http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20243493
Here is something that might interest many: Jose Mujica is the President of Uruguay, and usually Presidents live in a grand official residence in the capital city. However, he is in my opinion very unique for choosing to hold on to his farm life outside Montevideo and give away about 90% of his pay as voluntary donations to the state. You rarely see him in a suit except for very formal events.
Now compare this with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, who is worth $20 billion, lives in a huge palace and owns thousands of luxury cars (the press have been speculation about the condition of the cars recently). His engagements are outrageously lavish.
In my opinion, I am not a fan of austerity life, but if I were president then I would not want to spend too much money in one go as well because there is the all important pension to consider. I'd rather not have a car if it could be better spent on building underground lines to take traffic off the roads. Zil lanes? Nah! Anything bigger than the Zappeion Hall or Downing Street? Nah! After all, if I were president then the fate of millions of people would depend on me, because if I make one mistake and they might turn against me. By the way, I aim to focus just on leaders with executive power, rather than ceremonial figures like Elizabeth II and Bhumibol Adulyadej ($500 Million and $30 Billion respectively, in 2010).
Now, if you were a head of state, how far would you ask for and spend?
