President Biden is the 46th president of the United States and takes home a whopping salary of $400,000 a year. This puts his salary in the top 1% of earners in the country.
Our data shows that the average advertised US salary is $71,837, meaning that Biden earns a huge 5x more than the average citizen. On our site, just 0.01% of job postings advertise salaries of $400,000 or over – just 1,100 jobs in fact – meaning you’d have to be an extremely high achiever to match the president’s salary.
It’s no surprise that President Biden is earning a lot more than the people he leads, but how does his salary stack up against other world leaders’?
How much are world leaders paid?
American President – $400,000
British Prime Minister – £156,163
German Chancellor – €255,150
French President – €182,000
Singaporean Prime Minister – S$2,200,000
Chinese President – 136,620 CN¥
Canadian Prime Minister – $357,800 CAD
New Zealand Prime Minister – $471,049 NZD
Australian Prime Minister – $587,000 AUD
(All salary conversions correct at the time of publication).
Joe Biden
USA
2021 – Present
$400,000
Usually, the US president’s earnings far outweigh those of other world leaders’. Even with additional income from book royalties and speaking engagements and with Biden’s wife Jill’s salary, the Bidens only earned $580,000 in 2022-23.
Never fear though, President Biden does get some pretty sweet perks from the job including access to Air Force One and the country retreat Camp David as well as a $50,000 tax-free expenses account.
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Rishi Sunak
United Kingdom
2022 – Present
£156,163 ($194,395)
He’s the UK’s wealthiest ever prime minister with an estimated worth of £529 million ($658.5million). In the last tax year, he earned a lot more than his ministerial salary. Rishi earned a total of £1.9 million with much of his income coming from investments and capital gains. This puts Rishi into the top 0.1% of earners and makes him a very wealthy man indeed.
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Olaf Scholz
Germany
2021 – Present
€255,150 ($277,620)
Replacing Angela Merkel after 16 years in office, you’d be forgiven for not realizing that Germany had a new chancellor. Scholz’s election marks a new political direction for Germany from the center-right Christian Democratic Union to the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany.
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Emmanuel Macron
France
2017 – Present
€182,000 ($198,000)
Macron’s predecessor Francois Hollande cut his and all politicians’ pay by 30% in 2012 and there has yet to be a substantial increase. Back in 2012, a French president could expect to earn a salary of €254,344 a year, over €70,000 more than current earnings.
Topping up his earnings, Macron also makes royalties from his 2016 book, and some capital gains.
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Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore
2004 – Present
S$2,200,000 ($1,634,225)
He’s the highest-earning head of state, celebrating two decades as prime minister of Singapore next year.
Singapore, officially recognized as the Republic of Singapore, has a population of less than 6 million people (New York is home to around 8.5 million) but due to the wealth of the country, Lee Hsien Loong is very well rewarded for holding the top job.
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Xi Jinping
China
2012 – Present
136,620 CN¥ ($18,865)
You may be shocked to learn that the president of China earns so little, they are a major global superpower after all. However, not everything we see is to be believed.
Various investigations have found that China’s politicians earn a variety of kickbacks and gifts including luxury products, gift cards, and money. A report in 2012 found that members of Xi’s extended family hold multi-million-dollar investments and own luxury properties in Hong Kong, but none of this money has been traced back to Xi himself.
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Justin Trudeau
Canada
2015-Present
$357,800 CAD ($260,248 USD)
Justin isn’t the first member of his family to be Canadian prime minister, in fact, his father Pierre Trudeau was prime minister twice, from 1968 – 1979 and 1980 – 1984.
On top of his salary, he also gets a $2,000-a-year car allowance and lives rent-free at Rideau Cottage, a 22-bedroom Georgian revival mansion that is maintained with public funds.
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Chris Hipkins
New Zealand
2023 – Present
$471,049 NZD ($282,536 USD)
Replacing the iconic Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins has only been in office as New Zealand’s prime minister since early 2023.
Did you know, all New Zealand prime ministers who served more than two years can claim up to $57,000 a year? Time will tell if Chris can start claiming that income!
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Anthony Albanese
Australia
2022 – Present
$587,000 AUD ($380,600 USD)
Australia has nearly 13 times fewer residents than the US, yet Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden have pretty similar pay checks.
Australian prime ministers have a pretty sweet deal. They gain a house in Canberra (where the Australian parliament meets) and on Sydney Harbour as well as a private plane, chef, and chauffeur. The value of these perks? An estimated extra $330,000 a year.
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Read more: Top 10 richest states