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Following President Donald Trump’s successful brokering of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, critics say the U.N. secretary-general, António Guterres, could do well to follow Trump’s lead as a peacemaker.
However, as American taxpayers still continue to pay billions to the United Nations, and while Trump outshines Guterres on the world stage, Guterres’ base salary is more than the commander in chief’s.
At $418,348, Guterres earns a higher base salary than President Donald Trump while running a body accused of anti-American bias, corruption and waste.
President Donald Trump holds up a signed document to present to Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, right, as Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Hugh Dugan, former National Security Council special assistant to the president and senior director for International Organization Affairs, told Fox News Digital, “Frankly, we put [Guterres] on this plateau as being on par with a pope or head of state, when, in fact, he’s really an employee, and he’s the country club manager, not the father of the bride, but he’s calling all the shots when it comes to the ceremony and who sits where.
“You flatter him right away,” Dugan said, when comparing Guterres with Trump, “when in fact he is one of the president’s employees – in fact, the employee of all the heads of state. And to outearn [him]… is really indicative of managerial capture of the organization and of the Deep State U.N. on the books.”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the United Nations in New York, Sept. 23, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
The spotlight on the salaries and perks comes at a time when the world body is facing serious financial constraints.
Not including expenses and extras, Trump receives some $18,348 less than Guterres at $400,000. The presidential extras include a $50,000 expense allowance and other benefits.
Guterres’ salary, provided to Fox News Digital by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, only includes his salary and multiplier. It does not include the considerable array of other benefits that Guterres enjoys. In an email to Fox News Digital, Dujarric said the “Net base salary as of Jan 2025 – $238,375 per year (reference resolution 58/265 adjusted in accordance with the same procedures as those applicable to staff in the Professional and higher categories).
The American flag flies prominently outside the U.N. (The Associated Press)
“Post adjustment as of February 2025 – $179,973 per year. Adjustments to salaries are based on geographic locations.”
The spokesman later confirmed to Fox News Digital that the U.N. chief’s salary was $418, 348. Those earnings do not include some of the lavish extras he gets, such as a plush Manhattan residence and a personal chauffeur.
While the U.S. doesn’t directly pay the salary of the secretary-general, it does continue to fund around a quarter of the organization’s budget, and critics continue to question outlays that they believe harm U.S. interests.
The United Nations building New York City on Sept. 19, 2023. (Julia Bonavita for Fox News Digital)
Just last month, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Dorothy Shea issued a veiled warning to the world body upon vetoing an anti-Israel draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council.
“Engaging in this performative process at a time when serious questions are being asked about the utility of the U.N., its funding and use of resources is shameful. This council should not be used in this way. This council must hold itself to a higher standard.”
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A senior Republican congressional staffer who works on international organizations complained, “United Nations officials are the ultimate global elites. They earn lavish salaries and live in lavish New York penthouses, paid for largely with American taxpayer money. A large number of the U.N. organizations they lead are controlled by China. When they’re not in New York, they spend their time and resources traveling all over the world attacking America and American allies.
“The work of DOGE isn’t done yet, and one step needs to be cutting off these officials from U.S. taxpayer money.”