What is Vladimir Putin's net worth?
Various official sources state that the Russian president's annual salary is €118,000 per year, but Putin also owns several properties and company stakes.
According to various sources, from the Kremlin itself to news agencies the world over, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered an invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on 24 February, receives an official annual salary of €118,000 ($129,125) for running the affairs of state. Also included in the Russian leader’s package are an apartment in the centre of Moscow, which comes with three official cars, two of them Soviet-era models, in addition to his official residence.
In 2017, Putin’s salary would have been 18.7 million roubles, which at the exchange rate of a few days before Russian troops marched over the border into Ukraine was €242,000 ($264,816). The Russian currency has plummeted since Putin ordered the invasion, reaching historic lows against the dollar. According to Agence France Press, meanwhile, a plot of land of some 1,500 kilometres was also removed from Putin’s official list of assets that year.
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Putin’s total assets estimated at $40 billion
However, what Putin gets paid in his position as Russian president and what the veteran politician is worth in terms of assets are two very different things. The numbers vary wildly depending on the source but political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky, Putin has large numbers of shares in energy and commodities companies Gazprom, Surgutneftegas and Gunvor, taking his total personal wealth to in excess of $40 billion.
According to the Panama Papers, a large chunk of Putin’s wealth is held by front men, such as the cellist and businessman Sergei Roldugin, a childhood friend of the Russian leader. Putin’s family are believed to own a superyacht worth more than $100 million and a palace on the shores of the Black Sea.
Ruth Ferrero-Turrión, a professor of Political Science at Madrid’s Complutense University, says “the powerful autocrats always have a huge financial reserve hidden away somewhere.” The academic describes what keeps Putin in power in Russia as “mafia capitalism.”