Published: Just now
If it was a political defeat for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be forced to leave the top job, it was not a private financial ditto.
Now the former top politician travels around and earns money.
Boris Johnson received more than 325,000 dollars (equivalent to almost three and a half million kroner) in fees when he recently participated in an event organized by the American insurance industry.
This is according to a list of British MPs’ incomes which was presented on Thursday.
Lean private finances
When Johnson became British Prime Minister in 2019, he was forced to quit a relatively lucrative business as a writer in various newspapers and as a valued speaker, writes the AFP news agency. Instead, during his time as prime minister, Johnson ended up in personal financial trouble on a few occasions.
The event for the insurance industry took place in Colorado Springs in mid-October. In addition to the multimillion-dollar fee (calculated in Swedish kronor), the organizers covered transport and accommodation costs for Johnson and two employees.
In the days before the Colorado trip, Johnson received 11,559 pounds (roughly SEK 145,000) from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to fly to a “business meeting” in Montana where Murdoch owns a cattle ranch.
Works for free
The documents show that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson and their two young children also enjoyed benefits as they rushed home from a holiday in the Dominican Republic for the former prime minister to possibly run to get his old job back, One of London’s major airports put then up and let one of its luxury lounges for the family.
When it soon became clear that it would be out of the question for Boris Johnson to be considered for the post of Prime Minister again, he accepted an offer from his friend the multi-billionaire and Brexit advocate Lord Anthony Bamford, to move into one of his properties.
But he performs one of Boris Johnson’s tasks for free. Since the beginning of October, he has been the leader of the organization Friends of Conservative Ukraine, and he does not charge for it.