Nayib Bukele Net Worth, Crypto and NFT Investments

Nayib Bukele is the 43rd president of El Salvador and one of the most prominent political figures in the crypto world. As of 2025, Nayib Bukele’s net worth is estimated at about $2 million, largely stemming from his salary as president and his stake in a family business.
Before venturing into politics, Bukele inherited a flourishing public relations firm from his father. He also established a marketing company, Obermet, at the age of 18. Through the clever use of social media, he won the 2019 presidential election in El Salvador by running a populist political campaign after he was ousted from the then-ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).

Two years after he was elected the president of El Salvador, he made history by announcing that Bitcoin would become legal tender in the Central American nation. With this historic development, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt a cryptocurrency as legal tender. However, Bukele’s tenure has also spawned multiple major controversies, such as accusations of money laundering using his political campaign as well as his new program to accept and imprison deportees from the United States.

Breaking Down Nayib Bukele’s Net Worth in 2025

Nayib Bukele’s Early Life

Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez was born on July 24, 1981 in the capital city of El Salvador; San Salvador. He was born into a polygamous family and has three brothers and seven half-siblings. His parents are Armando Bukele Kattán and Olga Ortez de Bukele. Bukele’s paternal grandparents are Palestinian Christian immigrants from Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They moved to El Salvador at the advent of the 20th century. His maternal grandmother, on the other hand, was a Catholic.

Bukele’s father is a successful Salvadoran businessman, who owns numerous companies across different industries, and his success inspired Nayib to follow the same path at a very young age.

Nayib Bukele has shown leadership since he was a kid and he was even elected the president of his high-school class. Later, he proceeded to study law at the Central American University, but dropped out shortly after.

In 1999, Bukele founded his first company while also managing a downtown nightclub in the capital city of El Salvador. Later, he decided to take over his father’s public relations company, which boasted deep ties with the political world of El Salvador. In fact, its biggest client was the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front of FMLN, a left-leaning revolutionary party and the main opposition to the ruling Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) party.

In the late 1990s, operatives of the customs service stopped Bukele while traveling with his family. He was questioned in regards to the terrorist group Al Qaeda, which gained heavy recognition at that time. The operatives claimed Bukele’s name sounded suspicious. In his recent yearbook, Bukele captioned his photograph as “class terrorist” in reference to the issue at the airport.

Nayib Bukele’s Early Political Career

Nayib Bukele started developing a strong interest in the politics of El Salvador around 1997. In 2009, FMLN gained more relevance and acceptance owing to the corruption scandal that rocked its major rival; ARENA.

Two years later, Bukele launched a political campaign to become the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán, a political stronghold outside San Salvador. His father tried to talk him out of it, warning him by saying “Don’t get involved in politics.” He cited how politicians who lose are abandoned by their followers and vehemently warned Bukele that he could be “damaged goods.”

Despite the warnings, Bukele pursued his interest in politics and proceeded with his campaign to become the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán. He ran with an FMLN ticket but distanced himself from some of the party’s policies.

Bukele campaigned by telling voters, “I’m of the postwar generation, a generation with new ideas.” However, he also avoided making comments about the party’s advocacy for a revolution. Likewise, through his campaigns, Bukele ditched the party’s traditional red and white color. Rather, he adopted thematic campaign colors that featured his name in white on a backdrop of light blue. Eventually, Bukele was elected the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán in a contested election. On March 11, 2012, he was announced the winner of the election after recording a total of 50.68% votes.

You can watch Bukele’s inauguration speech as mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán below.

Bukele assumed office on May 1, 2012. His first endeavor as Mayor was erecting a large stone sign with a white “N” imprinted in a circle at the entrance to Nuevo Cuscatlán. As the elected mayor of Nuevo, Bukele enacted numerous social and educational reforms, including grants for students to take classes in English and computer science, free food for senior citizens, and the building of medical clinics and libraries.

Part of the funding for these programs came from Bukele’s vow to donate his salary for education grants for students. It’s suspected that a large portion of the funding came from ALBA Petróleos, an association owned by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, which provided financial support for Obermet during Bukele’s tenure as the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán. On January 21, 2015, he commissioned a new boulevard that connected Nuevo Cuscatlán with Huizúcar and Antiguo Cuscatlán.

Mayor of San Salvador

These landmark achievements helped him build a strong reputation in the city. Then, leaders of FMLN urged him to run for mayor of the largest city in El Salvador, San Salvador. They believed that he could use the office as a stepping stone to boost his chances of becoming El Salvador’s president. More so, the party hoped that Bukele’s victory would earn it two more seats in the legislature.

After declaring his intention to run for mayor of San Salvador, Bukele excluded FMLN from his campaigns. Instead, he turned to family and friends, like Karim and Ernesto Castro, for support. With the support of Karim, Bukele was able to execute a well-coordinated (albeit expensive) campaign. Though the cost of campaigning was tremendously high, he was undeterred.

The intensity of his campaign made him enjoy significant attention on Twitter. His followers on the social media app soared. Then, he even had more followers than the president of El Salvador at that time.

In 2015, he won the municipal elections with 50.37% of the votes. On May 1, 2015, Bukele took the oath of office to end ARENA’s six years of control over the capital city. As the mayor of San Salvador, he made significant reforms to the capital city.

First, he restored the names of two streets in the city which were changed by his predecessor. Bukele claimed that the residents of the neighborhood were not consulted and therefore the change was improper. Also, he commenced the resuscitation of San Salvador by relocating street traders to the Cuscatlán Market he built.

As mayor of San Salvador, Bukele focused on establishing a cordial relationship with neighboring countries as well as distant ones. In February 2017, he visited Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, where he met Taiwan’s president; Tsai Ing-wen. Before he left office, Bukele initiated various projects for revitalizing the San Salvador city center.

Nayib Bukele as El Salvador’s President

Fuelled by his popularity and performance as the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán and San Salvador, Bukele decided to run for the presidency. Despite his growing popularity, he was ousted from the ruling FMLN due to an argument with FMLN members on the floor of San Salvador’s city council.

After leaving the political party, he attempted to create his own party; Neuvas Idea. However, the attempt was greeted by severe opposition from both FMLN and ARENA, claiming that his new party did not register with the government in time. The controversy forced him to join the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) and he ran on that party’s ticket in the 2019 presidential elections.

On February 3, 2019, Bukele won the election, winning 53% of the total vote. His victory marked a new era in the El Salvadorian political landscape. He became the first candidate since 1989 to win the presidency without being a member of one of the two ruling parties.

Shortly after he assumed office, Bukele began to introduce some of the policies he executed as mayor of San Salvador. He focused on enhancing the security of El Salvador by instigating a strict clampdown against criminal gangs in the country with a policy known as the Territorial Control Plan.

Bukele also attempted to borrow a $109 million loan from the United States to increase funding for the territorial control plan. However, this move was countered by the legislature, which refused to vote on approving the loan.

Plans to Combat Crime and Intimidate Lawmakers

Later, Bukele opted to forcefully ensure the approval of the loan. He ordered soldiers to occupy the premises of the legislative assembly to force lawmakers to approve it. Eventually, he had his way and the loan was approved. The power grab generated widespread criticism, with many critics labeling him as a dictator. His use of force also surfaced in 2020 when he declared a lockdown in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, he ordered the arrest of violators and stern enforcement of his lockdown laws.

In early 2021, the Bukele administration was investigated for corruption by the office of the El Salvador attorney general. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International cited El Salvador as an example of “an explosion of irregularities and corruption.” Ultimately, the investigation into the corruption allegations failed to progress after the El Salvador attorney general was removed.

Meanwhile, President Bukele intensified his efforts to crack down on gangs in 2022. After a series of gang massacres that left 87 people dead, Bukele responded swiftly by recruiting more men to various El Salvador enforcement agencies. He also constructed a prison facility called CECOT that could house 40,000 inmates.

Later, Amnesty International revealed that the Bukele administration committed various human rights violations. The agency claimed the president engaged in arbitrary detentions of citizens and violations of due process. It argued that Bukele sacrificed the people’s right to due process in the pursuit of these gangs. According to Amnesty International, the violation led to the death of 18 citizens in detention.

Al Jazeera covered the Amnesty International report on Bukele’s gang crackdown if you want to learn more.

Prisons, Gang Controversies, and Criticism

On September 15, 2022, President Bukele announced his intention to seek re-election in 2024. His declaration was greeted with criticism, particularly from legal practitioners in the country who opposed Bukele running for a second consecutive term, which is in violation of El Salvador’s Constitution. Despite the widespread criticism, Bukele won with 83 percent of the vote.

On June 1, 2023, he proposed the reduction of municipalities in El Salvador from 262 to 44. Also, he asked that the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly be reduced from 84 to 60. A week later, the proposal to reduce the seats in the Legislative Assembly was adopted.

Before becoming president of El Salvador, Bukele was a prominent critic of China. He accused the Chinese government of interfering in Latin American politics. However, in December 2019, the president signed an infrastructural deal with China. Also, that month, Bukele traveled to China to meet the President of the country, Xi Jinping.

In September 2020, the popular news website El Faro accused Bukele of negotiating a secret deal with Mara Salvatrucha, the largest crime gang in El Salvador. According to the report, the president promised to grant more relaxed prison conditions to members of the gang and, in return, asked them to reduce their violent activities and killings in the country. Also, it was alleged that Bukele asked the gang to support his 2024 re-election bid.

However, Bukele has denied the allegations and shared photos of how members of the gang were kept in prison under tough security. His government also ordered an investigation into the financial activities of El Faro, indicting the publishing house of money laundering. El Faro claims that these allegations were entirely fabricated by the government to persecute it for its journalism.

Al Jazeera was able to interview Bukele briefly, asking him about the alleged deal he made with the gangs, and it denied that such a deal ever existed.

Despite denying the rumored deal with the gang, it continued to dominate the news. Even the United States Department of the Treasury, in its report, insisted that the president was negotiating a deal with gangs like Mara Salvatrucha. The DoT used this report to sanction some top officials of Bukele’s cabinet. Again, the president denied the claims, insisting that the country only demanded total submission from the gang.

Bukele has found himself in yet another major controversy in 2025 after agreeing to imprison deportees from the United States. Under the deal proposed by President Donald Trump, El Salvador would accept and subsequently detain deported individuals from the U.S. in its Terrorism Confinement Chamber “CECOT.” In return, Trump offered financial compensation as well as general economic support from the U.S.

The agreement was heavily criticized both in the U.S. and in El Salvador, especially due to how it was carried out. Many of the deportees were rounded up and flown out to this prison based on little or no evidence of gang affiliation and without any court hearings, as required by the Constitution. Critics in El Salvador also argued that the agreement effectively made their country a dumping ground for U.S. deportees.

The controversy grew further when the court ordered the Trump administration to stop these flights and turn any already in-flight around, due to the violation of due-process, and it refused to comply. Bukele’s response to American criticism of the deportee flights was a simple, “Oopsie…Too late.”

Oopsie…

Too late 😂 pic.twitter.com/nDHL6deLJq

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025

The President’s Bitcoin Play

Bukele became the subject of tense scrutiny as a result of his adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador. His obsession with Bitcoin didn’t stop at adoption alone, as he committed a significant portion of El Salvador’s treasury to acquire BTC.

The President’s focus on BTC was opposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The international body claimed that the volatility of BTC could spell doom for the country’s economy. Furthermore, the IMF predicted that the country’s debt could rise significantly as a result of the move.

More so, some residents of the country greeted the news with despair. They emphasized the poverty and unemployment rate of El Salvador, stating that the president could have committed the funds to provide basic services instead of rank speculation. Their fears and concerns were confirmed when the crypto bear market of 2022 wiped out a notable portion of Bukele’s investment in Bitcoin.

NBC News reported on the crash’s effects on El Salvador’s BTC investment if you want to learn more.

Meanwhile, in October 2021, an audio recording of two deputies of the legislative assembly planning with a critic of Bukele’s government surfaced. The recording allegedly involved officials of the U.S. embassy in El Salvador negotiating a deal to oppose Bukele’s political proposals in the legislature. After the recording hit the media, the President and his political party accused the deputies of conspiring against the presidency. However, the U.S. embassy denied its involvement in the plot.

Bukele is viewed as an authoritarian by some international and local observers. That shouldn’t be surprising, given his use of the military to control the legislature and his attack on due process. Around November 2021, he introduced the “foreign agent laws,” allegedly to limit foreign interference in El Salvador’s political affairs. In a statement, the minister of interior, Juan Carlos Bidegain, presented the initiative to the El Salvadoran legislature.

The president himself likened the bill to the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). However, critics argued that the law went against the freedom of the press in El Salvador and they were right to be worried. Bukele eventually leveraged the law to block about 91 Twitter accounts owned by journalists, lawyers, and activists.

In the same period, the Supreme Court overturned a 2014 ruling that required presidents to wait ten years before re-contesting a post. The ruling means Bukele would be eligible to seek re-election in the 2024 presidential election. The issue generated widespread opposition from the two major parties of El Salvador, citizens, and local and international observers.

Nayib Bukele’s History of Crypto Support

Bukele has proven himself an unapologetic advocate of cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, over the years. He made Bitcoin legal tender despite strong opposition to cryptocurrencies in neighboring countries, particularly in the U.S. at the time.

Bukele first revealed his plan to adopt BTC at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami in June, noting that El Salvadorian lawmakers were already considering a bill to make it happen. That September, Bukele signed the bill into law, making El Salvador the first country in the world to make such a move.

During the official unveiling, Bukele extolled the virtues of crypto. First, he described it as a way to provide financial services to the two-thirds of adults in El Salvador who don’t have a bank account. He also hyped cryptocurrency as the best method to bring in remittances from abroad.

In a bid to spread Bitcoin adoption across El Salvador, the government facilitated the development of a virtual wallet, Chivo. It then sent $30 in Bitcoin to every El Salvador resident who downloaded and used the wallet. Nevertheless, the app recorded poor patronage due to technical issues, pricing discrepancies, and widespread scammers. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, many of those who registered stopped using it after collecting their registration bonus.

The popular podcaster Peter McCormack interviewed Bukele about his adoption of Bitcoin and the impacts it has had on El Salvador if you’re interested in learning more about the project.

Bukele’s Bitcoin Reserve and City

Despite all of the criticisms that greeted the adoption of BTC, Bukele stayed the course. His government spent over $85 million to acquire Bitcoin between September 2021 and January 2022, even though its price had fallen significantly.

In January 2022, sources revealed that El Salvador had purchased roughly 600 Bitcoin during the dip, increasing its total holdings to 1,801 BTC. While there is no concrete evidence as to how much the country lost because of the dip, it was likely significant given that El Salvador received a $20 million emergency loan from the World Bank to offset its deficit.

Even with this setback, Bukele never considered backing down from his Bitcoin policies. Bukele still argues that Bitcoin is the “real revolution” that the world needs and seems to be truly committed to making El Salvador a crypto hub against all odds. This commitment propelled him to initiate and promote the world’s first “Bitcoin City” project in the country.

Although the idea of the project was first unveiled at the 2021 Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference, Bukele did not share its architectural drawings and designs until 2022. Bukele plans to fund the project with a proposed $1 billion Bitcoin bond, also known as the “Volcano bond.”

While Bukele hasn’t backed down from his plans, it’s difficult to tell whether the project will actually materialize. Recently, the X user “Bitfinex’ed” cited a purported document from the country’s Ministry of Public Works to argue that it never existed or had been canceled. In the said document, the ministry claimed it was not aware of the project.

El Salvador's so-called Bitcoin City has been canceled?

"In this regard, the Technical Sub-Directorate of this Directorate informs that among the projects carried out by this Directorate there is neither the Bitcoin City project nor is there knowledge of it."

h/t @ricardovalp pic.twitter.com/KgnDcBtaMK

— Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 (@Bitfinexed) April 27, 2023

Bukele at least proved that the government was not yet insolvent in early 2022 when it repaid an $800 million bond issue with interest. Soon after, he criticized news outlets on X for suggesting that the country would default on its debt because of its Bitcoin investments.

“In the past year, almost every legacy international news outlet said that because of our ‘bitcoin bet,’ El Salvador was going to default on its debt by January 2023 (since we had an 800 million dollar bond maturing today),” he said.

In the past year, almost every legacy international news outlet said that because of our “#Bitcoin bet”, El Salvador was going to default on its debt by January 2023 (since we had an 800 million dollar bond maturing today).

Literally, hundreds of articles https://t.co/rEiK7K13U4

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023

As part of his administration’s commitment to turn El Salvador into a crypto hub, it hosted the 2022 Bitcoin conference. The conference featured representatives from at least 44 countries, including 12 financial agencies and 32 central banks. Some of the countries with representatives at the conference include Madagascar, Haiti, Pakistan, Paraguay, Maldives, and Bangladesh. The same month, Bukele confirmed that his government bought another 500 BTCs.

El Salvador just bought the dip! 🇸🇻

500 coins at an average USD price of ~$30,744 🥳#Bitcoin

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2022

Unfortunately, Bukele could not participate in the Bitcoin Miami conference that year due to unforeseen circumstances. Although he did not reveal his reasoning, the security crisis in El Salvador at the time may have played a part.

El Salvador added another 80 BTC to its holdings in 2022 for just $19k per coin despite the huge dip caused by the Terra-Luna implosion. The crypto crash frightened many El Salvadoreans, who were worried that BTC’s price might never recover.

The crash also caught the attention of the U.S. Senate, which had already evaluated a bill to lessen the risks posed by El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin on the U.S. financial system. The bill, titled “Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act,” was introduced by Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The bill was mostly a directive for information gathering and risk assessment rather than a policy shift.

Shortly after news of the bill came out, Bukele reacted. He said, “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the U.S. government would be afraid of what we are doing here.”

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the US Government would be afraid of what we are doing here. pic.twitter.com/QgJPa70mn0

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022

Many were concerned about El Salvador’s Bitcoin exposure, particularly amid the 2022 crypto winter. The Terra-Luna and FTX implosions dipped Bitcoin to a new low. Prominent agencies, including the IMF, believed the crisis could inflict disaster on the country’s economy. Earlier, the BBC reported that the Bitcoins purchased by the government had already lost 50% of their value. However, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya kept insisting that the country lost nothing to the crash because it never sold any of its Bitcoin holdings. If this is true, the country has likely profited many millions of dollars from its investment.

New Crypto Laws

In 2023, under the leadership of Bukele, El Salvador took a bolder step to regulate the issuance of other digital assets like Ether by public and private entities. The 47-article law secured 62 votes out of 84 seats in the country’s legislative arm.

The major purpose of this law is to “establish the legal framework that grants legal certainty to transfer operations to any title of digital assets used in public issuance offers.”

Also, it ensures the development of the National Commission for Digital Assets and the Bitcoin Funds Administration Agency. These agencies would be responsible for protecting and investing the holdings from public offerings of virtual assets by the government. The law excludes digital currencies offered by central banks of any country as well as Bitcoin, given that it is legal tender in El Salvador.

In March, the government unveiled Saifedean Ammous as the new economic adviser to the country’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC). Ammous is the author of a popular crypto book, titled “The Bitcoin Standard.” According to the announcement, the author was expected to work as a remote advisor so as to add “another voice and opinion to the advice the president receives as Bitcoin Country continues to grow rapidly.”

When the author of the Bitcoin Standard met the leader of Bitcoin Country, great things were bound to happen.

We are excited to announce that @saifedean is joining us as Economic Advisor to the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador.

Welcome to the winning team, Dr Ammous! pic.twitter.com/LyIljvKvtz

— The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) May 30, 2023

Meanwhile, the country’s soft stance on cryptocurrency continued to attract numerous firms to its territory. In August 2023, the leading crypto exchange in the world, Binance, announced that it secured full licensing to allow it to operate in El Salvador. According to the announcement, the exchange received the Bitcoin Services Provider license (BSP) and non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider license (DASP) in the country.

#Binance is now El Salvador’s first fully licensed crypto exchange! 🇸🇻

With this, Binance has approvals and registrations in 18 markets worldwide, more than any other crypto exchange, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Dubai.https://t.co/BITj9zxdcZ

— Binance (@binance) August 8, 2023

Bukele’s commitment to Bitcoin suffered a blow as the government, after months of losses, reversed its stance on Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador early in 2025. Under the law, merchants were required to accept payment in Bitcoin for transactions because it was an official form of legal tender. With the government’s reversal, Bitcoin can still be used as payment in El Salvador, but merchants are no longer required to accept payment in Bitcoin for transactions or debts. El Salvador also shut down its cryptocurrency wallet Chivo as part of a $3.5 billion deal with the IMF for aid to offset its cryptocurrency losses.

Nayib Bukele’s Personal Crypto Holdings

While no public records exist revealing Bukele’s personal cryptocurrency holdings, it’s likely that he owns at least some Bitcoin (and potentially other cryptos), given his fervent support for them. His X posts also indicate that he has dabbled in crypto trading in the past. For example, he regretted not buying enough during the 2021-2022 market downturn in one Tweet from 2022.

I think I might have miss the dip this time 😔

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 14, 2022

Nayib Bukele’s Net Worth – The Verdict

While details on the bulk of Bukele’s net worth have not been made publicly available, he has shown enormous political commitment to Bitcoin, even in spite of the major losses his country suffered (at least temporarily) as the result of Bitcoin’s volatility. His plan may have netted El Salvador a considerable (unrealized) profit, but it also put the country in an extremely difficult financial position when BTC crashed. Despite all of the criticism, controversy, and potential losses, Bukele has never given up on making Bitcoin shine as a haven from centralized third parties.

Bukele’s lack of transparency, general disregard for the rule of law, and distrust of journalists make him a fitting Latin American counterpart to Donald Trump. Both controversial figures have entirely embraced Bitcoin and the crypto market and have forwarded the industry in various ways. However, they haven’t exactly been the best messengers for the industry because of their constant streams of controversies.

FAQs

When did El Salvador adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender?

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021.

What is Nayib Bukele's net worth in 2025?

Nayib Bukele's net worth in 2025 is estimated to be around $2 million.

How did Nayib Bukele build his net worth?

Bukele secured a huge portion of his seven-figure net worth through his stake in the family business and salary as president of the country.

Did El Salvador have its own crypto wallet?

Yes. El Salvador had its own cryptocurrency wallet called Chivo. Chivo was shut down after suffering various technical issues and widespread scamming.

Did El Salvador ever build a Bitcoin City?

To date, the planned Bitcoin City has not been built.

Is Bitcoin still legal tender in El Salvador?

No. Merchants are no longer required to accept Bitcoin as payment for transactions as of February 2025.