Once a year, the personal income tax payments of every resident of Iceland is available to the public for 3 days. This year, the period began on July 31st and after only 24 hours, an Icelandic business magazine published it’s ‘Salary Issue,’ shedding some light on the estimated salaries of some of Iceland’s inhabitants.
Frjáls verslun, a magazine which focuses on business affairs, and Mannlíf, a current affairs publication, listed the estimated annual income of some 2,500 Icelanders. The figures aren’t the exact salaries of the individuals featured, but they do include income from sources such as inheritance and the sale of shares, as well as their regular salaries. Some financial information, such as foreign income or stocks, is not included.
The 2,500 names in this year list accounts for one per cent of the island’s population, so readers are sure to know someone on the list even if they are not on it themselves. The list is categorised into CEO salaries, figures in the arts, athletes and ‘other people in working life’.
The magazines have been flying off the shelves, snapped up by people curious about celebrity wealth and how much their boss is earning. Singer Bubbi Morthens, for example makes ISK 288,000 (USD$4500) per month. Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, Iceland’s first dollar billionaire, declared earnings of ISK 821,000 (USD$13,000) per month this year, while the CEO of Kaupthing Bank, Hreidar Már Sigurdsson makes a substantial ISK 64,872,000 (USD$1,028,000) per month.