The Congress President Sonia Gandhi is the 12th richest political leader in the world, according to a report in Huffington Post World.
With 2 billion USD worth wealth, Sonia is even richer than Elizabeth II, the Queen of England and Bashar Al-Assad, President of Syria.
The list includes kings, presidents, sultans and queens with most rich leaders among the top 20 originating from the Middle East region.
To arrive at the list, HuffPost compared each country’s GDP per capita juxtaposed with a leader’s personal net worth.
It notes that this was to “show how different life is for the haves and have-nots.”
India’s GDP per capita is $1,500, while Sonia Gandhi is worth $2 billion. She has been ranked at number 12 in the list of world’s richest leaders.
"Unsurprisingly, many of their country's citizens lead much, much humbler lives," the report says. Valdimir Putin, president of Russia, tops the list and President Barack Obama of the US does not find place on it.
Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman is next on the list, worth $700 million and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea is worth $600 mn. Bashar Al-Assad, President of Syria is 16th on the list with riches worth $550 million while his country’s GDP per capita is $3,000.
But the most surprising fact is that Elizabeth II, Queen of England ranks much lower than Sonia in the list with riches worth $400 million to $500 million.
The HuffPost report does not, however, clearly state how it has arrived at the conclusion.
At a time when the general elections are round the corner, the report about Sonia’s wealth is sure to provide ammunition to the opposition camp.
As per the National Election Watch website of the Association for Democratic Rights, Sonia has assets worth Rs 1.38 crore. She neither owns a car nor a house in India and has 2.5 kg of gold and 88 kg of silver.
