Heinz Fischer – assets, former salary and pension entitlement

How much pension does Heinz Fischer get?

Heinz Fischer, the former Austrian Federal President (2004-2016), was able to look forward to a salary during his tenure that is well above that of the US President or the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. With a Annual income of 319,900 euros – that corresponds to one monthly gross income of 22,850 euros – it was around 2,000 euros per month above the then US President Barack Obama and around 6,000 euros above Joachim Gauck, former German President and Angela Merkel, who comes to 16,800 euros a month.

But these numbers are only the income that Fischer receives in his position as Federal President. Other income such as expense allowances, possible fees for speeches and the like are not included here. The same applies to the salaries of Obama, Merkel and Vladimir Putin. Also private incomesuch as publishing books do not count here. We estimate Heinz Fischer’s fortune at around 5 million euros.

Highly paid pensioner with his own office and employees

As a former Austrian President, Heinz Fischer is also entitled to a generous pension. This is 19,000 euros gross per month, of course 13 times a year. This makes him one of the best-paid pensioners in Austria. In addition, the Federal Republic of Austria will continue to provide Fischer with an office with employees. Officially, he is still an advisory board for “content advice and coordination” for the commemorative and commemorative year 2018 ″.

Heinz Fischer’s career

Born on October 9, 1938 in the city of Graz, Fischer was basically predestined to join the Social Democratic Party of Austria, as he was born into a Social Democratic family as a child, while his father himself was a high-ranking member of the party. Other relatives could also look back on careers with the Social Democrats, so it was not surprising that Fischer was enthusiastic about the social democratic idea and identified with it very early on.

After he reached his Matura with some difficulties caused by the war, Fischer enrolled at the University of Vienna and studied law like numerous international politicians. There he also obtained his doctorate and then taught at the Vienna University of Economics after completing military service. One of the first “high points” of his career, which was also evidence of his need for righteousness, was the uncovering of a scandal at the university in which one of its professors was involved and who was still spreading National Socialist ideas in his lectures.
His political career began immediately after his studies, when he was already sitting as secretary for his party in parliament at the age of 24. The election to the National Council, which was another important milestone in his career, took place nine years later. He was to be a member of this for 33 years, while he held various activities within the council. In 1990 he accepted the election as President of the National Council. He was to remain in this position for 12 years.

During this time Fischer became more and more important within his party and soon became one of its important components. In 1975, only four years after he was elected to the National Council, he also became parliamentary group leader of his party, and two years later he took over the vice-post of party chairmanship.

The high point of his career was two years after he left his position as President of the National Council when he ran for the office of Austrian Federal President and was ultimately elected to this highest office of the state with an absolute majority of 52%. Due to his re-election in 2009, Fischer is currently still Federal President of the Republic of Austria and will also represent the country externally this year. Like many modern European politicians, Fischer also stands for human rights, especially the right to freely choose one’s own sexuality, for which he has been particularly strong during his two terms in office. He also strengthened the presence of the human rights organization Amnesty International within Austria. In contrast to many top German politicians, however, he considers conscription to be essential for Austria. He is an avowed opponent of the abolition of conscription.

His possession

According to diepresse.de, Fischer still lives with his wife in the old apartment that he came to through his father-in-law. The former official villa of the Austrian Federal President was demolished because the renovation costs were too high and the property had cost the taxpayer dearly. Fischer, as Federal President, is also free to do so Hunting lodge in Mürzsteg to live, which is by no means a comfortable place to live during the cold season: there is a lack of thermal insulation.

Heinz Fischer’s last company car was a black Mercedes of the S-class, the one without special equipment (and armor) List price of around 83,000 euros is equivalent to. However, Fischer does not own the vehicle, rather he got it from the Federal Republic of Austria. After the end of his term in office, he was not allowed to take the Mercedes home with him. As with all official vehicles, the taxpayers paid for the vehicle. When it comes to company cars, however, Fischer is far more modest than Angela Merkel, who lets herself be driven around in an Audi A8 L W12, which can be bought from 142,000 euros without special equipment or armor.

Image sources:
IAEA Imagebank / Flickr [CC-BY-SA 2.0]
Austrian Airlines / Flickr [CC-BY-SA 2.0]