Ban Ki-moon Net Worth

What is Ban Ki-moon's Net Worth?

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who has a net worth of $2.5 million. Ban Ki-moon served as the secretary-general of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016, and before that he was South Korea's minister of foreign affairs from 2004 to 2006. Since leaving the UN, Ban has co-founded the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and co-chaired the Global Center on Adaptation.

Early Life and Education

Ban Ki-moon was born on June 13, 1944 in a small farming village in Chūseihoku Province, Korea, which was under Japanese control. He soon moved with his family to Chungju. During the Korean War, Ban moved with his family to a remote mountainside. They returned to Chungju after the war, and Ban attended Chungju High School. He was a standout student in school, and in 1962 he won a Red Cross-sponsored essay contest that earned him a trip to the United States and a meeting with President John F. Kennedy. For his higher education, Ban went to Seoul National University, from which he graduated in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in international relations. He later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University in 1985.

Diplomatic Career, 1970-2003

After graduating from college in 1970, Ban earned the top score on Korea's foreign service exam and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His first position abroad was in New Delhi, India, where he served as vice consul. In 1974, he earned his first posting to the United Nations when he became first secretary of the South Permanent Observer Mission. At the end of the decade, in the wake of Park Chung Hee's assassination, Ban took over as director of the United Nations Division. He subsequently became director of the UN's International Organizations and Treaties Bureau in 1980. Ban's diplomatic posts in the 1990s included director-general for American Affairs; vice chairman of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission; deputy ambassador to the United States; deputy minister for policy planning and international organizations; and national security advisor to South Korean president Kim Young-sam.

In 1999, Ban was elected as chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. During negotiations, he caused a stir when he endorsed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty after the United States had already rejected it. As a result, Ban was fired by President Kim Dae-jung. This made him unemployed for the first time in his career. In a surprise, Ban went on to be named the chief of staff to the General Assembly president Han Seung-soo in 2001. A couple of years later, he became a foreign policy advisor to new South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun.

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Foreign Minister of South Korea

In 2004, Ban became foreign minister of South Korea under president Roh Moo-hyun. He served in that position until 2006. As foreign minister, Ban worked on issues pertaining to North-South Korean affairs, played a key role in diplomatic efforts to adopt the Joint Statement to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, and signed various trade deals and delivered foreign aid to diplomats. He traveled constantly, making it to all the countries on the UN Security Council in a move that was credited with making him a frontrunner for secretary-general of the UN.

Secretary-general of the United Nations

Ban launched his campaign for secretary-general of the United Nations in early 2006. That October, he was elected, and on the first day of 2007 he officially succeeded Ghana's Kofi Annan in the role. Ban had a powerful, productive tenure in the UN. As secretary-general, a position he held until 2016, he was responsible for a number of major reforms on peacekeeping and UN employment practices across the globe. Ban advocated strongly for actions against global warming, for peace in Darfur, and for the protection of LGBTQ rights. Another of his major achievements was helping to get the Paris Agreement ratified less than a year after it had been adopted. Ban left the UN at the end of 2016 and was succeeded by Portugal's António Guterres.

Post-UN Career

After leaving the UN, Ban was widely thought of as a potential candidate for the 2017 South Korean presidential election. However, he announced that he would not be running. Instead, Ban was elected chair of the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission. He also co-founded the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens with former Austrian president Heinz Fischer. Located in Vienna, the nonprofit works to cultivate leadership among future generations. In 2018, Ban became deputy chair of the international human rights NGO The Elders and leader of the Global Green Growth Institute in South Korea. In other positions, he co-chairs the Global Center on Adaptation and is the Distinguished Chair Professor at Yonsei University's Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment.

Personal Life

In 1971, Ban married his high school sweetheart Yoo Soon-taek. They have three children together: Seon-yong, Woo-hyun, and Hyun-hee.

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