Olaf Scholz Net Worth

What is Olaf Scholz's Net Worth and salary?

Olaf Scholz is a German politician who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Olaf Scholz serves as the Chancellor of Germany, having taken office in 2021. He previously held a number of roles in government, including Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, First Mayor of Hamburg, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. A member of the Social Democratic Party, which he formerly led, Scholz saw his government majority collapse in late 2024.

Salary

Olaf Scholz's annual gross salary as Chancellor of Germany is approximately €348,300 (about $377,800), making him one of the highest-paid heads of government in the European Union.

Early Life and Education

Olaf Scholz was born on June 14, 1958 in Osnabrück, Germany and was raised in Hamburg. He has two younger brothers named Jens and Ingo. As a youth, Scholz went to the Bekassinenau and Großlohering elementary schools. After graduating from high school in 1977, he enrolled at the University of Hamburg to study law. Scholz went on to briefly practice law, specializing in labor and employment. He worked at the firm Zimmermann, Scholz und Partner.

Start of Political Career

As a high school student in 1975, Scholz joined Germany's Social Democratic Party. Eventually, he became deputy federal chairman of the SPD's youth group, Jusos, serving in that position from 1982 to 1988. Meanwhile, from 1987 to 1989, he was the vice president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

Member of the Bundestag

In 1998, Scholz was elected as a member of the Bundestag, representing Hamburg-Altona. He was elected again in 2002, and served until 2011. During his time in the Bundestag, Scholz served as General Secretary and Chief Whip of the SPD, and was a member of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel.

(Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Senator for the Interior of Hamburg

For about five months in 2001, Scholz served as Senator for the Interior of Hamburg, succeeding Hartmuth Wrocklage. He left office following the defeat of his party in the 2001 Hamburg state election.

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

From 2007 to 2009, Scholz served as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs under Chancellor Angela Merkel. He succeeded Franz Müntefering.

First Mayor of Hamburg

As deputy leader of the SPD, Scholz was elected First Mayor of Hamburg in 2011. He appointed fellow Social Democrat Dorothee Stapelfeldt as Deputy First Mayor. Scholz remained in his position until 2018.

Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance

In 2018, Scholz became Federal Minister of Finance and Vice Chancellor of Germany under Merkel. In these roles, which he had until 2021, he helped oversee Germany's response to the COVID-19 pandemic by drafting a series of financial rescue packages for the economy. Scholz also allocated funding for climate protection and digitization. However, he also received some criticism, particularly in relation to the Wirecard scandal and the Ministry of Finance's lack of oversight of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority's corrupt practices.

Chancellor of Germany

In the 2021 federal election, Scholz led the SPD to a narrow victory. He was subsequently named the new Chancellor of Germany in a coalition agreement with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, and was sworn in by the Bundestag. At 63 years old, Scholz became the oldest person to serve as Chancellor since Konrad Adenauer took office at the age of 73 in 1949. During his chancellorship, he has overseen Germany's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine; facilitated a major increase in Germany's defense budget; committed to the goal of climate neutrality; made it easier for immigrants to obtain German citizenship; and authorized military and medical aid to Israel during its war with Hamas.

In late 2023, Scholz and his cabinet encountered serious trouble when the Federal Constitutional Court ordered budget cuts totaling €60 billion to prevent the government from surpassing constitutional debt limits. This led to the 2023-24 farmers' protests, which were organized by agricultural unions angered over the abolition of tax breaks on farmers. In late 2024, Scholz's government majority collapsed after he dismissed Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner and dissolved the coalition agreement. He subsequently lost a vote of confidence, and in the snap election in early 2025 his SPD lost to Friedrich Merz's CDU.

Personal Life

In 1998, Scholz married fellow SPD member Britta Ernst. She served as a member of the Hamburg Parliament from 1997 to 2011 and as the State Minister for Education and Youth of Brandenburg from 2017 to 2023. The couple resides in Potsdam.

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