Sepp Blatter and the Richest 3,000 Swiss

In a "Lunch with The FT" FIFA president Sepp Blatter was asked if he was a rich man. His reply:

No, he says, he only earns what Fifa pays him — a sum that he refuses to disclose because Fifa releases its leadership payments only in aggregate; last year it paid $39.7m to its “key management personnel”.

“What do I do with my money? My daughter has an apartment. I have an apartment, one here and one there. That is all. I am not spending money just to show I have money. If you look at the richest Swiss people, I cannot approach the richest 3,000, because they are up to $25m.”

Setting aside whether $25 million might be classified as "rich," Blatter's numbers are a bit off.

According to the 2015 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report (here in PDF at p. 112), in 2015 there are 3,737 Swiss individuals with a net worth of more than $50 million.

Earlier this year I estimated Blatter's FIFA salary at somewhere between $6 and $16 million dollars, basic on an analysis of FIFA accounting.

This salary estimate coupled with the fact that Blatter, when asked about his wealth, can quickly cite (dated) statistics on the Swiss richest 3,000, leads me to conclude that Blatter is indeed a very rich man.

$25 million? Take the over. You can bet the Swiss apartment on that. Both of them.