns approximately 2.87 times that amount. In Singapore, the average gross salary per annum is SGD 67,152. PM Lee earns a whopping 32 times that amount.
Debunking the myths - If the PAP Government’s line of reasoning held true, Denmark would have a tough time attracting capable leaders for political office, in addition to suffering from endemic corruption in its civil service. However, the truth couldn’t be further. Denmark is consistently ranked among the top 5 least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog. In fact, Denmark has been ranked “#1 least corrupt” for seven out of the last ten years on this index. This puts the country ahead of Singapore (6th).
ESM Goh’s $1M criterion deems all first world leaders too “mediocre” to become PAP ministers
At a public dialogue with South East District residents on 2 August, Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong told the residents that if the ministerial pays are cut, Singapore will end up recruiting "very, very mediocre people" as officeholders.
ESM Goh said, "To any one of us here, $1 million is a lot of money. So where do you want to get your ministers from? From people who earn only $500,000 a year, whose capacity is $500,000 a year?"
"So (when) I look for ministers, anybody who wants to be paid more than half a million, I won’t take him. You are going to end up with very very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister. Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?"In other words, he is only looking for people who can earn more than a million dollars a year in order to qualify for becoming a PAP minister. ESM Goh was responding to a suggestion by Braddell Heights resident Abdul Aziz, 70, that ministerial salaries be cut to fund pensions for elderly people. Singapore’s entry-level ministers are now paid an annual salary of over S$1.1 million while PM Lee himself fetches a cool S$2.2 million a year.
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No Surprise, Singapore’s PM is Still the Highest Salary Among All World Leaders
In an article published on the website Brightside, the salaries of 13 world leaders were compared, with US President Donald Trump at the bottom of the list, as he only receives $1 per year. At the top of the list is Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who receives $2.2 million a year. Here’s a summary of what 13 world leaders earn annually, and what the minimum monthly wages are in the country where they live:
- 13 Donald Trump, US President—Mr. Trump waived the Presidential salary of $400,000 a year ($33,000 a month, $1,095 a day), and only receives $1 annually. Since he has a fortune worth $3 billion, he can well afford this. The minimum salary in the US is $1,160 per month.
- 12 Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine—Mr. Poroshenko receives $12,220 a year ($1,018 a month, $33 a day). However his $1.3 billion makes him the sixth wealthiest person in his country. The minimum salary in the Ukraine is $133 per month.
- 11 Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China—Mr. Xi earns $20,500 annually ($1,716 a month, $56 a day), the same amount since 2015, when it went up by more than 60 percent. Though neither he nor his family owns businesses, close relatives have a fortune of $376 million. The minimum monthly salary in China is between $150 and $300, depending on the location.
- 10 Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland—Mr. Niinistö earns $146,700 a year, ($12,225 a month, $402 a day). The minimum monthly salary in Finland is about $2000, though is not limited by law.
- 9 Vladimir Putin, President of Russia—Mr. Putin earns $151,000 a year, ($12,586 a month, $414 a day). The minimum monthly salary in Russia is $140.
- 8 Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom—Mrs May earns $198,500 a year ($16,542 a month, $544 a day). The minimum monthly salary in the UK is $1569.
- 7 Emmanuel Macron, President of France—Mr. Macron earns $211,500 a year ($17,628 a month, $580 a day). The minimum monthly salary in France is $1758.
- 6 Jimmy Morales, President of Guatemala. Mr Morales earns $232,000 ($19,300 a month, $634 a day) a year and is the highest paid of all Latin American leaders. However, he gives 60% of his wages to charity, in fulfillment of a campaign promise he made. The minimum monthly salary in Guatemala is $200.
- 5 Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany—Mrs Merkel makes $263,000 a year ($22,000 a month, $720 a day). The minimum monthly salary in Germany is $1780.
- 4 Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada—Mr. Trudeau earns $267,000 a year ($22,285 a month, $733 a day). The minimum monthly salary in Canada is $1400, on average, depending on the province.
- 3 Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia—Mr Turnbull earns $403,700 a year ($33,645 a month, $1,106 a day). Mr. Turnbull, a former businessman and banker, is a multimillionaire. The minimum monthly salary in Australia is $1900.
- 2 Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation. Ms Leuthard earns $437,000 a year ($36,000 a month, $1,200 a day), an amount equal to the salaries of all other ministers combined. There is no minimum wage in Switzerland, except for the Canton of Neuchâtel, where it is $20 for every hour.
- 1 Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr. Lee makes $2.2 million a year ($147,000 a month, $7,350 a day). Mr. Lee’s father, who jump started Singapore’s economics, was Prime Minister before him. His wages are the highest among all the world leaders, and he deems it to be fair and realistic.” Singapore runs of a budget of $53 million annually. Mr Lee actually used to be paid more, but when citizens complained, the amount was reduced by more than one-third. Singapore’s minimum salary is not limited by law, but it is approximately $1,000 per month.
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20 Highest-Paid World Leaders
Does it pay to be president? Ask the men and women who are among the top paid world leaders.
Earning from just over $200,000 to nearly $2 million, the yearly earnings of these heads of states far exceed the pay of the average citizen in their countries. One measure of the average resident yearly earnings is GDP per capita. While the countries with the highest GDP per capita often have the best-paid leaders -- the annual salaries of their leaders are always well above the country's GDP per capita.
To find the highest-paid world leaders, 24/7 Wall St. gathered information from country websites, data from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, and the CIA World Factbook.
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Here are the salaries of 13 major world leaders
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he and almost everyone working for him would take a 10% pay cut because of mounting economic sanctions imposed on his country. Whether Putin and his staff will actually feel the slash in their salaries is debatable, considering Putin says he is unaware of the amount printed on his paychecks. "Frankly, I don't even know my own salary; they just give it to me, and I put it away in my account," he reportedly said to a group of reporters during his annual Q&A session in December. Putin's official salary is chump change compared with that of a prime minister of an island nation smaller than New York City.
Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong earns 12 1/2 times as much as Putin at a whooping $1.7 million. Loong's salary is large enough to pay for the combined salaries of the leaders of India, Brazil, Italy, Russia, France, Turkey, Japan, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Germany.
Loong's Singapore is also the world's most expensive city for a second year in a row, according to The Economist's bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living report.
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Leading With A Fortune: Paychecks Of World Leaders
Lee Hsien Loong - $2.2 million
The 13-term strong Singaporean prime minister is the highest paid world leader with an annual salary of $2.2 million. According to reports, his monthly salary is about $147,000. No wonder that he has been on the receiving end of a lot of flak from citizens.
However, Lee has deemed his wages to be “fair and realistic”. For some added perspective, the entire annual budget of Singapore is around $53 million, while the minimum salary offered to Singaporeans is roughly $1,000 per month.
To add to the countrymen’s frustration, a review committee last month had proposed a nine per cent salary hike for government officials, including Loong. Thankfully, the parliament rejected the proposal.
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The Queen of England gets a supreme salary … see how other world leaders stack up
Worth more than $3 billion at last count, President Donald Trump famously promised during the 2016 U.S. presidential to draw no salary should he be elected and, thus far, he’s been keeping his promise, donating presidential pay in quarterly chunks to various government department such as the Department of Health and Human Services.
Wondering how much the president makes exactly in his current job, and how his salary stacks up compared to other world leaders — and the average citizen who voted him in? British financial services firm IG Group has compiled an online comparative database of how various elected, appointed and lifetime leaders of OECD countries are compensated.
Here’s a look at one such measure, the annual salaries, in U.S. dollars, of the top 10 best-paid global leaders, and how many times the average per capita GDP of the nations they govern they earn.
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Top 10 Highest Paid Government Leaders
While most political leaders' salaries pale in comparison to that of the likes of Warren Buffett's, some are downright huge when compared to the people a leader may govern.
When it comes to what a leader is really paid, a distinction must be made between base salary and additional stipends. Leaders may receive free residences or residential stipends, free healthcare, free travel and other perks. They may be permitted expenses that most people would have to pay for out of pocket. Those figures are more difficult to come by, especially in the murky world of political influence.
Less scrupulous world leaders may pad their own bank accounts with their own country's money through corruption. "Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)," first released in 1995, tracks corruption trends in 178 countries. It assigns a rank of 10 to countries deemed clean, and zero to countries considered highly corrupt.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Ms Ardern the OECD's fifth highest paid leader
In a study of the pay gap between world leaders and average citizens, Ms Ardern was ranked third, earning 8.63 times the average New Zealand wage — which was ranked 18th out of 32 in the study.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tops the earning list by world leaders, earning $538,000 which is 10.14 times the average Australian worker.
According to New Zealand media, Ms Ardern is not the first prime minister to introduce legislation to reduce politicians pay.
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Does Paying Singapore Ministers High Salaries Get Us The Best Talents?
In Singapore, we are trained to think that the richer or higher-paid a person, the more talented the person is. This starts from as young as when we were in school, smart students always get the best grades and poor students get mediocre grades. We tend to look past other factors or even areas of proficiency such as a student’s musical or sporting talents.
This may extend to how we think when we grow up – talented people get the best pay and not-so-talented people don’t, and we look past other characteristics. However, there’s so much more than just how much an individual earns. Firstly, self-worth should never be associated with a person’s salary. If someone earns four times of what you earn, he is not four times more valuable than you.
Even within the earnings argument, the most talented people in one industry simply cannot compete with the most talented people in another industry.
related: Why Paying $500,000 (And More) A Year For Ministers Isn’t Enough To Guarantee You Top Talents
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The furore over ministerial pay is gaining currency again
It was a jaw-dropping moment, akin to a bolt of lightning from the blue. A first glance at Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong’s comments in a dialogue with South East District residents on 2 August elicited the instinctive response: is this fake news? Did he really say that? Yes, he really did. “I am telling you the ministers are not paid enough, and down the road, we are going to get a problem with getting people to join the government…now we dare not pay ministers a good wage,” said Goh in a conversation with Braddell Heights resident Abdul Aziz, 70.
And the former Prime Minister (1990-2004) went further, “You are going to end up with very, very mediocre people, who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our ministers. Think about that. Is it good for you, or is it worse for us in the end?” And just like that, the 77-year-old revived the perennial, and always contentious, issue of ministerial pay: just how much is enough? For “very, very mediocre” Singaporeans like myself who do not earn anywhere close to a million dollars, his comments also presented a false equivalence: that high pay somehow equates to a high level of competence.
Goh has since come out to say that he did not mean to call Singaporeans mediocre and that salaries are not the “starting point” in recruiting for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). But the damage had already been done.
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Comment in Transcript of Remarks by ESM Goh Chok Tong During the Southeast CDC District Conference on 2nd August 2018
Australia, the US, Canada, Germany and literally every country in the world besides Singapore don’t pay their heads of government the equivalent of S$2.2 million per year to run their countries. So by your argument of “paying more money = getting more quality in politics” (which I assume applies not just to Singaporeans but to people with a rudimentary understanding of how money works), does that not mean that every other government in the world pales in comparison to the organisational quality, management acumen and sheer awesomeness of Singaporean politicians? Or perhaps the G is just saying that Singaporeans are much more money-minded than the likes of Australians, Germans, Americans, Canadians etc.? Because that could be a fair and candid point that you could make.
You also argue that we will end up with “very very mediocre people who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our Minister.” First off, I must say I’m disappointed at how tone-deaf the statement is. You say you might not have meant it, but well, you said it. And you should know in politics, every word is scrutinised.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the direct implication of your statement is that you only want people who can earn a million bucks outside to run for office, because then only they are considered competent, and you will award them a handsome pay package once in office.
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ESM Goh: Salaries not starting point in search for ministers
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has acknowledged the "heated reactions" from Singaporeans to his comments on ministerial salaries last week.
Mr Goh had said at a forum with residents from the South East District last Thursday that Cabinet ministers are not paid enough, and that it would become harder to attract good people to join the Government in the future.
His words have attracted mainly critical feedback online from Singaporeans.
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Beware casual snobbery that shows contempt for ordinary folk
Casual remarks sometimes reveal what people actually think. And when we detect casual snobbery, we should call it out.
The day the mainstream media picked up the story about Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong speaking about people who can't earn $1 million a year, I was in a plush shopping centre in Orchard Road.
I was late for a medical appointment, but I also needed the loo. I saw a toilet and walked towards it, reaching it at about the same time as an elderly couple, the man solicitous of the woman who was the one who clearly needed relief.
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Have our minsters streamed themselves out of the average Singaporean’s reality with their exorbitant salaries?
Aside from how ill informed those assertions are and the indignation that they have generated, I would like to focus on the mentality behind such statements. It is bad enough that a minister could view high sky salaries as an entitlement. What is worst, is that a minister feels entitled to defend his salary and in fact imply that he isn't paid enough in a climate whereby Singaporeans are already feeling the strain of inflation and price hikes on necessities.
If one of the most senior politicians within the PAP is unable to see how such statements could fan the flames of discontent, then the problem of "ivory towers" is far worst than I thought. ESM Goh came from humble beginnings. Of all people, he should understand the struggles of the common man. However, perhaps, many years of high salaries has set him apart from the day to day lives of people. If you only surround yourself with people who earn like you, you tend to forget how the other half live. Has this happened within our political establishment? Are they so out of touch that they can't even see the problem with making statements like that?
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When Chiam gave up a terrace house to others (and “lost” more than $1m)
He gave up a terrace house because of principles he believed in – principles which would direct his life in public service for 34 years. Giving up that house had cost Mr Chiam See Tong “more than a million dollars.”
Why and how did it happen? He related the story in Parliament 22 years ago:
- It was 1996, and Parliament convened to hear the then Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and his son, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, explain their purchases of several condominium units at pre-launch discounts.
- In that saga, the purchases of the condo units at Nassim Jade and Scotts 28, by Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), raised questions of why the father and son were apparently given discounts which were not disclosed. Eventually, however, the purchases were found to have been proper and no shenanigans were unearthed.
- In the debate in Parliament, the matter turned to the issue of ministerial salaries, which had continued to be in the spotlight after salaries were tied to that in the private sector from 1994.
ESM Goh faces huge backlash after saying “Ministers are not paid enough!”
Even two days after it was reported that Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong allegedly slammed a suggestion to fund elderly pension by cutting million-dollar ministerial salaries, he faces a slew of comments from unhappy Singaporeans.
According to a recording shared by online media sources, the former prime minister of Singapore was speaking to grassroots leaders and Government partners at an event on Thursday when he said, “ministers are not paid enough!”
He also added that it is “very populist” to demand that ministerial pay be slashed instead. He was responding to a question that asked, “have some sort of an elderly pensions fund? Perhaps, can I say, cut a bit on the defence? Or perhaps even from the ministers with million-dollar salaries?”
Lim Tean 4 August at 07:15
Goh Chok Tong you should hang your head in shame and resign immediately!
Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/LimTean
High pay for better talents?
In late 1994 the Goh Chok Tong government adopted a policy of giving cabinet ministers, parliament members, senior civil servants and other public sector employees (e.g., at the time university professors were included, but they were subsequently decoupled from civil service salary scales.) higher levels of pay, on the twin grounds that salaries competitive to those prevailing in the business and professional sectors are necessary to attract managerial and other talent into politics, and better paid public employees are less likely to engage in corruption. (The old article by Catherine Lim was triggered by the action, but it then went into territory sufficiently controversial to produce a reprimand from Goh Chok Tong himself – a major event then but today mostly forgotten.)
The need to match political salaries with business levels reflects a basic feature of the Singapore “system”, namely the inter-twining of public and commercial sector careers. With the government in control of a large sector of the Singapore economy through share ownership, many civil servants, army officers, even some professors, receive board directorships and executive positions in commercial companies, while in the reverse direction business executives, professionals, and, again, academics, have been recruited as PAP parliamentary candidates. Going into politics is largely an extension of one’s previous career, like promotion from line staff into the executive circle as reward for good performance, rather than a separate calling due to strong ideological commitment to a particular set of political beliefs.
The assumption underlying the system is that the Singapore government’s main task is to manage the economy, so that parliament members and cabinet ministers need to have the relevant experiences, which are best judged by their previous educational background and management related performance. One could say that the cabinet sees itself as the board of directors of Singapore Inc, working on behalf of its citizen shareholders, with parliament acting as a kind of “nominating committee”, since you need to get its majority support to gain power.
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Why the Current Leaders Are Mediocre
The present government must understand that Singaporeans of our fathers’ generation lived through a tumultuous time pre-independence. LKY dispensed bitter medicine and they accepted it. Why because our leaders went through the same hardship as them.
These were political leaders who did not come in on the merits of others. They fought in the hustings and came out tops. They worked the ground and knew the people’s sentiments and hardships. Look at how LKY punched the air when he shouted “Merdeka” in his rallies and you will know why the people followed him and the PAP.
I still remember Dr Goh Keng Swee going about in Mindef in 1973 dressed like any other civil servant. He was like one of us. Besides he loved mess games and an occasional tipple with his military officers.
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Why our Leaders continue to earn Heavenly Income and Pensions
While all you guys are focusing on the salary and bonuses, what you guys missed is that our dear gov had removed ALL pension scheme from Singapore BUT kept it only for themselves.
Apparently, all ministers of more than 2 terms will get Full Pension till death. So you kick them out all you want, they will still be laughing all the way to the bank everyday till the end of their life.
I wasnt able to believe it when I was told about this, can someone please tell me I was wrong
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MR4 Minister Salary
17: Based on Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) YA2017 income data, the benchmark figure is $1,224,700, i.e. the median income of the top 1,000 earners who are Singapore Citizens after 40% discount. Thus, we recommend setting the annual salary for an entry level MR4 Minister at $1,200,000. This represents his total annual salary package if 1 month AVC is paid in that year, he is a good performer and targets for the National Bonus indicators are met (please see illustration below). This would be an increase in salary of $100,000 or 9% from the current MR4 salary (or a year-on-year increase of 1.5% between 2011 and 2017).
Salary for Other Political Appointment Holders
19: The annual salary for all the other political appointment holders are set at a ratio to the MR4 annual salary, as shown in Table 2. Following the recommended adjustment to the MR4 annual salary, the annual salaries for the other appointments should similarly be adjusted. For a comparison between the current salaries and recommended salaries, please refer to Table 2.
Annual "Norm" Salaries of MR4 minister (Good Performance & National Bonus targets are met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 = 20 months
$1,100,000 divided by 20 months = $55,000 per month
Lowest Annual Salaries of MR4 minister without any bonus (Targets not met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 0 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 0 month
National Bonus (3.4 - 4.9 months): 0 month
Total: 12 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 13 months
Lowest Annual = 13 months x $55,000/mth = $715,000 per annum
Lowest Annual Salaries of MR4 minister with bonus (Targets met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 0.95 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 0.95 + 3 + 3 = 19.95 months
Lowest Annual = 19.95 months x $55,000/mth = $1,097,250 per annum
Maximum Annual Salaries of MR4 minister with bonus (Targets exceeded)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1.5 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 6 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 4.9 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1.5 + 6 + 6 = 25.4 months
Maximum Annual = 26.5 months x $55,000/mth = $1,457,500 per annum
Average Annual Salaries of MR4 minister (2013 - 2017)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1.3 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 4.3 months
National Bonus (3.4 - 4.9 months): 4.1 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1.3 + 4.3 + 4.1 = 22.7 months
Average Annual = 22.7 months x $55,000/mth = $1,248,500 per annum
Salary for Other Political Appointment Holders
19: The annual salary for all the other political appointment holders are set at a ratio to the MR4 annual salary, as shown in Table 2. Following the recommended adjustment to the MR4 annual salary, the annual salaries for the other appointments should similarly be adjusted. For a comparison between the current salaries and recommended salaries, please refer to Table 2.
Annual "Norm" Salaries of MR4 minister (Good Performance & National Bonus targets are met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 = 20 months
$1,100,000 divided by 20 months = $55,000 per month
Lowest Annual Salaries of MR4 minister without any bonus (Targets not met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 0 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 0 month
National Bonus (3.4 - 4.9 months): 0 month
Total: 12 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 13 months
Lowest Annual = 13 months x $55,000/mth = $715,000 per annum
Lowest Annual Salaries of MR4 minister with bonus (Targets met)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 0.95 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 3 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 0.95 + 3 + 3 = 19.95 months
Lowest Annual = 19.95 months x $55,000/mth = $1,097,250 per annum
Maximum Annual Salaries of MR4 minister with bonus (Targets exceeded)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1.5 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 6 months
National Bonus (3 - 6 months): 4.9 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1.5 + 6 + 6 = 25.4 months
Maximum Annual = 26.5 months x $55,000/mth = $1,457,500 per annum
Average Annual Salaries of MR4 minister (2013 - 2017)
Fixed monthly pay: 12 months
13th month bonus: 1 month
Variable pay AVC (0.95 - 1.5 months): 1.3 month
Performance bonus (3 - 6 months): 4.3 months
National Bonus (3.4 - 4.9 months): 4.1 months
Total: 12 + 1 + 1.3 + 4.3 + 4.1 = 22.7 months
Average Annual = 22.7 months x $55,000/mth = $1,248,500 per annum
In one of those I came across the story of the racing driver, Michael Shumacher.
When I studied his resume as an athlete I saw that he was:
Winner of the Grand Prix in 1991.
He was 7 times world champion of Formula 1.
Happiness was in his Being, but on a fateful day his story and his destiny completely changed due to a ski accident.
Today, just 44 kilos of weight struggling to "survive" since December 2013.
His wife begins to sell the goods to cover the expenses and thus be able to keep him alive in a room adapted in his house, where he lies like a vegetable.
Here comes a question:
Who is better than who?
Life can take directions never imagined.
It's amazing how everything can change in an instant.
No one is exempt from anything.
And in no circumstances are they of any use:
Money,
Titles,
Fame,
Success,
Power.
We are all the same.
Then why the pride?
Why the arrogance?
So why so much attachments to material goods and wealth?
All we have is the day to day so that we can live it with passion and happiness, doing good, serving our God, our family and neighbors with full of Joy and Gratitude.
We need to stop creating problems, claim insignificant things, and always avoid everything that "takes our time and lives".
Be careful not to lose someone who loves you and accepts you as you are.
As in the game of chess, in the end both the King and the Pawn are kept in the same box. In the end, we will all meet our end the same way.
It is worth examining what we have done or not yet do.
We are born without bringing anything. We die without taking anything, absolutely nothing!
And the sad thing is that in the interval between life and death, we fight for what we did not bring and even more for what we will not take. Think about that.
Let's live more, let's love more. Let's always understand the other and be more tolerant.
I wish we never forget that to be great *You have to be humble*.
Firing an Employee Is Hard to Do. Even a Bad One
Put your fears behind you and do the right thing for your business and your employees
Here are some more things to remind yourself - the damage waiting can do in this situation:
- They may have harmed the company morale and culture, not to mention they're probably miserable themselves. Why? By the time you let them go, the employees who work directly with them may be beyond aggravated.
- You'll lose great people--Your employees may start to think that leadership "doesn't see it like they do," which could be true if you don't work closely with the person like their peers do. Their peers will see issues way before you do and may lose trust in your decision-making.
- You might think they "hold the keys." You might have a manager or person who knows more than you about their area of expertise and you think, "If they're gone, who is going to take over?" You'll be surprised at who is ready to step up. You probably have an amazing person in the company ready to take over, change perceptions, and give an upbeat vibe to the team.
- You might think "Everyone loves them." Stop being afraid that everyone will leave if they leave. If you feel they shouldn't be a part of the team, chances are, so do a lot of other people. A quick reality check with peers and people who work with them will tell you that in fact everyone doesn't love them, and people work at your business because they like what they do, not because of the person who just needs to go.
If you're thinking that you need to rid your company of someone who isn't a fit, it's probably too late, so just do it and allow everyone to move on.
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The protege toppled by his mentor
Paying high salaries to mitigate corruption
Maintaining Standards of our Civil Service
Singapore’s Corruption Control Framework
Business and Rules of Prudence
