Best-paid politicians in Asia-Pacific
Does a high salary keep politicians away from other extra-curricular distractions? Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thinks so. Then again, who wouldn't defend an annual salary of US$2.2 million dollars?
Loong came top of a recent report from CNBC that ranked the highest-earning politicians in Asia-Pacific. That's six times more than U.S President Obama earns.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang pulls in US$530,000, 30 times Chinese President Hu Jintao's salary of US$18,000.
But not all are in it for the money.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak makes US$137,000 annually, which he pledged to the underprivileged, having already built up a personal fortune of US$31 million as former Hyundai CEO.
The list:
1. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Singapore -- US$2.2 million
2. Donald Tsang, Chief Executive, Hong Kong -- US$530,000
3. Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia -- US$345,000
4. John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand -- US$290,000
5. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan -- US$273,000
6. Ma Ying-jeou, President of Taiwan -- US$184,000
7. Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea -- US$137,000
8. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia -- US$124,000
