# How does Chinese politician Xi Jinping have an estimated net worth of $1.51 billion **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-chinese-politician-xi-jinping-have-an-estimated-net-worth-of-1-51-billion/841678 "2019-10-12T12:43:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-chinese-politician-xi-jinping-have-an-estimated-net-worth-of-1-51-billion/841678/1 "2019-10-12T12:43:32Z")
when he has been a career politician since graduating university. This may have a simple explanation like he was born into money but I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-chinese-politician-xi-jinping-have-an-estimated-net-worth-of-1-51-billion/841678/2 "2019-10-12T14:04:27Z")
His family (more distant relatives rather than immediate) does have some significant business holdings. No evidence he is involved in it directly anyway. Corruption through kickbacks would be the obvious conclusion, but as earlier threads here have shown, some of the estimates of world leaders wealth, especially non western leaders is often predicated on presumptions, conjectured and surmises, oftentimes based on hearsay. I would take any estimate, high or low, with a pinch of salt. > **[World's Richest Man - King Abdullah?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555518)** > > I don’t really understand the methodology that Forbes uses to determine the World’s Richest Man. Forbes recently came out with their revised list, which lists the richest man as Carlos Slim at $53.5 billion. Separately, they, on occasion, do a list... > **[Evidence for Castro's billions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=272551)** > > I once met a Cuban emigrée the States, who told me that “everyone knows” Fidel Castro has untold billions stashed away offshore, robbed from the Cuban middle classes, for his own benefit, and that of his family. I have no love for Castro, and I know... ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-chinese-politician-xi-jinping-have-an-estimated-net-worth-of-1-51-billion/841678/3 "2019-10-12T18:53:34Z")
I wonder too at some of these sort of numbers. How much does any such leader need? Worst case, a few dozen million to fall back on, kept in a Swiss Bank. But if Putin or Xi or any major leader in a semi-permanent roll, or their immediate family, decides they want a new iPhone, or a ski vacation, or bare-chested hose riding, or a private jet to Venice and tickets to the film festival, or hookers for them and a dozen closest friends who enjoy water sports - one of their minions makes the arrangements and some government department pays the bill. With power, money is less relevant. (But yes, they would want to be sure their family is taken care of - better double that Swiss bank balance.) ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-chinese-politician-xi-jinping-have-an-estimated-net-worth-of-1-51-billion/841678/4 "2019-10-13T18:19:32Z")
Frequent, periodic deposits in a good, solid no-load mutual fund, maybe.