Hamid Karzai was born on 24 December 1957, in Karz, Kandahar, Afghanistan, and is a politician, best known for serving as the President of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He also served as an Interim President before his official election. All of his endeavors have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Hamid Karzai? As of mid-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $20 million, mostly gained through his career in politics. He was a fundraiser for the mujahideen which combated the Soviet Army in the 1980s. He was also the head of the Popalzai tribe. All of these achievements helped ensure the position of his wealth.
Hamid Karzai Net Worth $20 million
Hamid was born into a political family with both parents active in politics. He attended Habibia High School, and after matriculating in 1976, travelled to India as an exchange student. He attended Himachal Pradesh University where he would eventually graduate with his master’s degree in international relations.
He moved to Pakistan to work as a fundraiser during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, in which they were backed by the US and Saudi Arabia. After the Soviet forces withdrew, he returned to Afghanistan in 1998, and rallied various groups to help in collapsing the Soviet-backed government. He then served as a Deputy Foreign Minister of Burhanuddin Rabbani, but was arrested on charges of spying, which led him to flee Kabul. In the mid-1990s, he was asked by the Taliban to serve as an ambassador, but he refused. He lived in Quetta during this time, and worked to reinstate former King Zahir Shah. His father was assassinated at this point, leading Karzai to work with the Northern Alliance. In 2000, he started travelling to gain support against the Taliban, going to Europe and the US, and even initially warned the US of an imminent attack, which was ignored, which later led to the bombings of September 11.
In 2001, the Taliban regime was overthrown and political leaders gathered to agree on a new leadership. Hamid became the chairman of an Interim Administration, and the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration. Their reach was weak initially, but in 2004 he became a candidate for the presidential election, and won 21 of the 34 provinces, making him the first democratically elected leader of Afghanistan. After going into office, he began a very aggressive reform, which helped the economy of Afghanistan grow rapidly. His net worth also started to increase. He was re-elected in 2009 for his second term, despite some criticisms during his first term, so the election was criticized on numerous angles, and he continued to have clashes with militants to whom he offered peace talks, but was often rejected. He continued to build strong ties with various NATO countries, especially the US, however, during the last few years of his tenure, the country’s relationship with the US was strained. Plus many criticisms surrounded his time in office, including electoral fraud, ties with the CIA, and even corruption.
He won numerous awards during his time as President, and there were also many attempted assassinations during his reign.
For his personal life, it is known that Hamid has been married to gynecologist Zeena Quarishi since 1999, and they have three children.
