William Ruto: The hustler who doesn't mind spending in billionaires league

Kenyans have criticised President William Ruto's choice of flying a lavish private jet to Addis Ababa, which reportedly cost taxpayers over Sh12 million on jet-hire alone.

Many view the extravagant spending as a tone-deaf act, given the economic challenges faced by ordinary citizens.

Social media posts expressed discontent about the misuse of public resources, calling the flight an example of government extravagance and wastefulness. 

A social media user, Mr Mdeno Kariiki, sarcastically said: “No capitation in schools, county employees are going months without salaries, and we are about to become bigger than Singapore.”

Real Kims, while reacting to the issue, wrote “Hustler atawale...mama mboga halloo watu wa boda hallo. Kwani mlidhani bottom up ndio nini?”

Zack Kinuthia, who served as Chief Administrative Secretary at the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage from January 2020 until his resignation in February 2022, hit out at the lavish spending by the President

“The ruling elite, beginning with President William Ruto, has become indifferent to the suffering of the greater masses, especially the youth,” lamented Kinuthia. 

George Okoth went online to express his frustrations: “If you didn’t know, now you know. If you didn’t feel the pain of Kenyans being taken for a ride, now you know. The pain of your salary being deducted for the housing levy that you know you will never get, now you know.”

Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, however, says the amount is small considering the President's security needs. “The security of the President is paramount. Three million is not a lot of money to ensure the president is safe. If he used scheduled commercial aircraft, he would inconvenience so many people,” says Savula.

A look at the president’s choice of the means of travel reveals that he could be the only one in the region leading a struggling economy and still dares to choose luxury jets, a brand associated with the world’s super rich, for travel. The Gulfstream GV is a large, long-range business jet manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace. It measures 29.4 metres in length with a wingspan of 28.5 metres. It revolutionised private aviation when it entered service in 1997 by offering nonstop transcontinental and transoceanic travel.

Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product per capita, according to the International Monetary Fund for 2024, was $2,200, which places the country way below South Africa, which was reported at between $6200 and $6400. This, in layman's terms, follows that if you were to distribute the wealth created in the country in 2024, every Kenyan would get $2200, while in South Africa, a person would get almost three times that - $ 6300

Yet since August last year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been using commercial flights after the presidential jet was deemed unfit to fly. 

His personal Twitter handle shared photos of Ramaphosa with South Africa Airways (SAA) pilots in the cockpit and with him in a pose with other female staff – presumably air hostesses. Accompanying the photos was the message: “Today I had the pleasure of flying with our national carrier en route to Kigali, Rwanda, for the 10th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. I wish to thank the men and women at SAA for your hospitality.” 

His neighbour in the north, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is reported to have used commercial flights amid economic challenges in Zimbabwe. Similarly, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been known to opt for domestic national carrier Uganda Airways flights occasionally rather than rely on exclusive private jets or government aircraft.

Open source investigations reveal that President Ruto’s lavish flight to Ethiopia using a Gulfstream GV placed him among the world's super-rich even though his flight was footed by taxpayers. 

Captain Alfred Wokobwa, an aviation expert, says Gulfstream is the preferred jet used by the rich and famous. “Basically, it’s got a rich and long history of reliability, and it’s a good brand.” He says many jets nowadays are considered lavish depending on how the interior is fitted. “Some jets can sit eight, but if it's modified to seat four, ur then it becomes spacious and luxurious. But generally Gulfstreams are considered luxurious.”

World over, jets are owned by wealthy businesspeople, royal families, individuals with deep pockets running corporations with clientele across the world. The world’s wealthiest man, whose investments in space sciences serve the globe, having countries among his clientele, Elon Musk, owns a Gulfstream G550 and G650ER, worth millions, which he uses to travel over 240,000 km annually. Musk’s personal earnings, based on a pay package proposed by Tesla’s board, are worth up to $1 trillion for the next 10 years. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, his annual earnings are derived from his stake in Tesla and other companies like SpaceX and The Boring Company. 

Online retail billionaire Jeff Bezos recently purchased a Gulfstream G700 worth $80 million, adding to his $200 million private jet collection. Some of Bezos' corporations serving the globe include Uber Technologies, Amazon, Airbnb, his social networks, real estate platforms, sports media, education, and ranking in billions of dollars per day.

Microsoft founder and top philanthropist Bill Gates owns two Gulfstream G650ERs, valued at $70 million each, with a range of 12,960 km and a top speed of 982 km/h.

Other notable private jet owners include media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who owns a Gulfstream G650 private jet worth $75 million, accommodating up to 18 passengers.

Celebrity couple Jay-Z & Beyoncé own a Bombardier Challenger 850, estimated to be worth around $40 million. 

The only sitting US president who used a commercial flight was President Richard Nixon. On December 26, 1973, during the 1973 Oil Crisis, Nixon flew on a regularly scheduled United Airlines commercial flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles. This was done to set an example during the energy crisis and to demonstrate confidence in the airlines. Nixon was seated in business class and travelled with the First Lady, their daughter, and staff. This commercial flight carried the call sign “Executive One” because the president was on a civilian airline.

As Kenyans voice their disappointment, constitutional bodies mandated to advise and guide on fiscal management have cited the Office of the President for extravagant spending on travel. In its report for 2023/24, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango said last week that approximately Sh1.7 billion on travel expenses increased by 28 per cent from the previous year.

The amount covers both domestic and international travel, with President William Ruto’s office leading the travel expenditure among government offices. 

The Controller of Budget revealed that the national government spent Sh25.46 billion on travel alone between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. In 2023, President Ruto promised to reduce the budget by 50 per cent (Sh11 billion ) in an effort to reduce wastage.“Tunapunguza pesa ya travel ya all government agencies by 50 per cent,” said the President.

In the financial year 2024/25, the national government as a whole spent about Sh25.46 billion on travel, with the Office of the President spending around Sh175 million on domestic and foreign travel in the first nine months alone. Additionally, reports indicate that the state House, which supports the President’s movements, spent about Sh1 billion on domestic trips in a recent year, reflecting an increase from the prior year.

After protests over the Finance Bill 2024, President Ruto further promised tighter austerity measures. Part of it was to curb unnecessary travel and to allow more funds to address the budgetary deficit. As employers keep closing shop, industries keep leaving the country due to a harsh operating environment and high taxes, President Ruto seems averse to the plight of Kenyans as he splurges on luxuries.

His trip to Addis using a private luxury top-of-the-range jet, even though Kenya Airways flies to Addis Ababa daily, is just the latest in a series of wasteful expenditures by the office of the president. In 2024, President Ruto chartered a Boeing 737-700 for his trip to the US, with costs estimated at Sh2.4 million ($18,000) per hour.

The revelation sparked nationwide criticism, and for the next four trips out of the country, President Ruto used the national carrier, Kenya Airways.