Ranking of wealthiest presidential candidates in Romania unveils surprises

A ranking of the Romanian presidential candidates based on their wealth shows that the wealthiest ones in the running are the independents, while the candidates backed by parties fall to the bottom of the ranking.

Villas and land in Romania and abroad, jewelry, paintings, luxury watches, bank accounts, and large incomes appear in the asset declarations of the 11 candidates for the 2025 presidential elections. However, the ones dominating the polls are not the wealthiest.

The wealthiest presidential candidates, in order, are Romanian-American businessman John-Ion Banu-Muscel, Victor Ponta, and Daniel Funeriu, according to Euronews Romania.

John-Ion Banu-Muscel, a largely unknown figure running as an independent, owns an 80 sqm apartment in Bucharest and a 110 sqm apartment in Florida, USA, a 380 sqm house in McCormick, South Carolina, and a 410 sqm house in Florida, plus four plots of land in Romania and the US.

He also owns three cars, a painting valued at USD 30,000, and a collection of bronze statuettes and objects worth USD 25,000. His bank accounts hold approximately USD 400,000 and RON 300,000, along with financial assets in the US worth USD 248,000.

Regarding income, Banu-Muscel earned USD 75,000 as a manager at Ocean Test and USD 180,000 as a doctor last year. Additionally, he receives an annual US pension of USD 21,000 and made USD 48,000 from a farm he owns in McCormick.

Former prime minister Victor Ponta, now an independent, is the second wealthiest presidential candidate. He owns three apartments in Bucharest, Istanbul, and the United Arab Emirates, has EUR 130,000 in his accounts, and luxury watches worth EUR 20,000.

Former education minister Daniel Funeriu owns two apartments in Romania, a 230 sqm house in Germany with an 838 sqm yard, and two large agricultural plots in Timiș County. He also owns five cars, has a jewelry collection worth EUR 15,000, and bank accounts, deposits, and investment funds totaling approximately EUR 360,000 and JPY 1.3 million. Last year, he reported significant income: EUR 138,000 from consulting for GOPA Pace, RON 56,000 from the University of Bucharest, among others.

Crin Antonescu, the candidate of the governing coalition made up of the Social Democrats, the National Liberals, the Hungarian minority party UDMR, along with the other minorities, had no income in 2024. His wife, a former member of the European Parliament and European Commissioner, received large sums over the same time period. Most of the properties listed by Antonescu belong to his wife, Adina Vălean, or are jointly owned.