Friedemann Vogel / EPA
The president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.
Data indicates that Lagarde is the highest paid employee in the European Union, surpassing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s salary by 21%.
The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagardeit received significantly more in 2024 than the salary officially published by the institution.
According to an analysis by , although the ECB’s annual report lists Lagarde’s base salary at €466,000, her total remuneration was around €726,000. approximately 56% more when considering additional benefits and external income.
The calculation suggests that Lagarde’s total remuneration is almost four times higher to that of the president of the US Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, whose salary is limited by law in the US to 203 thousand dollars (172,720 euros).
The ECB is not subject to the same disclosure requirements as listed companies in the European Union, which are required to provide details of their executives’ remuneration. Critics argue that this leaves significant gaps public understanding of how senior ECB officials are remunerated.
Fabio De Masi, member of the European Parliament and president of the German left-wing populist party BSW, described the situation as “scandalous“, noting that Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing provides more detailed salary disclosures despite being paid €9.8 million in 2024. De Masi urged the ECB to adopt disclosure standards similar to those applied to listed companies.
Lagarde’s base salary alone makes her the highest paid employee in the EUsurpassing that of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, by 21%. Furthermore, the Financial Times estimates that Lagarde received around 135,000 euros in benefits, including allowances, although the ECB does not provide individual information about this support to members of the executive board.
The analysis includes also around 125 thousand euros received by Lagarde for her role on the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often described as the “bank of central banks”. The ECB’s annual report does not mention this income, and the BIS itself only publishes aggregate figures for board remuneration.
O BCE refused to comment directly the Financial Times analysis, but stated that the president’s salary was defined when the institution was founded, in 1998, and was only adjusted in line with the team’s general salary increases. The regulator added that its disclosure practices are consistent with those of other international public institutions.
