Sarkozy returns home: the former French president is released from prison. But how much does he earn today? What is his net worth?
He’s back home. After twenty days behind bars, Nicolas Sarkozy has left La Santé prison to return to his Parisian residence, next to Carla Bruni and his daughter Giulia. It’s not full freedom: it’s probation, but after days of isolation, it’s still a breath of fresh air. On November 11, 2025, the former French president once again crossed the threshold of the outside world: the appeals court’s decision came as a surprise, partially overturning the executive detention order issued a few weeks earlier.
For France, seeing a modern former head of state behind bars is unprecedented, a symbolic wound. For Sarkozy, however, it is yet another chapter in a legal battle that has lasted over ten years. But amidst charges, convictions, and appeals, one question remains unanswered: how much is Nicolas Sarkozy worth today? After the presidency, after politics, after prison, what remains of the financial empire built during his years in power? The answer is surprising: the former president still has a million-dollar fortune, solid income, and investments that keep him well away from any thought of crisis.
Sarkozy on probation: here’s why he was released from prison
Sarkozy’s freedom is not a dramatic turn of events, but the result of a complex legal process. On September 25, 2025, a Paris court sentenced him to five years in prison, including three years of effective prison, for "criminal conspiracy" as part of the investigation into the alleged Libyan funds used to finance his 2007 campaign. According to the judges, the former president had allowed his aides to solicit funds from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, even though he was not found guilty of direct corruption or illicit financing.
The conviction was a severe blow. Sarkozy entered Paris’s La Santé prison in mid-October, for what many commentators called a "symbolic but real detention": a few square meters, no special privileges, just the discreet protection due to a former head of state. A former head of state who lived for three weeks in fear of poisoning, subsisting mainly on yogurt (as reported by several French sources).
And yet, after twenty days, something changed. On November 11, the Court of Appeal ruled that the sentence could be suspended: Sarkozy is free but under surveillance, prohibited from contacting certain witnesses and banned from leaving France.
Today, his daily life is once again divided between his private life and his legal defense. He spends his time with his lawyers, his family, and a few trusted friends. Politics is a closed chapter, but his shadow remains long. His every move is being watched, his every word weighed. The former president walks a tightrope: free, yes, but with the obligation to remain available to justice. And while his judicial fate is still up in the air, his assets remain "silently" substantial, even away from the spotlight.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s net worth today
Despite his prison time and convictions, Nicolas Sarkozy has not lost his business acumen.
According to the most recent data, updated between 2024 and 2025, his net real estate assets exceed 9.9 million euros. A staggering number when compared to the €2.7 million he declared in 2012, when he left the Elysée Palace.
In 2023, his total income exceeded €4.5 million: over €630,000 in salaries, €150,000 in pensions, €1.3 million in property income, and more than €2.3 million from non-commercial activities. A solid financial profile, worthy of a man who has reinvented himself in politics, law, and business. Sarkozy lives with Carla Bruni in a luxurious Parisian villa, but also owns prestigious residences in other parts of France, including a castle cited by the media as his family retreat.
Professionally, Sarkozy remains a partner in a high-profile law firm, Realyze, in which he owns approximately 34%. In 2024, the firm reported a revenue of €6.8 million and a net profit of €183,000. Sarkozy’s dividends range between €50,000 and €150,000 annually. He also sits on the boards of Accor S.A. and Lagardère S.A., two French giants that guarantee him additional five-figure salaries.
According to the most reliable estimates, his annual income in 2025 will range between €500,000 and €750,000. (Source: L’Essentiel de l’Éco)
Even probation, with all its restrictions, does not appear to affect the former president’s financial stability. Indeed, his ability to balance discretion and business continues to make him a financially significant figure, despite the legal shadows. Sarkozy, ultimately, remains what he has always been: a man who knows how to land on his feet.
How much did Sarkozy earn as President of the French Republic?
During his five years at the Élysée Palace, Nicolas Sarkozy never hid behind the rhetoric of austerity. As soon as he was elected in 2007, he decided to increase his salary by 140% to match that of the Prime Minister, bringing it to approximately 21,000 euros per month, equivalent to about 250,000 euros per year. A decision that caused a stir, but which he defended with his usual pragmatism: work must be paid a fair price.
That salary was accompanied by benefits in kind: official residence, official cars, state trips, personal staff, and lifetime security. Privileges that, even as a former president, still guarantee him a certain affluence today. According to French sources, the perks for former French heads of state amount to about 150,000–200,000 euros a year, including pension and entertainment expenses.
But Sarkozy didn’t stop there. After the Élysée, he earned millions thanks to international conferences, copyrights, and corporate positions. Today, while his public image is divided between his political past and his judicial present, the fact remains that Sarkozy is one of the wealthiest former leaders in Europe. From politics to business, from the courtroom to the boardroom, he has built a fortune that no conviction seems capable of undermining. The man who wanted to change France continues to change himself, but his relationship with money remains unchanged: firm, constant, and still a solid millionaire.
Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Il patrimonio di Nicolas Sarkozy, l’ex presidente francese uscito dal carcere
