What is Christine Lagarde's Net Worth and Salary?
Christine Lagarde is a French economist, politician, and lawyer who has a net worth of $6 million. Christine Lagarde serves as president of the European Central Bank, a position she has held since 2019. Previously, she was the chair and managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and held multiple ministerial positions in the French government. Notably, as Minister of Economy and Finance, she became the first woman ever to hold the finance portfolio of an economy in the Group of Eight.
Salary
During her time as the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde's annual salary was $467,940. She was also entitled to an annual living expense allowance of $83,760. Interestingly, her salary and benefits were NOT subject to taxation.
Early Life and Education
Christine Lagarde was born as Christine Lallouette on New Year's Day, 1956 in Paris, France to teachers Robert and Nicole. She and her three younger brothers grew up in Le Havre, where she attended the Lycée François 1er and the Lycée Claude Monet. After earning her baccalauréat in 1973, Lagarde went to the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland on an American Field Service scholarship. In the US, she interned at the Capitol as a congressional assistant to William Cohen, whom she helped correspond with French-speaking constituents from his district in Maine. Lagarde later returned to France to attend Paris West University Nanterre La Défense; she also earned a degree from the Institut d'Études Politiques.
Career Beginnings
In 1981, Lagarde joined the Chicago-based international law firm Baker & McKenzie, where she handled antitrust and labor cases. After six years there, she was made a partner. Lagarde also became the head of the firm's operations in Western Europe. In late 1999, she was elected as the first female chair of Baker & McKenzie, a position she held until 2004.
Ministerial Roles
Returning to France, Lagarde was appointed the government's Minister of Foreign Trade in 2005. During her tenure through mid-2007, she worked to open new markets, with a focus on the technology sector. Following this, Lagarde served as Minister of Agriculture for two months. Her most prominent ministerial role was as Minister of Economy and Finance from 2007 to 2011. The first woman to hold the finance portfolio of an economy in the Group of Eight, Lagarde oversaw the French government's response to the 2007-08 economic crisis. She also implemented a number of liberal economic reforms during her tenure.
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International Monetary Fund
In the spring of 2011, Lagarde announced her candidacy to become the new head of the International Monetary Fund. She was soon elected by the IMF board as the chairman and managing director of the organization, the first woman elected to those positions. During her tenure, Lagarde drew much backlash for what many saw as a mishandling of the Greek government debt crisis. She called for major debt relief for the country, but later refused to help other eurozone nations supply it with further emergency financing. Moreover, Lagarde claimed that Greek citizens got themselves into their national debacle by not paying their taxes, a statement that provoked more outrage.
In the summer of 2019, Lagarde retired as managing director of IMF following her nomination for president of the European Central Bank.
European Central Bank
Succeeding Mario Draghi, Lagarde became the new president of the European Central Bank in late 2019. In the position, she has stated her intent to help combat climate change and to carry out a review of the Bank's monetary policy paradigm.
Controversies
Lagarde has been the subject of many controversies. When she was the Minister of Economy and Finance, she sent a long list of names of Greek citizens who were alleged tax avoiders to the Greek government. This caused unexpected trouble when a Greek reporter named Kostas Vaxevanis came into possession of the list and published it, resulting in his arrest. He was ultimately found not guilty a few days later following a public uproar.
Lagarde's biggest controversy came during her time at IMF from 2011 to 2016, when an investigation was launched into her role in a massive arbitration deal benefiting businessman Bernard Tapie. Following two days of questioning at the Court of Justice of the Republic, Lagarde was named an assisted witness, rather than a perpetrator. However, a letter seized by investigators from her home revealed her complicity in the case. As a result, a negligence investigation was launched regarding Lagarde's role in the Tapie arbitration. Although she was ultimately found guilty of negligence in late 2016, the court declined to issue her punishment.
In the Media
In the media, Lagarde appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary feature "Inside Job," about the 2007-08 financial crisis. She was later portrayed by actress Laila Robins in the HBO television drama film "Too Big to Fail," based on the eponymous non-fiction book also about the global financial crisis.
Honors
Among her honors, Lagarde was named a Commander of the National Order of Merit in early 2022. Earlier, she was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honor and the Order of Agricultural Merit. Lagarde has also received honorary doctorates from KU Leuven and the Université de Montréal.
Other recognition for Lagarde has come in the media, particularly in Forbes magazine. From 2011 to 2020, she appeared each year on the publication's annual list of the "Most Powerful Women in the World." Lagarde's highest rank was number two in both 2019 and 2020.
Personal Life
From her prior marriage, Lagarde has two sons named Pierre-Henri and Thomas. Since 2006, she has been in a relationship with entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti.
