Big Bucks

Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, recently rejected the pay increase he was awarded by the country's parliament last week.

The Members of Parliament had granted Mr. Odinga a raise to nearly $430,000 a year, while giving themselves a 25 percent increase to $161,000. This boost would place Mr. Odinga among the highest-paid political leaders in the world. More worryingly, his salary would be some 240 times greater than the country's GDP per person (measured on a purchasing-power parity basis).

Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, tops the list of selected leaders' salaries. He is paid more than 40 times the city-state's GDP per person.

At the other end of the scale, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, reaffirms his reputation for saintliness by taking a modest sum from Indian taxpayers.

Read more about how much compensation leaders from around the globe take home.

Source: Economist.com