The leaders of the world's richest countries get to live in some pretty palatial residences while they are in office. But which premiers live a life of unbridled luxury and which are partial to a more humble abode? Who has the most expensive home from which to run a nation?
While many of these properties will never be up for sale, we've uncovered running costs, renovation estimates and much more. Click or scroll to take a look inside world leaders’ houses, ranked from the modest to the unashamedly extravagant.
*Prices correct at the time of publication
Mark Carney is Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. He was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and sworn in as Prime Minister in March 2025.
Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Prime Minister Carney is the son of teachers and studied at both Harvard University and Oxford University.
He started his career in finance, becoming head of the Bank of England in 2013. In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.
Carney will soon move into Rideau Cottage, which was the home of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Owing to the advanced state of neglect of 24 Sussex Drive, Trudeau and his family moved into Rideau Cottage after he took office in 2015.
Every other prime minister preceding Trudeau has lived at 24 Sussex Drive. However, due to the need for extensive repairs, the official residence has not been in use since the former prime minister Stephen Harper lived there.
Built in 1867, the 22-room Georgian Revival building was renovated in 2013, and the property is known for its beautifully understated design, characterised by a classically inspired central entrance.
24 Sussex Drive (pictured) has been deemed by the government as an uninhabitable fire trap. As of 2024, the home was at least asbestos and rodent-free, but to renovate it properly, the National Capital Commission (NCC) has estimated a budget of nearly £27 million ($37m).
The future is uncertain for the 34-room home, which may never be occupied by another Canadian leader again. Meanwhile, Rideau Cottage, which is technically owned by the Head of the Commonwealth, King Charles III, is also costing a small fortune to maintain.
Renovations at Rideau Cottage cost taxpayers more than £3.6 million ($5m) between 2016-17 and 2023-24, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Anthony Albanese is a relative newcomer to the upper echelons of politics, taking on the role of Australia's PM in May 2022. While studying economics at the University of Sydney he joined the Labor Party and later worked as a party official and research officer before entering Parliament.
He came under fire in late 2024 for buying an AUS$4.3 million (£2.2m/$2.9) waterfront home on the New South Wales Central Coast before an election in the middle of a housing crisis.
The father of one technically also has two official prime ministerial residences he could choose to live in, The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney. Let's see which one he opted for...
More small country house than a sprawling palace, Anthony Albanese currently lives in The Lodge, which sits on 193,750 square feet (18,000sqm) of grounds and has 40 rooms in total.
Built in the 1920s, the Canberra property was only intended to serve as a temporary residence, requiring expensive upkeep and several renovations, the latest seeing it close then reopen in 2016 after AUS$9.4 million (£5m/$6.3m) of refurbishments.
That's probably why numerous Aussie PMs have chosen to live elsewhere or at Kirribilli House.
Although The Lodge is the prime minister's main official residence, he also has the use of Kirribilli House (seen here), which has been set aside for the use of Australian PMs since 1956.
Designed in the rustic cottage ornée style and built in 1855, it sits on the Sydney harbourside and commands impressive views out to iconic landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.
Sir Keir Starmer became the UK’s new prime minister after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide general election victory in July 2024.
The son of a tool maker and a nurse, who studied at Leeds University and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Starmer is a former human rights defence lawyer, knighted in 2014 in recognition of his work as head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
He lived in Kentish Town in the London Borough of Camden with his wife Victoria and two children. When he took office, he was expected to move into the larger flat above Number 11 but he stuck with tradition and now lives at 10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street has been the official residence of British Prime Ministers since 1735. Former PM Tony Blair broke with tradition when he took power in 1997, opting for the larger residential quarters next door at 11 Downing Street. Subsequent PMs Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson all followed suit.
At around 3,800 square feet (353sqm), the simple Georgian townhouse at number 10 is estimated to be worth around £6.1 million ($8.3m) according to data from Yopa in 2022, so the larger flat above number 11 may be worth more.
Given the political and cultural significance of the properties, they are both likely to fetch substantial amounts if they were put on the market.
The UK PM is also granted the use of an official country residence, Chequers Court. Intended to be a retreat from the pressures of political life, it was donated by a Conservative MP and his American heiress wife in 1917 and today boasts a heated swimming pool and tennis court.
Boris Johnson retreated to the 16th-century manor with his pregnant wife Carrie in 2020 to recover from COVID-19, while his successor, Liz Truss, is said to have spent her last weekend as leader partying here with friends following her disastrous 44-day premiership.
The residence is reported to cost UK taxpayers more than £1 million ($1.4m) a year to maintain.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, started as a metalworker and went on to become President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.
The father-of-five, who's been married three times, was imprisoned for corruption and money laundering in 2018 but was freed in 2019, after serving 580 days in jail, with all charges eventually quashed in 2021.
In 2023, Lula ousted right-wing Jair Bolsonaro and became president once again, at the age of 77.
Looking more like a Bond villain's lair than a presidential palace, the modernist Palácio da Alvorada in Brasilia, which became the country’s new capital in 1960, was designed by the world-renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer and built between 1957 and 1958.
The building was heavily restored from 2004 to 2006 for £14.3 million ($18.4m). Free from all Colonial architectural references, the palace comprises 75,000 square feet (650sqm) and the rooms are arranged over three floors.
The iconic building was estimated in 2016 to be worth around £15.8 million ($21.5m).
Packed with amenities, the Palácio da Alvorada houses a movie theatre, games room and medical centre and even has its own chapel and helipad. Yet, when new president Lula da Silva took office in 2023, the building looked like it might need another makeover.
According to numerous reports, former president Jair Bolsonaro had 'wrecked' the palace, leaving torn carpets and broken windows, as well as damaged artwork. Some artwork allegedly disappeared entirely.
Emmanuel Macron became the youngest-ever President of France in May 2017. After calling a snap election in June 2024 following significant losses in the European Parliament elections, his party lost its majority, but Macron has vowed to stay in office until his second term ends in May 2027.
So he will have plenty of time to enjoy the stunning homes at his disposal, including Fort de Brégançon, a medieval fortress on an islet in the French Riviera, La Lanterne, a hunting lodge in Versailles, and Château de Rambouillet, which Marie-Antoinette declared a 'gothic toad-house', for meetings.
But the jewel in the crown is surely the Elysée Palace...
Located on the prestigious Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, the Elysée Palace is the official residence of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
The ornate palace, which was completed in the 18th century, totals 118,000 square feet (10,962sqm) and was revealed to have a 2024 budget of around £108 million ($147m) for staff, operations, presidential travel and investments.
Unlike other presidential residences, the Elysée Palace is super-private and foreign dignitaries stay at the luxe Hotel de Marigny rather than the palace itself.
Former French president Francois Hollande is pictured here being interviewed at the presidential property in 2013, surrounded by a lavish, heavily gilded interior.
Former President Charles de Gaulle organised the purchase of the Hotel de Marigny in 1972 to avoid "meeting kings walking around my corridors in their pyjamas”, as reported by newspaper The Times of Malta.
Born in Madrid to an affluent family, Pedro Sánchez became Spain's prime minister in 2018. The father-of-two was lagging in the polls before the opposition was hit by a corruption scandal, and Sanchez managed to sneak a victory.
It hasn't been all plain sailing since. The socialist leader dealt with baseless right-wing attacks on his family which led him to threaten to resign in April 2024.
However, after five days of reflection and a wave of support, he announced he would carry on as PM.
While Spain's Head of State, King Felipe VI, lives in the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid, the country's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, resides in the Palace of Moncloa (pictured) in the centre of the capital.
A piece of prime real estate, it has been estimated to be worth £116 million ($150m). And if that seems steep, Patrimonio Nacional (a state agency) has spent approximately £46.5 million ($63.4m) on the palace’s maintenance, utilities and conservation between 2005 and 2020, including upkeep of the palace pools.
Despite its more humble beginnings, the Moncloa complex now has 16 buildings including a bunker and a hospital. The 352,000-square-foot (32,701sqm) palace, which dates to the 17th century, has been the property of the Spanish state since 1846 but was repurposed as the official residence of the country's PMs during the transition from monarchy to democracy in 1977.
The building has undergone significant updates, including the construction of a tennis court. Adolfo Suarez, prime minister from 1976 to 1981, ordered the old main courtyard be covered, which is now known as the Hall of Columns and the newest building built in 2006 houses the deputy prime minister's office.
A member of the Republican Party, Donald Trump served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. In 2024, he won a second term, defeating Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States at his inauguration in January 2025.
While he owns numerous properties across the United States, including Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, his main residence needs no introduction, being one of the most famous landmarks in the world...
The iconic residence of the POTUS, the neoclassical White House is also the American leader's place of work. Dating back to 1792, the building has served as the official residence of every president since John Adams.
It holds 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and has eight staircases and three elevators. If you're wondering what it takes to keep it so white, that would be 570 gallons (3,409 litres) of paint to cover its outside surface.
After a snap election in February 2025, on 6 May 2025, Friedrich Merz was elected chancellor by the German parliament, the Bundestag.
Having previously retired from active politics for several years due to differences with former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Merz did not rejoin the Bundestag until 2021.
An amateur pilot, Merz is married with three grown-up children.
Although Germany's Federal Chancellery (pictured) is the largest government headquarters in the world, the official residence of Chancellor Freidrich Merz is a rather more humble affair.
He still lives in Brilon, the western German town in which he was born.
Meanwhile, the official headquarters of his government is undergoing a staggering €777 million (£570m/$773m) extension, which has drawn criticism for going dramatically over budget.
Merz receives dignitaries from around the world at the Chancellery, seen here. Within its grounds, it is home to Berlin, an 18-foot-high (5m), 87.5-tonne (87.5k kilos) iron sculpture by Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida.
The expansion will make the Chancellery larger than both the White House and the Élysée Palace. In addition to around 400 new offices, footbridges and tunnels, a winter garden and a helipad are included in the plans by Berlin firm Axel und Schultes Frank.
Russian leader President Vladimir Putin has served continuously as either president or prime minister since 1999, rising to become one of the world's most controversial leaders.
Putin's net worth is estimated to be between £54 billion ($74bn) and £146 billion ($200bn), and he is rumoured to have a lavish property portfolio, but let's take a look at his official residence...
Meaning, 'fortress inside a city,' the Kremlin is a vast complex that includes five palaces, four cathedrals and a helipad, and while the complex is priceless, its estimated worth would be something in the region of £2.31 billion ($3.1bn).
The Grand Kremlin Palace is currently the main official residence of the Russian president in Moscow. The site has been continuously occupied since the 2nd century BC, with work starting on the existing structure around 1838.
Putin doesn't actually live in the Kremlin Palace though...
He has many homes, but Putin's official residence since 2000 is Novo-Ogaryovo in Moscow, where the Russian leader lives and hosts visitors. He even remained in the large pastel yellow mansion during his four-year break from the presidency between 2008 and 2012.
It's this (pictured) sprawling pile on the Black Sea coast, however, that has caused the most controversy as reported by British newspaper The Guardian. Known colloquially as Putin’s Palace, opposition leader Alexei Navalny claimed that the Italianate mega-mansion belongs to the Russian president in a video that went viral on YouTube in 2021.
He alleged the ultra-lavish property cost £1 billion ($1.3bn) to build and that taxpayer money was used to fund its construction.
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