John Mahama is a Ghanaian politician, communication expert, historian, writer, and Former President of Ghana, with an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.
Mahama, an alumnus of the University of Ghana, Legon, where he received a degree in history and a postgraduate diploma in communication studies, served as the Vice President of Ghana before stepping into the Office of the President following the death of his boss, John Atta Mills. Before then, he was a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi and served as Deputy Minister for Communication before becoming the substantive Minister for Communications.
How John Mahama Made His $1.5 Million Net Worth
Needless to mention that the former Ghana president has been earning his biggest income from his political career. Having made some notable strides in this regard, he also earns from other avenues.
Before Politics, Mahama Was an Educator
Immediately after his graduate studies, Mahama taught high school history at a secondary level for a few years. In 1991, he returned to Ghana and worked as the Information Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra, and in 1993, John participated in a professional training course organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo. By 1995, he moved to a nongovernmental organization (Plan International) where he worked as a humanitarian, Sponsorship Communications, International Relations, and Grants Manager. He also took part in a management development course organized by Plan International in Nairobi, Kenya.
Mahama Joined Politics At the Age of 48
John Mahama hit the political space in 1996 when he was elected to the parliament of Ghana to represent the Bole constituency for a four-year term. In April 1997, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Communication. In November 1998, he was promoted to the post of Minister of Communications and served in the same post until January 2001 when the then ruling party NDC handed over power to the NPP government. In 2000, he was re-elected for the second term and again for the third term in 2004 as a member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi. He was appointed the director for communications of his party, NDC in 2002.
Mahama is obviously seen expanding his involvement and interest in international affairs, leading to his position as a member of the Pan-African Parliament in 2003. There, he served as the chairperson of the West African Caucus until 2011.
He Was The First Ghanaian To Become President Following The Death Of His Predecessor
Mahama became the vice president of Ghana on 9th January 2009 after John Atta Mills emerged the winner of the 2008 Ghana general elections. On 24th July 2012, according to Ghana’s constitution, John Mahama became the president of the country following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. During his swearing-in ceremony in June 2012, he said that he is the first Ghanaian to have served all levels of political office.
Prior to the December 2012 general election, NDC selected Mahama as their candidate and he competed against seven other candidates. He won the general election with 50.70% of the total votes cast. Mahama continued serving as a president until December 2016 when NDC again selected him for the second time to be their presidential candidate. However, he accepted defeat from his running mate who won almost 54 percent of the votes. Meanwhile, Mahama remained active in politics to date as he is part of the ECOWAS team.
His Writing Career
As earlier mentioned, John Mahama is a writer and there’s no doubt he earns decently from it. Over the course of his career as an author, he has written for many newspapers and publications both locally and internationally. He wrote Mahama’s Hammer, a regular column in a Ghanaian newspaper. He also makes his money through farming and royalties earned from his book, My First Coup D’etat: Memories from the Lost Decades of Africa. Today, John has made a name for himself with an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.
Summary of His Earnings, Salary, and Incentives
During his time in office as a president, Mahama’s salary was US$76,000 annually. While he doesn’t hold any active office in the political arena, the Ghanaian politician still gets financial rewards and other benefits from the government. Below are some of the incentives he receives:
- A chauffeur, dental and medical services to him and his wife, payment of utilities at his residence.
- Two vehicles maintained and comprehensively insured by the State and changed every four years for life.
- Two foreign travels per year, fully sponsored by the state – not exceeding two weeks in duration.
- Monthly salary of GHC29,899.
However, John Mahama has not yet disclosed what he does for a living at the moment.
He Has A Postgraduate Degree In Social Psychology From The Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow
A member of the Gonja ethnic group, John Dramani Mahama is a native of Bole in the Northern Region. Dating back to the country’s first republic, Mahama was born into a political tradition in Damongo, Damango Daboya, Ghana. He was born on November 29, 1958, into a politically active family. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a teacher and wealthy rice farmer served as the first member of parliament, as well as the regional commissioner during the first republic under Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah. He was also the senior presidential advisor in the third republic under Hilla Limann.
One of the highly-educated politicians in Africa, John attended Accra Newton Experimental School (ANTI1) for his primary education and proceed to Achimota primary school where he completed his standard six. He had his secondary school at Ghana Secondary School, Tamale, Northern Region. After that, he enrolled in the University of Ghana, Legon, where he got his first degree in History in 1981. In 1986, he completed postgraduate studies in communication at the same university of Ghana. While he was a student, he became a member of the Commonwealth Hall.
Furthermore, John Mahama pursued a postgraduate degree in Social Psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow. He obtained the degree in 1988.
John Mahama’s Biggest Achievements As President of Ghana
The former president has a handful of awards and achievements to show for his years in politics. Below are some of the honors and awards he has received in his political career.
- On the 30th of March 2014, John Mahama was elected to preside over the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS.
- He was elected as the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) High-Level African Trade Committee (HATC) in June 2014.
- In September 2015. John Mahama became co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates Group, SDGA in January 2016. The group consists of 17 eminent persons assisting the UN Secretary-General in the campaign to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals that world leaders unanimously adopted in September 2015.
- In recognition of his politico-socio economic development of Ghana and Africa at various stages of his political career, Mahama received an honorary doctorate in Public Administration from the Ekiti State University of Nigeria. The same university later passed a statement to name its faculty of management science after him.
- The Cuban government conferred on him the Friendship medal for his relentless effort in lifting the 50-year economic embargo on the communist country.
- In 2013, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) conferred on him the Africa Award for Excellence in Poverty Reduction and Food Security.
- In March 2016, the University of Aberdeen conferred an honorary degree of Doctors of Laws (LLD) on President John Mahama.
