I came across Kathy Lien, foreign exchange expert, through the New York Times Economix blog. Lien has managed to put together the salaries of various central bankers. Heres the list:
1 – Joseph Yam (HK) $1.32 million (HK$10.33M in 2007)2 – Jean-Pierre Roth (Swiss): $725,498 (CHF 817,700 in 2008)3 – Jean-Claude Trichet (EUR): $446,806 (EUR 351,816 in 2008)4 – Mervyn King (UK): $435,000 (GBP 290,000 in 2008)5 – Alan Bollard (NZD): $378,000 (NZD 540,000 in 2007)6 – Masaaki Shirakwa (JPY): $370,000 (in 2007)7 – Mark Carney (CAD): $350,000 max (in 2008)8 – Ben Bernanke (US): $191,300 (in 2008)9 – Glenn Stevens (AUD): $160,000 (AUD 200,000 in 2008)
Newsweek ranked Bernanke the 4th most powerful person in the world. I hope he has a performance related bonus scheme.
Plus I do not know if these figures include pension contributions. In 2008, King received GBP230,000 in pension contributions. Although this year King is over 60 and not eligible for pension contributions (and a large pension scheme may not be the best PR move at present), Bernanke is a sprightly 54 and apparently keen investor in Canadian bonds. Im sure fortune awaits the cautious investor.
Unsurprisingly, no information other then the above is forthcoming regarding Jean-Pierre Roths salary.