Gerhard Schröder Net Worth
Net Worth: $20 Million
Category: Richest Politicians › Presidents
Birthdate: April 7, 1944 (80 years old)
Birthplace: Blomberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Gender: Male
Profession: Jurist, Politician, Lawyer, Lobbyist
Nationality: Germany
What is Gerhard Schröder’s Net Worth?
Gerhard Schröder, a German lobbyist, former lawyer, and politician, has a net worth of $20 million. He served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005 and led the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1999 to 2004. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Schröder has faced widespread criticism for his ties to Vladimir Putin’s government and his roles with Russian state-owned firms like Nord Stream AG, Gazprom, and Rosneft, where he chaired the supervisory board. Before the invasion, he earned $1 million annually from these Russian affiliations.
Early Life and Education
Born on April 7, 1944, in Blomberg, Nazi Germany, Schröder was raised by his mother, Erika, an agricultural worker, after his father, Fritz, a Wehrmacht lance corporal, died in World War II six months after his birth. Post-war, his hometown became part of West Germany. As a teenager, Schröder apprenticed at a hardware shop in Lemgo, then worked retail in Lage and as a construction worker and sales clerk in Göttingen. After passing the Abitur exam, he studied law at the University of Göttingen from 1966 to 1971.
Legal Career
Schröder passed his second law exam in 1976 and practiced law for 14 years. Among his notable cases, he secured an early prison release for Horst Mahler, a co-founder of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, sparking controversy.
Social Democratic Party
Schröder joined the SPD in 1963 and became federal chairman of its youth wing, the Young Socialists, in 1978. Elected to the German Bundestag in 1980, he also chaired the SPD’s Hanover district. In 1986, he joined Lower Saxony’s parliament, becoming its Minister-President in 1990 after the SPD’s state election victory. He served on the federal SPD board and presided over the Bundesrat in 1997–1998. Under his leadership, Lower Saxony accrued significant deficits.
Chancellor of Germany
Schröder became Chancellor after the 1998 national elections and assumed SPD leadership in 1999 following Oskar Lafontaine’s resignation. Reelected in 2002, he stepped down as SPD chairman in 2004 amid party backlash over his reforms. In the 2005 elections, neither his coalition nor Angela Merkel’s secured a parliamentary majority, though Merkel’s had a slight edge. After negotiations, Merkel became Chancellor, and Schröder resigned his Bundestag seat in November 2005.
During his tenure, Schröder collaborated with Tony Blair on an economic reform manifesto, oversaw the government’s move from Bonn to Berlin, and championed renewable energy and same-sex civil unions. However, high unemployment, slow growth, and controversial tax and pro-car policies—including his Volkswagen board role—drew criticism. His opposition to the Iraq War and compensation for Nazi-era slave laborers were better received, though his praise for Putin stirred debate.
Post-Chancellorship
After leaving office, Schröder mediated privatization disputes at Deutsche Bahn in 2005 and a 2016 conflict between retailers Edeka and REWE Group. He has held board positions at companies like CargoBeamer, Herrenknecht, and TNK-BP, as well as cultural and charitable organizations such as the Bundesliga Foundation and Dresden Frauenkirche.
Relationship with Russia
Schröder’s ties to Russia have been highly contentious. In 2017, he joined Rosneft’s board amid Western sanctions over Ukraine. Criticism intensified in 2022 when he continued working with Russian firms, including a nomination to Gazprom’s board, post-Ukraine invasion, earning nearly $1 million yearly. On March 1, 2022, his staff resigned in protest. Days later, Germany’s Public Prosecutor General investigated him for alleged complicity in Russian crimes against humanity. The SPD moved to expel him, but a party committee ruled he violated no rules, allowing him to remain a member.
Personal Life
Schröder has been married five times: to Eva Schubach (1968–1972), Anne Taschenmacher (1972–1984), Hillu Hampel (1984–1997), Doris Köpf (1997–2018), with whom he adopted two children from St. Petersburg, and South Korean economist Kim So-Yeon since 2018. Köpf has a daughter from a prior relationship.
