Johnson took pay-cut of Rs. 5cr after becoming UK PM
On July 23, Boris Johnson was appointed the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Interestingly though, for Johnson, the step up from Tory MP to PM was also a £678,853 step down. Apparently, Johnson (55) has taken a huge pay-cut from what he was pulling in before to fill in former PM Theresa May's shoes. Not the ideal career move, is it?
Johnson took a £678,853, or 82% pay-cut
According to The Times, over a period of 12 months, before he stepped into 10, Downing Street, Johnson earned around £829,255 (Rs. 6.94 crore). Unfortunately for him, the Prime Minister pulls in a much smaller paycheck of £150,402 (Rs. 1.25 crore). If you do the math, that's £678,853 (Rs. 5.68 crore), or 82% less than what he used to make previously.
Usually, PMs are poorly-paid; make money after leaving office
The figures were analyzed by the investment house AJ Bell, which used records from the MPs' register of financial interests. AJ Bell Senior Analyst, Tom Selby, told The Times, "The old adage is that British prime ministers are paid poorly but make their money after they leave office," adding that Johnson is "taking a giant pay-cut for hours more work and mountains more stress."
Johnson earned more than his predecessors
Johnson's case especially seems unusual considering that May, the UK PM before him, only served as the Home Secretary with no external income. Meanwhile, David Cameron received £3,000 royalties for a book (which went to charity) and made £9,500 profit on a share sale.
£749,787 of Johnson's salary came from side-hustles
But where did Johnson get all of that money from, considering his MP's salary was merely £79,468? The side-hustle. Johnson used to earn a lot from his lucrative stints as a landlord, columnist, author, and public speaker. Last year, he earned £22,916 a month from his The Daily Telegraph columns and £122,899 for a speech to India Today in New Delhi.
Johnson recently sold home he co-owned with estranged wife
Johnson also owns a bunch of properties including a townhouse in South London (worth £1.3m). He has a 20% stake in a house in Somerset, and recently sold a home in Islington, which he owned with his estranged wife, for £3.75m, earning a £700,000 profit.
Johnson to give up his extra incomes as PM
Sadly, Johnson will be expected to give up the other extra incomes, spokesman for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which sets MPs' pay, told Forbes. So, his 82% pay-cut is legit. Perhaps Johnson can find solace in the fact that, at least, he's not the poorest head of the state among the developed countries, with Iceland and Liechtenstein's heads of governments being the poorest-paid.
