Freshly sworn in Likud MK Nir Barkat requests from the Knesset Accountant to only receive a salary of one shekel per year, as he did during his 10-year tenure as mayor of Jerusalem.
Knesset members currently receive a monthly salary of just under NIS 40,000 ($11,010).
“For me it is a great privilege to serve the public without receiving compensation,” Barkat writes in a letter.
With his swearing-in today, Barkat officially became Israel’s wealthiest lawmaker, with Forbes putting his estimated worth at NIS 500 million ($138,458 million).
Before entering Jerusalem municipal politics, Barkat founded an anti-virus firm with his brother that they later transformed into a successful investment fund in high-tech companies.
Likud MK Nir Barkat attends a faction meeting ahead of the swearing-in of the new Knesset on April 30, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
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