King’s ex-Secretary General is richest high office holder

Spain's wealthiest politician

MADRID – The Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE, the nation’s official bulletin) this week published the personal assets of 250 high office holders in Spain. This novelty is thanks to the Transparency Law approved by the Executive recently. The law obliges not only Ministers and Secretaries of State to declare their assets, and their debts, but all those holding high office in the Administración General del Estado (AGE) as well. These include directors and general secretaries of public entities, ambassadors and presidents of state institutions. The declarations must also include assets and rights arising from family inheritances. 

According the BOE of the 24th of September, the wealthiest of all the above is the former Secretary General of the Royal Household, Alfonso Sanz Portolés, with a total value of €19.4 million, and no debts, loans or credits against it. The present holder of the office, Jaime Alfonsín, has assets of €1.6 million, while another former holder, Rafael Spottorno, €1.8 million.

Among political figures, the wealthiest is the Minister of Agriculture, Isabel García Tejerina, with €2.7m in assets and €427,785 in debts. Her predecessor, Miguel Arias Cañete, now an EC Commissioner has a patrimony amounting to €1.6m and debts and credits of €42,153.

Several ambassadors are among the wealthiest in office, including those representing the kingdom in places such as Egypt, France, Colombia, Denmark, Tunisia and Ghana, among others.