KEY POINTS

  • Between 2011 and 2016, Vladimir Putin earned roughly $454,000
  • He had an average salary of around $75,000 per year
  • Putin owns numerous assets such as homes, yachts and cars

Vladimir Putin is a former intelligence officer and the current president of Russia. He has been serving in this position since 2012.

As Russia continues to accelerate fears that a full-scale attack on Ukraine is being planned, questions have been raised about Putin and his fortune.

Take a look at his earnings over the past few years.

Between 2011 and 2016, Putin earned 38.5 million rubles, according to The Washington Post. This is roughly $463,000 when converted using the current exchange rate.

During this period, the Russian president had an average salary of roughly $77,000 per year.

In 2017, Putin reportedly earned 18.728 million rubles, ($225,000) which was nearly triple his previous earnings, as per Statista.

Putin’s earnings reportedly soared after selling his 1.5 thousand square meter plot of land.

In 2018, Putin earned 8.648 million rubles ($104,000), and in 2019, he earned 9.726 million rubles ($117,000).

In 2020, the annual income declared by Putin reached 9.994 million rubles ($120,000).

The politician reportedly owns numerous assets such as homes, yachts, cars and secret palaces rumored to be worth billions of dollars.

Among the assets Putin listed in his 2018 income documents were 13 bank accounts with a combined balance of 13.8 million rubles ($166,000), an 800-square-foot apartment in St. Petersburg, 230 shares in Bank Saint Petersburg and two Soviet-made sports cars.

The Russian leader claimed his earnings came from his official salary and a military pension, as well as income from savings accounts and shares.

Putin’s net worth was not disclosed, but in 2017, CNBC reported that former Hermitage Capital Management CEO Bill Browder said Putin was estimated to be worth $200 billion.

If true, this would mean that Putin had once become the richest in the world.

At the time Browder made the statement, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was the world’s richest, with a net worth of $90 billion, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the second richest, had a net worth of $85 billion.

Isolated diplomatically and economically from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn elsewhere
Isolated diplomatically and economically from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn elsewhere AFP / Natalia KOLESNIKOVA