Malik Nasir Mahmood Aslam describes extreme financial inequalities of Rich politicians
As well as wielding immense amounts of political power many world leaders are also extremely wealthy and very Rich politicians. But a list of the richest leaders does not just feature the presidents and prime ministers of the world’s wealthiest countries; it also includes the heads of some of the world’s poorest nations. The list of some Rich politicians long and portrays the extreme inequalities in many countries and their systems.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – $600 million
Rich politicians – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea since 1979, when he ousted his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema in a military coup. It is estimated that his wealth stands at $600 million and he is said to have several homes in South Africa and an estate in Malibu, California. A taste for luxury seems to run in the family: in 2016 his son Teodoro ‘Teodorin’ Nguema Obiang, and the country’s vice president, saw his fleet of 26 luxury cars including seven Ferraris, five Bentleys, three Lamorghinis, a Maserati, a McLaren and a Bugatti Veyron seized by Swiss authorities as part of a corruption probe. The fleet was sold at a charity auction in 2019 for $27 million.
Ilham Aliyev – $500 million
Rich politicians – Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev’s official annual salary is reportedly along the lines of $230,000 but his family are known to have large property assets abroad and his net worth is said to be $500 million. In 2010, his then-12-year-old son Heydar was reported to have purchased nine waterfront mansions in Dubai worth some $44 million, a figure which the average Azerbaijan citizen would have to work 10,000 years to accrue. His daughter is also known to have extensive assets. The Aliyevs hit the headlines again when the Pandora Papers revealed that the British royal family’s Crown Estate bought a £67 million London property from them. The Aliyev government has been accused of corruption.
Uhuru Kenyatta – $500 million
Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has an estimated net worth of $500 million. He is the title holder of at least 500,000 acres of prime farmland in his home country, which he inherited from his father Jomo Kenyatta, the first leader of Kenya. Kenyatta also has a large stake in Kenya’s leading dairy company as well as shares in a commercial bank and TV station. But not all of his endeavours are based in Kenya: the Pandora Papers have linked the president and six other members of his family, to as many as 13 offshore companies.
Paul Kagame – $500 million
Paul Kagame has been president of Rwanda since 2000, after he led rebel forces to end the Rwandan genocide that saw more than a million people murdered. Kagame has been key to the African country’s economic rehabilitation, which earned it the moniker of being the “Singapore of Africa”, although this has been matched by intolerance for dissent. In 2012 it was reported that Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front are controlling the country’s economy through a holding company called Crystal Ventures, a group that has assets of $500 million across everything from private jets to the country’s biggest milk processor. It has been estimated that Kagame, who is the chairman of Crystal Ventures, is worth $500 million.
Cyril Ramaphosa – at least $450 million
Cyril Ramaphosa has an annual salary of around $200,000 for his role as South African president, which is 20 times higher than the $10,872 average household income of his people. South Africa has recently seen more civil unrest due to unemployment and a stagnating economy. The government responded by announcing salary cuts for MPs but the country’s 2019 budget actually saw an increase in salary for Ramaphosa. He stepped down as chairman of investment group Shanduka Group in 2015 to avoid a conflict of interest and completed the sale of his stake a year later. In 2015, it is estimated that his net worth is $450 million.
Lee Hsien Loong – $51 million
Singapore’s head of government Lee Hsien Loong earns an annual salary of $1.6 million making him the highest-paid world leader. In fact, his salary is so high that it is 20 times the country’s GDP per capita and 12 times what Russian president Vladimir Putin earns. He is also chair of sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited, which has estimated assets under management of about $488 billion. His net worth is estimated at $51 million. TW
Malik Nasir Mahmood Aslam is a seasoned social activist
