Kim Jong-un is the absolute leader of North Korea, one of the poorest countries in the world. Nevertheless, his net worth is anything but poor.
North Korea is one of the most closed and secretive countries on the planet. Life in North Korea is known to the rest of the world only through the eyes of those that escaped. Its dictator, Kim Jong-un, is one of the few remaining absolute leaders in the world. Despite the abject poverty of the country, Kim Jong-un is believed to own a significant net worth, but how much exactly?
Kim Jong-un is the third member of the Kim family to hold chairmanship of the Korean Worker’s Party, essentially the nation’s only political force. His grandfather, Kim Il-sung, was the founder of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea.
After World War II, the Korean peninsula was divided between the North supported by the Soviet Union, and the South supported by the United States. It wasn’t long before the two “halves” declared war on each other, as Kim Il-sung invaded his neighborhood to the south.
After a long and bloody war, the two sides reached a stalemate. The border has remained the same since then, and the two countries are still technically in a state of war.
While the South, after a period of bloody dictatorship, became a thriving economy aligned with the West, the North stagnated and remained communist even after the Soviet Union’s fall.
Kim Jong-un net worth
That is not to say, however, that communist precepts apply to everyone in North Korea. While the general population registers a worrying level of starvation and poverty, Kim Jong-un enjoys a rather hefty net worth for himself.
According to a joint South Korean and American investigation, Kim owns several foreign bank accounts, from Switzerland and Luxembourg to China and Singapore. Overall, Kim Jong-un’s net worth is evaluated at $5 billion, making him one of the world’s richest politicians along with Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin.
Kim Jong-un’s real estate is believed to include a private island off the shores of North Korea, around 20 mansions scattered across the country and several sports vehicles.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country is forced to live in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. Kim Jong-un is also accused of several human rights violations, including the imprisonment of political dissidents in internment camps. Whoever tries to escape North Korea is met with either success or death.
Further, since the US destroyed 85% of North Korea’s buildings during the Korean War, the country’s hatred for America has never stopped. For this reason, the Kim regime constantly tests long-range missiles, capable of hitting the continental US.
North Korea was and still is one of the West’s fiercest enemies. Nevertheless, its leader Kim Jong-un does not seem to mind the Western lifestyle.
