Top earner of the CDU? - Friedrich Merz's fortune: Is the politician a millionaire?

The politician, whose full name was Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz, was born on November 11, 1955 in Brilon, North Rhine-Westphalia. His mother came from France and was the daughter of the former mayor of Brilon, while his father, a lawyer and member of the CDU , worked as a judge at the regional court. The family was strongly influenced by Catholic-conservative values.

In interviews, Merz has admitted that his annual gross income is around 1 million euros. This undoubtedly makes him one of the highest-earning politicians in Germany.

Interestingly, despite his income, Merz does not feel like he belongs to the upper class. He has acquired his wealth not only through his political activities, but also as a lobbyist and consultant for various companies.

According to the wealth magazine , Friedrich Merz's fortune is around 12 million euros.

This is how Friedrich Merz earns his income

Merz began his political career at a young age and was a member of the CDU since 1972. He has held various political offices , including member of the European Parliament and the German Bundestag.

Although he ran as a potential successor to Angela Merkel for the CDU party chairmanship, he was only able to assert himself as CDU leader on the third attempt in December 2021. In addition to his political activities, Merz was also active in business and worked as a lawyer and partner in various law firms.

He also served on various supervisory boards, including AXA, Borussia Dortmund and Commerzbank. Merz also invested his money in stocks early on. From 2016 to 2020, he worked as a lobbyist and chairman of the supervisory board for the German branch of BlackRock before devoting himself more to politics again. Together with his wife, he founded a foundation that financially supports non-profit educational projects.

That is why Merz does not consider himself to be part of the “upper class”

When Friedrich Merz married his wife, his financial situation was very different. He was still in the middle of his studies. At that time, their first child was born. Financial resources were tight and the young family had to think twice about every cent. Later, as a trainee lawyer, Merz only earned a modest income, which was quite tight for a family that now had four members.

Despite his current wealth, Merz continues to classify himself as part of the middle class, and he bases this primarily on the values ​​he learned from his parents.

Respect, discipline, hard work and decency are important guiding principles for him, which he locates in the middle class. "When I hear 'upper class' or 'upper class', I think of people who have inherited a lot of money or a company and enjoy their lives with it. That is not the case with me," he stressed in a newspaper interview.

Although Friedrich Merz is undoubtedly wealthy , he always emphasizes the importance of his own achievements, which have enabled him to achieve this fortune. In doing so, he wants to set himself apart from many wealthy people whose wealth mainly comes from an inheritance.