Forbes 2024: PM Lawrence Wong is the highest-paid country head in the world!
Forbes recently published a list of the highest-paid country heads in the world, and perhaps to no one’s surprise, the Prime Minister of Singapore took the number one spot.
Lawrence Wong, sworn in as Prime Minister on May 15, is the only country head whose income is more than US$1 million, earning US$1.69 million (S$2.2 million) yearly. Forbes wrote that his salary stands at “1,158 per cent of the per-capita GDP of the city-state of US$141,500” (S$183,235). He earns approximately as much as the combined annual salaries of the next four country heads on Forbes’ list.
Taking second place on the list, which is based on data from Statista, is Viola Amherd, who has been the President of the Swiss Confederation since Jan 1 of this year. Her salary, however, is less than a third of PM Wong’s. Nevertheless, Ms Amherd takes home US$570,000 (S$738,000).
Singapore’s prime minister Lawrence Wong highest paid world leader
For a small island nation, Singapore surprisingly pays its prime minister Lawrence Wong more than any other world leader: US$1.69 million (RM2.19 million) a year.
According to website PoliticalSalaries.com, which compiles data on politician salaries the world over, it’s more than twice what the second-ranked Viola Amherd earns as Switzerland’s president — US$570,000 a year. While Singapore’s prime minister salary is 1,320 per cent of the country’s GDP per capita, it’s not the highest in that comparison — Kenya’s William Rutto earns US$136,000 or a whopping 2,360 per cent.
The rest of the top 10 highest paid are all in Western countries, with Australia paying its prime minister around US$412,500 while US President Joe Biden earns a clean US$400,000 per year.
As for lowest salaries, Ethiopia’s president earns just US$1,800 per year while Nigeria’s president earns US$2,200, the two lowest salaries listed on the website.
Highest Paid Government Leaders in the World 2024
Singapore is the country with the highest-paid government leader in the world, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister of Singapore is the highest-paid government servant in the world. He receives a salary of approximately US$1.6 million.
The US$1.6 million remuneration for the prime minister was arrived at by the Salary Review Committee of 2011. Lee Hsien Loong selected the committee to assess and adjust the salaries of the political appointment holders, members of parliament, the president, and the prime minister after every five years. He aimed at achieving a salary that would encourage the government leaders to be more productive while avoiding corruption.
Before the review, the salaries for the ministers were based on their grades (MR4, MR3, MR2 or MR1), in the government, with MR4 being the lowest grade. The annual remuneration for each minister comprised the fixed and variable components.
Countries with the Highest Paid Government Leader:
Singapore $1.61 Mn Prime Minister
Hong Kong $568,400 Chief Executive
Switzerland $495,000 Federal Council
United States $400,000 President
Australia $392,811 Prime Minister
Germany $369,727 Chancellor
Austria $338,094 Chancellor
New Zealand $325,546 Prime Minister
Japan $316,521 Prime Minister
Canada $297,000 Prime Minister
South Africa $223,500 President
France $220,500 Prime Minister
South Korea $211,320 President
Turkey $197,400 President
Chile $196,000 President
Italy $131,608 Prime Minister
Taiwan $121,500 Premier
related: