A new report on the financial standing of world leaders has positioned Kenya’s President, William Ruto, firmly among the global elite.
The analysis, compiled by Yahoo Finance, estimates his personal fortune at an impressive Ksh 52 billion. This figure secures his place at number 10 on the list of the world’s 17 wealthiest heads of state.
The ranking places the Kenyan leader in an exclusive group and above several prominent figures, including the presidents and prime ministers of major world powers.
The Yahoo Finance list reveals startling disparities in wealth among those who govern nations. The top of the chart is dominated by leaders with truly immense fortunes.
Leading the ranking is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, whose estimated net worth is cited as a staggering Ksh 26 trillion. Following him, a substantial gap separates the rest of the pack.
“The sheer financial disparity at the top of the list is extraordinary. One leader’s wealth is estimated to be over 400 times that of another in the top 10.”
Other notable names near the summit include:
- Kim Jong Un (North Korea): Ranked 2nd with an estimated Ksh 650 billion.
- Donald Trump (United States): Ranked 3rd with an estimated Ksh 637 billion.
- Xi Jinping (China): Ranked 4th with an estimated Ksh 195 billion.
The African continent is strongly represented in the upper echelons of the list, highlighting the vast wealth accumulated by some of its current or long-serving leaders.
President Ruto is one of four African leaders to feature in the top 10. They are:
- Teodoro Mbasogo (Equatorial Guinea): Ranked 5th with Ksh 78 billion.
- Paul Kagame (Rwanda): Ranked 8th with Ksh 65 billion.
- Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa): Ranked 9th with Ksh 58.5 billion.
The combined estimated wealth of these four African leaders alone totals over Ksh 250 billion, cementing their status as some of the richest political figures worldwide.
The people in the list’s top 17 include:
1. Vladimir Putin – Russia – Ksh 26 trillion
2. Kim Jong Un – North Korea – Ksh 650 billion
3. Donald Trump – United States – Ksh 637 billion
4. Xi Jinping – China – Ksh 195 billion
5. Teodoro Mbasogo – Equatorial Guinea – Ksh 78 billion
6. Ilham Aliyev – Azerbaijan – Ksh 65 billion
7. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Turkey – Ksh 65 billion
8. Paul Kagame – Rwanda – Ksh 65 billion
9. Cyril Ramaphosa – South Africa – Ksh 58.5 billion
10. William Ruto – Kenya – Ksh 52 billion
11. Emmanuel Macron – France – Ksh 4.1 billion
12. Volodymyr Zelensky – Ukraine – Ksh 2.6 billion
13. Joe Biden – United States – Ksh 1.3 billion
14. Justin Trudeau – Canada – Ksh 650 million
15. Lawrence Wong – Singapore – Ksh 650 million
16. Anwar Ibrahim – Malaysia – Ksh 312 million
17. Nicolás Maduro – Venezuela – Ksh 260 million
The list offers a fascinating look at the financial landscape of international politics. It contrasts the super-rich with leaders whose wealth is counted in millions rather than billions of shillings.
“President Ruto’s Ksh 52 billion places him in a highly exclusive financial category, well above many of his counterparts from major G7 nations.”
The leader with the lowest estimated net worth on this particular list is Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, estimated at Ksh 260 million. The data remind us that power and immense personal wealth often go hand in hand in global governance, though not always. The financial disparity between the highest and lowest estimated figures on this list runs into trillions of Kenyan Shillings.
