National
Zuma among top five highest paid presidents in the world─── 07:55 Thu, 17 Nov 2016
Johannesburg - While the world is currently focusing on the United States of America and its new president elect, Donald Trump, South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma is weighing in with the heavyweights when it comes to his annual salary.
According to recent research, Zuma is the fourth highest paid president in the world with a salary of $223 000 per annum.
Former U.S. president, Barack Obama, is leading with a salary of $400 000 per year, followed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with $260,000, while Angela Merkel brings home $234,000.
Trump told "60 Minutes" that he would decline a salary when he takes office in January. He said that he'd rather take a dollar every year instead of the $400,000 salary currently earned by Obama.
Interestingly, Trump isn't the first U.S. president to make the symbolic gesture of forgoing the job's salary. Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy are two other notable examples. Moving away from politics, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page are also on a $1 salary.
Let’s see how these salaries compare with other heads of state around the world.
- Niall McCarthy
You will find more statistics at Statista
